


Death's Merchant, Life's Guardian

by Corvixa



Series: Of Fae and Humans [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, BAMF Bucky Barnes, BAMF James "Rhodey" Rhodes, BAMF Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes's Metal Arm, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Civil War Team Iron Man, Fae & Fairies, Fae History, Fae Magic, Fae Tony, Fae Tony Stark, Fomóire Molaich, God!Tony, Hurt Bucky Barnes, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, James Barnes Grand Fae Adventure, Loki & Tony Stark Friendship, Loki (Marvel) is a Good Bro, M/M, Magic, Magical Tattoos, Merchant of Death Tony Stark, Not Steve Friendly, Not Wanda Friendly, OC DubhMáel, Protective Tony Stark, Reapers, Shapeshifting, Stephen Stranger's bedside manner, Thor (Marvel) is Not Stupid, Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark Hates Magic, Tony Stark Loves his Magic, Underhill - Freeform, dimension hopping, not team Cap friendly, not wanda maximoff friendly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-01-26 05:20:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 79
Words: 437,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21368806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corvixa/pseuds/Corvixa
Summary: After seeing his parents die.After one of his best friends tries to lie.Left to the ice, drowing in his own blood.Tony wonders if this time is it?Because he's so tired.Then footsteps seemingly appear from nowhere.With a little help, Tony remembers. Remembers other lives. Remembers his duty to the Balance. Thanos risks that Balance once again. In working to defend earth, build his forces and maybe actually have a little fun along the way. If Fate would stop throwing complications at him, that would be nice.Prompt - Why does Tony hate magic?More in notes. Updates twice a week schedule as chapters are longer now.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Series: Of Fae and Humans [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1730719
Comments: 1810
Kudos: 2885





	1. Times Are Changing

**Author's Note:**

> Righty-oh.
> 
> This is my side-job while I'm writing Frostbitten to avoid burn out if that makes sense. 
> 
> Tony is going to be pretty overpowered, because why the flip not. Also, Tony and James will meet before hit 200k words this time 😂. Non MCU chars are kept to a minimum generally. I'm also mushing Canon to where I want it, but I tend to explain things. 
> 
> This is not going to be Team Cap positive, at least 100% not Wanda positive, Cap will be getting some pain his way, who knows if he will have a redemption arc, only my future insomnia. 
> 
> There are aspects from books I've read, which I'll include even if it's small because otherwise its pretty douchey. There's also a bunch from myths and legends I was brought up with, set ones and others my family passed down that are different and some stuff I plain made up! They're in the 'End Note because if you've read them, I just realised they're kinda spoilerish? I don't know. Better safe than sorry right! 
> 
> Right, I think that covers everything. I'm setting the rating to M because I'm honest terrified of rating things wrong and I have a touch of Irish in amongst the Welsh. I'll monitor it, I might use this fic to test my skills for FB too. 
> 
> I'll add tags as I go too, because I can never work out what to put. 
> 
> Same as Frostbitten, Written by your friendly neighbourhood dyslexic on a mobile phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Welsh Pronunciation Guide ](https://www.go4awalk.com/fell-facts/welsh-language-pronunciation.php)
> 
> Now, I do occasionally use other Brythonic and Goidelic languages but I definitely have some bias towards the Welsh and some later titles and names are in Welsh. Now, feel free to just gloss over, but once you get your tongue around some of the stranger (LL) and brain around the peculiar (DD is Th), Welsh is actually phonetic. Every letter is said and there are no hidden letters or weird rules (glares at English.)
> 
> This is a pretty nice guide, and you can find a lot of pronunciation by Googling the word and how to say it xD

**Tony POV**

He's not sure how long he's been lying here. Blood on his lips, ice sinking, sinking into him. Words echoing in his mind. Images flash by, memories pile up. He can't see a tunnel but it is like life is flashing before his eyes. Or at least every painful moment.

_There are so many._

Things are not in order, not by date or severity. Maybe his brain is firing as he dies and memories are being sparked. He's forced to watch events from a different perspective.

_Is this madness?_

Looking back, he wonders if they were really his friends.

_"The futurist, gentlemen! The futurist is here! He sees all! He knows what's best for you, whether your like it or not."_

The problem is, that he thinks the answer was yes.

_"You better watch your back on this guy. Chances are he's going to break it."_

Sitting in the vents with Clint's eating mini snickers. Hanging with Clint in the rafters. Snarking with Clint during battles. Holding baby Nate…

_"I said I'd help you find him, not catch him. There's a difference.."_

Natkas hand slipping into his when he was feeling overwhelmed. Natkas head resting on his shoulder as she slept. Natkas face when he ordered those sweets.

_"Sometimes my teammates lie to me _."

Steve bringing him food. Steve pulling him away from the workshop when insomnia gripped him so tightly. Steve's concern after battle…

_This is what madness feels like_.

They were his friends. But it didn't stop Steve… Rogers lying.

_"Look, I'll tell you… but you have to go alone and as a friend."_

It didn't stop them running off to his side.

_Red sparks with visions that for some reason look different now._

The vision. The_ nightmares. _He can see them all not and they seem to vibrate at a different frequency to his memories. She was still playing with his mind?

_He had done everything Steve asked to bridge the gap_

He'd known though. Oh, he'd known. He asked, he cajoled, he downright begged Rogers to make her stop using her magic around him.

_You're being unfair Tony._

_It's integral to her being._

_She is her magic._

Who gives a fuck about people's trauma, right?

He coughs and he feels like he's drowning again, but slowly this time. Every cough tastes of iron.

_"Tony, I'm flying dead stick."_

Why did it take nearly dying to gain this clarity? Again?

Not when he had people like Rhodey in his life. His brother. His best friend. His saviour.

The man who caught him when his knees hit sand.

The man that he failed to catch.

Footsteps appear out of nowhere, derailing chaotic and instantly putting him on alert.

Steady pace, they aren't in a rush. Women's shoes.

But he can't _see._

Even though the footsteps sound close enough that he could reach out and touch them.

"Oh, your memories have yet to return. Well, I could wait, but it seems needlessly cruel."

The woman is suddenly kneeling over him and Tony is spiralling.

"You've been through far too much this cycle little one."

Her eyes are while. Completely white and that should be _terrifying _but it's _comforting._

It probably says a lot about Tony's life, but that scares him _more._

Her words barely register. But she feels like _a __homecoming._

He can't pinpoint her age, she seems ageless somehow. She could be your sister or your mother. Silver hair, the colour of the metal rather than usual greying hair. Her skin is pale, her lips are deep red and her dress is black. It looks complicated, layers and layers, silver writing of some kind is embroidered but it's no language he knows and looking at it makes him dizzy.

She reaches an arm out, towards his face and he tries to back away but it _hurts _and he's _drowning_.

He notices odd details, like the laugh lines on her face and the complicated blue design that start winding around her fingers and vanish up into her sleeves.

But that isn't the strangest. Nor is the fact she feels different. His mind is screaming at him that she is _not human_. Danger is here. _Caution_. A primal instinct ticking at the back of his skull...

So why does he want to curl up on her lap?

"Calm my Cadeyrn."

"Look, lady, I think you have the wrong gu-"

She brushes her fingers across his forehead this time, delicately but still smearing blood. Tony freezes and his eyes turn white. Memories flood through his mind, power floods his veins.

"Dammit! I was a few years off winning that bet. I… probably… maybe… could have survived this mother."

"Maybe, but perhaps I tire of watching you suffer in this cycle."

"Mother…"

"Don't you _mother _me, come on up you get. You are going to be Tony Stark a little longer anyway."

"It's the Titan isn't it?"

"Yes, even as a human you sensed him. But you need to be more than human to fight this threat. We can afford to be a little direct. Times are changing."

_Times are changing._

The last time those words were uttered, it had been at the start of the exodus, at the end of the last battle he had to lead the charge on.

He nods and then winces, realising there's still metal in his chest. Rolling his eyes as he's engulfed in black flame and is then kneeling next to the suit. Dressed in a simple black tunic with Celtic design in silver. His arms are covered in deep blue intricate design as he stretches, similar to his mother's, but also completely different. Signs of age have bled away and he cracks his back, sighing at the lack of pain. With a flick of his hand, the suit, arm and shield disappears into a pocket dimension. He stands up, stretching. He might have lost the bet, but he'd be damned if he doesn't feel better.

"Much better."

She walks over to him and fussed with his shirt and he just smiles and allows it. He still wants to curl up on her lap, but there is time for that later. He indulges himself a little by linking his hand with hers. The connection is a balm to the pains of this cycle that he knows will haunt him. Not like that's new for him, he has a knack for getting in trouble when he enters the cycle to direct events.

They exit the bunker and she pulls him close, he sinks into the hug. He knows she will have to return, to explain what is happening. Their kind don't have much connection with this world anymore, only a few of them stay connected. But maybe...

_Times are changing._

Humans had recognised, named and gifted titles to many of them, they are tied to this world, many have snapped or worn away. His family, however, they are still tied to this world, those ties will never erode as long as humanity survives. He will persist as long as Fire burns.

One of his titles even flowed to his mortal form strangely, but then this cycle had been strange after Howard struck him down when he was 4. It hadn't quite killed him, but it also hadn't _not _killed him. If he had been a true human, he would have died. However he is not, and to enter the cycle is to pledge at least 28 years before death, so death could not release him from his duty at 4 years.

It hadn't brought his memories back, but it had brought him closer to the surface than he had ever been during a cycle. There were enough parallels to give him chills. Tony Stark had suffered many ways that mortals should never feel, carrying the mind and psyche of an immortal but bound by mortality.

"I have to get back, for now, I trust you have this in hand?"

"Of course, one thing first though."

He turns to face the bunker making a gesture with his hand forming a black pole, a blade slices out at the top, black and wickedly sharp. A fitting weapon really, he amuses himself at what the reactions would have been if some of his so-called friends had seen him now. He spins it a few times lazily in his hand, with ease despite its size, before slamming it into the snow, a shock wave rolls and spreads out towards the Hydra base, striking it as metal screeches, concrete is rendered to rubble and it implodes in on itself. Leaving a collapsed circle of dust. So fine the wind creates flurries with it, mixing with the snow. Much better.

"Was than really necessary?"

"Yup, definitely."

"Hm, well, I'll never be far away, are you okay from here? I will check on you soon."

He waves away his Scythe in a flash of black fire and she pulled him into a hug that he melts into again. They'd never been apart this long, his cycles usually had a tendency to turn rough, but were required to nudge or direct events down a certain path. But he had never lived past age 28 before. Then again, he'd never not quite died before, it had caused a complication, it had gotten him rather close to winning too...

"Of course mother, I'll see you soon."

She nods, kisses his forehead before vanishing and a huge, white-eyed Crow takes her place, she Banks and flies in a graceful circle that brings a smile to his lips and memories of open skies for miles and miles, with a caw that would send chills down anyone's spine but floods him with warmth, she flies away. Tony watches until she completely vanishes before vanishing in a burst of black flame and arriving in Rhodey's hospital room.

Not even looking back at the crater where he had died.

Again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Books-  
Mark Chadbourn (Age of Misrule and following series)  
Touch of Mercy Thompson  
Elements from Dresden Files


	2. Overzealous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First things first, he had a Rhodey to heal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The response to this has blown me away :)
> 
> You all rock, comments and kudos give me life xD

**Tony POV**

Looking down at the pained face of his brother, even in slumber, caused him to frown.

"This definitely will not do."

He placed a hand on the man's forehead, gently laying his hands on his brothers head, the heat warming him and chasing away thoughts of snow and drowning on iron, for now.

He raised his other hand above his chest and closed his eyes. Seeing through the layers as his hand moved down his chest, eventually resting his hand on his stomach. Grimacing at the damage. He opened his eyes and centred himself, it had been a while since he had done a healing like this, and it was not as simple as summoning a weapon that is as fundamental to him as his arm.

He can't help a little excitement. Most humans will explain away changes, like his eyes for example, humans are very good at seeing _normal_. Especially in this modern day and age, where humans had practically taught themselves to ignore that feeling in the back of their minds. Something humanity ran a gauntlet of pain and suffering to acquire. He somehow suspects his platypus won't, he's not like most humans, he'll _notice_. He smirks as his eyes blanch again, turning completely white as Black Flames lick at his fingers before sinking into Rhodey's skin. Searching for the damage and knitting it back together.

He is still for around 5 minutes, even the rustle of feathers at the window doesn't cause him to move a muscle, although he smiles in his mind at her presence. Rhodey's features slowly smooth out from the grimace of a pained sleep, smoothing as the pain slips into him, black lines that follow the same twisting, turning pathways as the blue on his arms.

He slowly pulled back when the damage was healed, blinking a few times as the white swims from his eyes, returning them to gold as he looks down at his brother, just to ensure he has missed nothing. He had not gotten so attached to a human in a long time. Mother will most definitely wish to meet him. When his eyes land on his face however, they widen and he cursed silently.

"It's been a while since I healed a human..."

He cringed slightly, looking at Rhodey, completely healed but also considerably younger than he had been a moment ago. He looks deeper and his eyes widen again when he sees that the Black Flame was _still _active. That… that was not possible. This didn't happen anymore, a Reaper had not been called for so long, but there it was. It explained why he survived that fall. Even dormant and bound, the Fire increased certain attributes. His Fire was strong. It chose well.

_Times are changing._

He summoned his Fire to his fingers, moving it closer to Rhodey's chest, just to double-check. Sure enough, his Black Fire reached up. His magic, like others of his kin with certain jobs, had their magic seeded in humanity. Where it hunted out potentials. Humans that could help them. For him, that Black Flame showed him potentials for the group known as The Reapers. As much as humans thought so, their jobs had less to do with taking souls and more to do with protection. They were a battle-ready unit. Unlike others, he was always more invested, he fought with his Reapers rather than have them fight for him, but it had been a very, very long time.

Rhodey's Fire wasn't unlocked yet, wouldn't be until he made the choice and began the process, but it had the _potential_. Yup. Mother was going to be meeting him. How he hadn't noticed it before he started healing him, he had no idea. Concern had blanketed his senses, but that was a pretty serious thing to miss.

"Well, at least you look my age now Sourpatch."

He dropped down into the chair next to the bed, suddenly extremely drained, healing magic was very taxing. He relaxed for a little while, set to wait for Rhodey to wake up. The crow watching him from the window, looking highly amused with the situation whilst he looked anywhere else. He scratched his goatee, that was back to its immaculate state he noticed. He hadn't even felt his mother do it. Yes. He was definitely rusty.

"I'm just a bit rusty, I'll get back up to speed soon."

He swears she is laughing at him in her shifted form and it makes him smile. Really smile, he hadn't had much cause to lately in his human skin, and it feels good to laugh. Plus, he's seen others healing humans make much more of a mess than reversing age a little bit.

A shining blue light caught his eye from the dark beneath Rhodey's bed, he opened his arms and in a flash of pale white fur and bright Blue Fire, a bundle all but crashes into him. Leaving flickering patches of Blue Fire where large paws had skimmed across the floor, with more grace than would be expected for a beast of his size. His paws hooked over Tony's shoulders, mouth opening, teeth that were long, sharp and lethal on display and the same Blue Flame shone from his mouth too. He smiled, running his hand over the perfect white coat as Caratacos nuzzled his head under his chin. He was thin for so large a canine, his face was shaped closer to a wolf than a dog, his powerful legs articulated closer to a panther than a canine. Sharp retractable claws, there was no mistaking what he was capable of.

"I missed you too boy, where is Drest?"

The shadows pulled together beneath the bed, forming into what looked like a slightly larger looking house cat. Her fur was sleek and Black as pitch, barring a shining white blaze at her chest. Her eyes, one a bright vivid green, the other golden like his, telegraphed irritation as clear as her very long Black tail that whipped out behind her, lashing through the air. In a fluid leap, she landed perfectly on his shoulder. Her size-shifting down slightly, allowing her to get comfortable. He was surprised not to feel teeth when his fingers slipped into her fur, but he wasn't fooled into thinking she wasn't still mad at him.

He felt a tug inside him, pulling his attention back to Rhodey and oh that Fire was strong! The pair turned to Rhodey at the same time he did, assessing the newest Flame carrier. Caratacos nuzzled him one last time before heading back into the darkness, slipping into the in-between. It was probably best not to overwhelm Rhodey as he woke up. Drest, however, showed zero intention of leaving, she disliked spending large amounts of time away from him and he'd really spent a lot of time as a mortal this go around. She occasionally turned up as a cat in his mortal life, but Howard had been very against pets. She curled up, looking for all the world a bored, younger cat. Her eyes mostly closed but he knew otherwise, despite looking asleep, she was alert.

He grins, a little giddy as Rhodey wakes up. He can see the moment he realises his legs can move and the stunned shock makes him thankful that his mother pulled him free from the restrictions of the mortal cycle. Even though staying in this land could be complicated, luckily he had friends here. Not that mother overly _approved _of Coyote, they got each other involved in trouble more often than not. It would earn him safe passage and dwelling rights, especially given the cosmic threat and all that.

The Blue Fire felt slightly different here too, compared to the first entrances to his home. Not much, but whilst the Blue Fire flowed through the veins of this world, different locations tended to present in different ways and he had only visited this side of the ocean a couple of times.

As he had been out of touch during this cycle, he would need to look into the health and strength of the Fire sooner rather than later. Unlike others of his kin, he was tied more directly to the Firelands, born from complications in his childhood. Meaning it wasn't something he could afford to be complacent about. He drummed his fingers where the arc reactor once sat, where a different blue glow rested even now. His connection to the Fire was quite literal.

That's why he spent so many trips in the mortal cycle, even after many others retreated with the exodus. He remained, nudging here and there. The Fire that ran in the veins of this land was tied to his heart, tying him closer to this side of the mists than his kin. But then, he was closer to the fabulous beasts than some of his people too.

That closer connection could either complicate matters or help, occasionally it did both at the same time.

Strangely, he's sure that he can feel a connection to home much, much closer than it should be. Times are changing indeed. That, and the Blue Fire is much stronger too, it still needed strengthening for what's to come. It is promising however, the industrial revolution had not been kind to the realm nor the Fire. That would be high up on his priorities.

Either way, it was Tomorrow Tony's problem.

Right now he could just relish in _this_, he'd be busy soon enough. He always was. Drest's claws flexed, keeping him from getting too lost in his thoughts as Rhodey spoke.

"Fuck, am I dead? Because when I went to sleep you were _missing _and I was _paralysed_. Also, you have suddenly gotten a lot younger and why do you have a cat?"

Tony summoned a mirror from Black Flame, earning himself little more than a shocked, raised an eyebrow as he offered it to Rhodey from his chair. Leaning forward slightly, which of course earned him another taste of claws as she held her place. Rhodey took it and simply assessed his features, with more calm and grace than most mortals could even dream of mustering. He couldn't help the fierce spike of pride at that. He was closer to mortals than some of his people, but sometimes they were painfully annoying, even to him.

"Tony. You just made a mirror appear from Black Fire. You just did _magic_! You _hate _magic!"

"Well yes, I _always _implant that when I hop into a cycle. Humans are disasters at magic Rhodey. I mean, abject disasters, there are some who aren't bad, but as a whole, just _no_.

'Ooo I found this mystical, ancient book! Let's read it!'

'Oh look, a malevolent space stone that can subjugate someone's will! Let's use it to give people _magic_!'

"Dis-as-ters. If I went and prattled around with something, _being human_, it could carry over to _me _and then _I'd _have to deal with _human _magic."

He shuddered at the thought.

**Rhodey POV**

The grimace on Tony's face gave the impression that it was the most disgusting thing he'd ever considered. It was actually quite hilarious and he would definitely get amusement out of this when there were answers to his questions. He kept his voice measured as Tony finally calmed down from the grossed out theatrics at the mere idea of humans and magic.

However, fair play. From what he'd experienced since becoming an Avenger, he wasn't _wrong._

Although Rhodey was pretty sure the cat had rolled its strange, odd coloured eyes at Tony's rant and that was a realm of strange he did not know what to do with yet.

"Tony, why are you saying humans like you aren't one? Am I really not dead?"

Tony… He was definitely pretty sure this was still Tony, he _looked _like Tony, just back in the peak of his health, but there was _something _else there too. There were differences.

His hair was different, the soft brown seemed darker in the muted light of the hospital room, but where the sun hit it, the auburn stood out. It mostly looked to be a deep red, the colour was quite striking with sun-streaked highlights showing of_f_ an array of reds in the curls. His hair was also much fuller and thicker too, more so than it had even been before the palladium poisoning. A little longer, letting him see the curls he hadn't known Tony was hiding. 

His face was smooth of the signs of age, his olive tanned skin seemed more vibrant, edging closer to golden now, just not so much as to be glaringly obvious. A perfect balance of strange, but not.

That seemed to be a theme to these changes, they were just that little bit shy of looking completely unnatural.

The slight kink in his nose from where it had set badly as a kid was gone too. It was lots of _little _things, individually, there was nothing huge that screamed _different, _but the _more _he looked, the more he _noticed._

Like how… for lack of a better word. Perfect. (He would _never _say that to Tony.) How _perfect _his face was now, almost to a degree of _unsettling_, _uncanny valley_, but _not. _Because it was still Tony. It was strange how he looked so similar yet he could see all these changes at the same time.

His eyes were possibly the biggest change, the iris seemed bigger maybe? Or maybe it was a trick of the light, he honestly wasn't sure. They were no longer that familiar whisky brown with flecks of gold, it was like a light had been turned on behind them. Now they were more gold with flashes of brown. But again, the harder he looked… the more it changed until they were just gold, pure molten gold, like the metal was shimmering and moving in his eyes somehow.

Strangely, even though the more he looked, the more differences became apparent, he had a feeling that nothing was actually changing. Just him _looking _harder meant he _noticed _more_._

That if he hadn't looked as intently as he did, would they just look brown with flecks of gold?

Overall, it's a strange feeling with an overlying feeling of familiarity. Also, Tony carried a degree of confidence and strength that was several orders of magnitude higher than what he was accustomed to. His easy smile spoke volumes and eased a tightness in his chest. It had been far too long since Tony had smiled with such ease.

Tony just raised an eyebrow before scooting himself, and the chair, closer to his bed as seemed content to wait for Rhodey to assess the changes in his brother. The passenger perched atop his shoulders opened a single, vivid green eye of irritation. Closing its eye when it seemed Tony was finished moving.

Tony's shoulders were minutely tensed up as if he was looking for Rhodey to flee or react badly to this whole situation, which told him this was his Tones clearer than anything else could. It would take much more than Tony getting a freaky deeky magical makeover to make him budge. The slight tightness faded as Tony seemed to realise this and Tony flashed him a bright smile for allaying his fears.

"You're not dead, but I, potentially, nearly did die, kind of died, and that triggered… something that brought me back to my _original _self, so to speak. So, I immediately came here to heal you! I'm a little out of practice from being human for so long and might have been a _little _overzealous.."

He noted how Tony didn't really answer his first question, but he decided it would be later Rhodey's problem.

"A little overzealous?! You fountain of youth'ed me!"

"Want me to make you old again?"

"Fuck no. With your current track record, you'd make me 90!"

Tony barks out a laugh and it lights up his entire face and Rhodey can't take his eyes off of him. He's not attracted to his brother. Because ew, but damn. Tony had always had a presence, the ability to enter a room and just _draw _attention. That when he spoke with intent, people tended to listen, like they were drawn in. It had helped him ruthlessly dominate multiple markets in the business world, manage military personnel with a practised ease and always left people feeling like they won as he walked away, secure that he had actually won.

It had been a skill he had not used as often after Afghanistan. First, Stane. The betrayal had him off-kilter. Then… then it was the Avengers. Who had controlled him to a terrifying degree. However, looking at this Tony, he had a feeling this Tony wouldn't be holding back. Not with that bright, sharp smile, flashing what looked like small goddamned fangs! Oh, Gods, he hoped they weren't vampires. He _liked _the beaches. If he was a vampire then he wouldn't be able to sit in the sun.

That was when a strange sound drew his attention from the window.

"Tony… is that huge bird laughing at us?"

Tony glanced and smiled a warm smile at the creature, that was much, much larger than a crow ought to be! The pale white eyes landed upon him and he got the feeling that whatever it was, it just _saw_ him. Saw everything. His past, present and future. His life drawn out and analysed. Then the feeling went away and he released the breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Yup."

"Tony…"

"Yes, Platypus?"

"Are… Are you a vampire?"

Tony actually fell out of his seat cackling, so he was guessing the answer was no. The cat deftly leapt to the bed just as Tony fell to the floor laughing, immediately making itself comfortable on his legs, because why the hell not.

Well, how was he meant to know?! He promptly lobbed one of his pillows at Tony's head.


	3. Impossible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Do enough magic and someone is going to notice...
> 
> Tony does have over 40 years off pent up magic bubbling under the surface after all...

**Stephen POV**

Dr Strange and Wong had been enjoying their tea and reading quietly when alarms went off. Both of them instantly jumped to action, discovering that there had been several interesting readings. Something small enough in comparison that they could put it off for later had happened in Siberia, the signature, however, was nothing like he'd seen before which meant they would definitely look into it. It had sent ripples out that definitely needed assessing.

A similar signature, almost identical but definitely different was what had caused the alarms. They didn't look into every magic-user on earth, not for every usage of their power. However, strange magic suddenly appearing usually did warrant investigation. What made this interesting was the _strength_. It was incandescent and it was _still going_. There had been burst after burst. So fast after each other that even Wongs eyebrows were up.

Even one of these bursts at that strength would require at least some recuperation time. Yet… They were still going. It had to be multiple people, but the signatures were the same, or someone insane. In a relatively small area, it was lighting up like a damned Christmas tree, repetitively. After that continued for a while as they tried to analyse what was being done, a lot of different things apparently. Now they seemed to be moving in a circle, around where the previous bursts had been.

"Warding?"

"The pattern suggests as such… but…"

He reached a shaking hand over the map as another burst splashed out, feeling the magic again. Strangely it had an almost physical presence, a silver liquid metal pooled in his hand, still brightly glowing. He thought maybe his newness to the position explained why he had not come upon this before. Wong, however, looked _equally _perplexed. Which had the result of shattering that illusion. The silver liquid then burst into a harmless flurry of Black Flame, then it winked out of existence, which didn't help matters at all.

"I think you should investigate this now Stephen. I don't know what this is, but I have a _hunch_. From a text, I had read many years ago back when I visited the London Sanctum. If you are not successful, when you return, I have a few people to question at the Kamar Taj."

It was easy to find a picture online to summon a portal to check things out. A strange place for magic, but then things had been strange lately.

"Are you going to share your hunch?"

"No. It could colour your interaction."

"Well, that's helpful. I'll guess be off then."

"Stephen. Just in case I'm right. Do not insult them. Just… Do not agree to _anything _without speaking to me."

"Well_,_ that's not cryptic at all."

Instead of joking or saying he was being paranoid, Wong looked more concerned now than he had on the day 4 trainee sorcerers _accidentally _summoned a fire-breathing giant arthropod in his library.

That more than anything else had the Sorcerer Supreme proceeding with caution.

Most of that caution fled however when he exited the portal onto a lush lawn, in front of him was a very high, white wall that had not been in the images online. There was also the fact that it hummed with enough power he could feel it in his _teeth_. No, that couldn't be. Not in such quantities.

He had a _small _disk of Atronach in his room. An _exceedingly _rare stone, not naturally formed on earth. He'd never gotten a straight answer as to where it came from either. Everyone wanted it. If news of this wall got out, magic users from several dimensions were going to be turning up with sodding picks.

Unlike a relic which was empowered and then set. Or any other magic absorbing stone, even Validimire for example, that sucked up spells and magic gleefully. Allowing you to lay an enchantment of your choosing. Unfortunately, it had a 6-month half-life and required cleansing and topping up. It was also very rare. Atronach didn't have a half-life and could take multiple enchantments, the only limit was the quantity. His small disk was a priceless treasure he'd been given for helping a Sorcerer in a different dimension.

Which was what made this insane.

This entire fucking _wall _was made of Atronach. He ran his hands over the stone, sensing and confirming the impossible. It stretched in both directions too, it was definitely a large wall. Surrounding what he had thought was the Avengers Compound. He had noticed the Avengers had a magic user, he'd been about to look into it before the chaos of the Civil War. He had not expected anything like this.

The magic was still _building_ too, as a flash assaulted his senses again, this close it was more than a little disorientating. Whoever, whatever was doing this, wasn't done.

He rang his fingers over the stone again, unable to stop himself as he felt it down to his bones. That was another thing. Atronach felt _good _to magic users, probably because of how it worked with them. He'd never even conceived of being in the presence of so much of it.

The magic being laid into the wall felt like it was building under each iteration, layering what he was sure now were Wards of protection. He cast a simple revealing spell, expecting the Wards to become visible to him. Instead, the wall shimmered, as if it was about to comply, and then it absorbed his own damned magic and added it to whatever the hell was building up. That was _disconcerting_.

Given the fact it was a wall, protection and Warding seemed logical but against what?

He had never conceived of a person using such a rare stone for something like this. That, and the fact it was also building in strength exponentially with each iteration, he had never read of a Warding like this, probably because it required a huge wall of Atronach. He'd never felt magic like this, it wasn't what they used, it didn't come from the source that he was taught. It also wasn't an Asgardian using the Odinforce, there simply were not many types of magic user on earth in this dimension. It didn't even feel like _any _signature that he had become accustomed to in different dimensions either. It was already extremely strong, yet it was still building up to something.

He closed his eyes and walked back and forth, trying to discern which side was weaker and then more likely, where this individual would likely be. The wall was large and in the distance, the edges disappeared into a woodland area on each side. An odd thing to have close to a wall, trees would help someone gain access surely. It was odd, an extremely rare stone, a very powerful Warding, a strong defence… and then put something you can easily climb next to it. Although the Ward likely protected against that. Shrugging he discerned the direction they were moving in. Widdershins.

So. Left.

He started walking and eyed the little woodland area as he was coming up to it, a hand out near the wall to monitor the spell caster. As got closer to it, alarm bells began ringing in his mind. He didn't know _why_, it was just trees for The Vishanti's sake and they were in upstate New York! And yet… it didn't feel like an innocent little woods. It felt like an ancient Dark Forest. The kind you walk in and may never come out again. The kind that help all manners of creatures that had faded into lore.

A loud cawing snapped him out of his thoughts, making him act_ually _jump, jarring him from the extremely strange direction his thoughts had taken. The woods were still there, it was still looming before him. Putting ideas in his mind. Scratching at a primal fear of the dark and of Dark Forests like this. A leftover from a time when these forests stretched for miles and those who survived to produce the next generation knew to fear them.

He wanted to scoff. But yet...

He glanced at the crow and froze. That bird was much too large and those eyes…

As if in recognition, as if it _saw _him with those blind eyes, the bird dipped its head before taking off in the direction he had already been heading in. He got the impression he was meant to follow.

Wong was going to be so angry, because he was intrigued, so he followed it.

He stood at the precipice of the forest, because there was no calling it a simple woods now, even stranger was that he felt the pressure of passing through a threshold.

He knew another fact. This forest had not been here yesterday, as far as he knew, there were no Dark Forests of this kind on this side of the _ocean_. Those previous readings, the flashes before, this creature somehow _brought _this forest here and it _already _had a threshold that felt like walking through syrupy molasses. He expected it to leave a chunk of his magic behind, forcing through a threshold without invitation did that. It was why creatures that relied on their magic to sustain their life force were unable to pass through a threshold without invitation.

He would not be powerless, but it would diminish his power marginally. So when he breached that step, he fully expected the disconcerting feeling of part of his essence being dragged away from him. It was not a thing he did often. However, the threshold parted before him and nothing was held back.

The first thing he saw when he shook off the confusion, was the crow. Sitting on a branch. He got the feeling it was amused. He remembered Wong and stuffed down his instincts and gave the creature a bow. Somehow he was given an invite and this was the only creature he had come across and he was _actually _capable of being polite. Occasionally.

The next caw reverberated around him seeming to echo and stretch. Causing him to glance behind, but he didn't see the neat little lawn he'd stepped over from. There was more dark forest and there was no light through the trees. He swallowed, wondering what exactly he had gotten himself into and decided to continue following a few feet away from the wall now, not wanting to be too close to it should another iteration complete before he discovered the caster.

Until he came upon a man.

The back of a very human-looking man.

It had not been what he was expecting, but he also knew mortal appearances could be deceiving. He was short, around 5"6 at a guess. Thick, dark red, glossy hair. He had an athletic build, corded muscles flexing as the Ward came together under his hands. A fitted, short-sleeved, black shirt of an odd design with what he guessed was silver embroidery. He was too far away to tell, but the muscular, tanned arms, skin that looked just this side of too golden when compared to a natural tan, hardly noticeable but he was _looking_ for clues. The intricate blue designs covering his hand and up arms, vanishing into his sleeves were also very interesting and matched the colour of the Ward he was working. The trousers seemed to be similar to the shirt and what he assumed were black leather boots.

He was drawing a huge sigil. The base was circular with large symbols on the inside edge. Inside followed a series of interconnecting geometric shapes with further symbols getting increasingly smaller. It wasn't too dissimilar to what he was used to, but at the same time, it was night and day. It also practically thrummed with power, he didn't understand how the person could stand so close to it, let alone cast it. He was using some kind of blue substance that he could not immediately identify.

To add strangeness to the situation, a small black cat was just dozing on the wall above the sigil. A paw casually hanging down towards the ward, a long tail lazily swishing back and forth. One vibrant green eye, another golden seemed to be watching him intently enough to think this was no house cat.

He decided to act, not wanting to be caught staring at this individual through the trees, not when he could still feel the blind eyes of the crow on him. The too vibrant eyes of what he assumed was the man's familiar. Plus, he wasn't going back to the sanctum without finding out _something_.

"Hello?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Editing and posting this just after editing a chapter for Frostbitten is really weird! It feels so short! 😂
> 
> I've actually managed to do a lot for this fic, yay insomnia and my delightful muse xD -[Ink-Raven](https://archiveofourown.org/users/k505/pseuds/Ink-Raven)
> 
> I might shift the schedule to add an extra chapter a week, I'm working on chapter 39 and I'm not even sure how that happened... Sat, Tue, Thurs maybe.


	4. My Bad

**Tony POV**

Pretty much the second he got Rhodey back to the compound he started work. There was damage to his home and that just would not do, and whilst this base might have been suitable for the previous iteration of the Avengers, he was planning bigger now. Plus, he needed more buildings for one of his Great Wards, he's pretty sure he can make up some officialish reasons for them.

He set Rhodey to work scouting out potential new members to the Avengers and he, of course, did not start that, because he realised that Tony's method of fixing the compound was not to order builders in. It was magic. Quite a lot of it too. He also quickly discovered that Rhodey was much more interested in him blowing shit up too. He'd forgotten how much of a menace young-Rhodey could be.

The first few days after he came back to himself always came with a few constants. Nightmares, old and new, the usual fun. His magic, after being dormant for so many years, bounced back _a lot_ faster, which sounds awesome, but it wasn't exactly comfortable at first. Like carrying around several glasses of liquid, filled right to the top. Try not to spill them, except spills were unintentional magic. Unintentional magic tended to be… chaotic in nature.

Which is why he threw himself enthusiastically into new projects until he passed out.

Usually, it would be on his lands on the other side of the mists. From his Atronach quarries or his Forge. Or he would pour magic into crafting new and better Battle Wards which was one of his specialities. Throwing huge amounts of magic around there was a pretty normal occurrence, so much so, that his returns barely caused a blip, he was not the most magically gifted of his kin after all. He had his specialities however and he was very good at them.

This side of the mists, however, was a little different. There wasn't as much magic on Earth, so he couldn't hurl it around as freely without attracting attention. But channelling his Fire into the earth to allow him to mould stone into buildings? That he could do. Pulling large quantities of Atronach from his quarries to create a wall around the compound was key and utterly exhausting. A wall was not something Tony Stark would have considered important, but, Cadeyrn? He _liked_ walls. Walls were prime locations for Protection Wards. The pathways around his newer buildings would be connected into a Great Ward that connected to the Wards he sank into the walls.

Casting a lot of magic like this, especially channelled through earth magic had the bonus of nourishing the Blue Fire. And he occasionally blew stuff up when Rhodey started booing.

Hopefully, by the time he was done, he'd be exhausted enough to fall into a dreamless sleep. Or at least fall asleep and not wake up to chaotic magic having run rampant in his sleep.

Rhodey had found himself carrying Drest around as he worked too, she was crafty like that. It was going to be highly amusing when Rhodey discovered her shifting abilities at some point in the future. She'd remained in her smaller form, not quite a kitten, but not a full-grown cat either. Cara had been waiting for things to calm down, he didn't mind magic being cast left right and centre, but when he got to building, the spectral hound had a tendency to wait him out.

After the outer wall was summoned, Rhodey had declared that was enough magic for him for the day and actually went to get to some work. The little extra pep in his step of restored youth made him smile. Drest had demand to be transferred, she liked to watch over him when he cast the Outer Wards on the wall as when he started each design, he couldn't stop until it was complete, then he had to activate and move on to the next.

Before he could get started on that, he had a visitor about a forest on his way. Out of his kin, he was possibly one of the best when it came to the care of humans, but he didn't want to immediately hurl Rhodey in the deep end without explaining certain rules that potentially seemed… counterintuitive to humans. Whoever trained humans to thank people for fucking everything was a devious bastard.

After that, he would start on the outer wall, he folded away his non-static glamour that covered his arms and would generally dissuade most people from looking _too _closely at his changed features, at least the ones at him arms that could possibly interfere with the casting. His base glamour was rooted in his Fire, so that was fine.

He really didn't expect to run into a sorcerer in the middle of his work on the wall, reaction times at the sanctum were much improved it seemed, he was sure he had at least 45 minutes left before they noticed his magic.

**Stephen POV**

"Hello?"

The figure showed no sign he heard him, and he stood waiting as he continued. Just as Stephen was about to shout again, however, the figure put down the tray that carried his supplies to craft the Ward and he figured that maybe when he was painting the symbol he was unable to answer? A trance or maybe heightened concentration. Or maybe he just didn't want to fuck it up. Feeling the sheer strength emanating from the Ward he wasn't sure which he wanted it to be.

He wanted to understand how that Ward worked. He knew that much.

He wanted to know what this man was shielding this property from.

By the Vishanti why on Earth did he need a Ward of this strength? Or was he just _extremely _paranoid?

Something that required this much power to keep out was definitely something that was potentially important to him.

He also really hoped this person was amicable to teaching him that Ward.

His fingers practically twitched in the need to understand it. Even if it could only be cast on Atronach, he still wanted to know. Since he got over the is magic real question he'd put considerable effort is reading and understanding everything he could with the same voracity that had sped him through medical school to be the top of his field, when others in his class were barely out of their internships.

Stephen had learned to expect the unexpected since entering Kamar Taj. It was practically the first rule.

Tony Fucking Stark turning around, however, was not one of them.

First, he immediately thought that this was a shapeshifter of some kind. It was Tony Stark, but there were _mistakes_. The age was incorrect and he could see the golden eyes from here, plus he's sure if Stark had tattoos, hundreds of idiots would have copied them. He did not know enough about how Tony Stark looked to know if there were any other differences, despite Christine's fan-girl influences. A shapeshifter taking the face of someone this famous was potentially disastrous, but they seemed to be doing it badly, which had him wondering…

Secondly. Tony Stark is _a _baseline human. No magic. Just a flying robot and a team with a penchant for collateral deaths and property damage.

Before he can say anything, they speak and he is thrown off slightly as the speech patterns were familiar to what few TV instances he had been subjected to of the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Christine really was a huge fan. _Annoyingly_. If these aspects are correct, he has to wonder why they're making such obvious mistakes? However, it isn't so much how he says it that blows his mind. It's what he said and it utterly derails everything.

"Ah, it's the Sorcerer Supreme! It's funny. I expected you to be bald. And, you know, female. I can't believe I missed Rigantona's passing. She owed me several drinks. Damn you're a tall bastard."

Stephen finds himself to be dumbfounded by what is going on, which is his excuse for his less than eloquent response...

"What?"

Tony walks closer. Carelessly wiping what looks like blue paint on his trouser legs, his head tilted to one side.

"What? Have you had the job for 5 minutes? Surely things like this are old hat by now."

Annoyingly at times like these, he was reminded just how little time he'd spent in the seat, it felt like barely yesterday he was staggering around Nepal desperately.

"Sure, some Tony Stark lookalike, suddenly at a centre of several magical explosions-"

"Heh. Oops. My bad. I'm also not a lookalike, Me and Tony Stark are the same person!"

"And then I get here and you're painting…. I don't even know what that is!"

"Why would you? I made this myself and your remit doesn't cover me and mine."

"What do you mean?"

"Feel my magic. You'll get it. Or you won't. Not my problem."

Then the bastard winks at him. He might be closer to believing that this is Tony Stark as he is infuriating but his mind refuses to let go of the fact that _everyone _knows Tony Stark is baseline human. Also, there were very, very few dimensions and worlds that didn't fall under their purview, usually because the occupants had enough magic or be formidable alone.

"What are you?"

"Well, now that's just rude. Plus, _everyone _knows that Tony Stark is a baseline human."

Eyes shining with amusement and echoing his thoughts, he pulled a knife from somewhere, slashed his palm deep enough to make him wince and strolls back to the Ward, then he slammed it onto the Ward. After that, things get confusing, it was just a palm touching stone, it shouldn't have created a roaring bang that left his ears ringing, that he felt in his bones. It shouldn't have created a wave of force that had him staggering, swaying on the spot, vision blurred and head killing. He swore the Ward burned in a Blue Fire but the next chance he sort of sees the wall, its blank.

Suddenly, there was someone lightly touching his elbow, steadying him.

"There we go, I didn't realise you were that sensitive to magic such as mine. I'm quite impressed, very rare in humans. If you would let me, I can heal the aftereffects of my magic."

"Why?"

"Because my magic hurt you and I pay my debts."

He decided to throw caution to the wind. For some reason, since the magic explosion, Stark's words had the ring of truth. Sometimes the after-effects of magic had strange traits and he was not above using it to his advantage, even if he felt atrocious. It meant he had to ask before he healed him.

"Before you do, are you really Tony Stark, did you really know The Ancient One?"

"Hmm, crafty little sorcerer. I like it, so I will answer, this time. Do not get greedy. I was and still am Tony Stark, in a way, I spent a cycle as him, usually, after I die as a mortal I leave, but something is coming. Something big. As for 'The Ancient One', seriously humans and their dramatic titles, I told her she'd end up with one you know, after she mocked mine. I did know her, from a very long time ago, she didn't go as The Ancient One back then. I'm going to heal you now clever little sorcerer. "

Being called crafty and clever little sorcerer like that by a magically de-aged Tony Stark, who spoke of living as a human as a thing he did often, like one would pick up milk from a corner shop, should be insulting. Somehow, it sounded and felt like a great compliment and he can't put his finger on _why_. Even so, if he were capable of it, he would be glaring right now.

It's easier to accept things like this happening in _different_ dimensions, it this one, it was still odd to him.

He felt fingers brush against his temples, he didn't feel him cast any magic like he'd come to expect, and his vision is all wonky anyway. Warmth blossoms and spreads from his head and after blinking a few times, he can finally stand up straight. He hadn't even realised he has been he'd doubled over. That was quite an efficient healing too, usually, it tended to take longer. He turned to the shorter man to thank him but barely gets the word out.

"Th-"

"Ah ah. Don't go throwing that around. Not everyone is as kind as me you know, so, my clever little sorcerer, do you have a name? "

His head was tilted to one side as he looked up at him intently and suddenly he wasn't sure, Stephen is not used to being on the back foot in conversations and he's decided he still doesn't like it. For some reason, his rudeness earns him a bright smile. Because Tony Stark is mad? He has no idea.

"I promise not to abuse the privilege, and you need not give me every name clever little sorcerer."

Ah, well that at least gives him _some _information. Finally. The list of people and creatures that used naming magic was small and not something he'd run into before.

"Dr Strange."

"Code name? Or an _actual_ doctor?

He rolled his eyes, but then he'd come to expect this by now.

"I am a world-famous neurosurgeon."

"Hmm, very interesting, I definitely like you. Now, mind if I greet my friend?"

"Friend? "

Before Stark can reply, the cloak practically vibrated on his back before it bounded over to him and practically glomped the shorter man. He was again, thrown, an irritating pattern he was beginning to notice. His cloak began zipping around Stark like an over-excited puppy. It was moving so fast that he can hardly track it, but from Stark's nodding he apparently can understand the cloak with apparent ease.

Whatever the cloak is saying, however, is now pissing off Stark. He had gone from easy and smiling to straight back, stone-faced, the air even seemed to be shifting around him and it had taken on a heavy quality, he can feel the magic and wonder what _is_ this man to have so much excess magic practically boiling around. The aura of the forest was even reacting, shifting from ominous to deadly.

The cloak was still going too, seemingly oblivious to the effect he was causing or utterly unconcerned either way. Which considering the palpable threat in the air is pretty strange.

He can understand the cloak occasionally, but not at this speed. It was talking so fast he didn't have a chance of deciphering it, which is annoying because he really wished he knew what was said to have caused this reaction. Especially as its attention shifts to the sodding cat, leaving Stark turning to him.

He really doesn't want to get into a fight, not with his cloak playing with a sodding cat, but he readies a few spells in his mind just in case. Maybe this is a misunderstanding, or nothing to do with himself. Sometimes he wonders why he took this damned job.

Especially when those gold eyes turned on him. Goldeyes that now bare very little resemblance to humanity. With a cold, sharp intellect burning at its centre.

'Oh fuck.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I belatedly realised it was Tuesday xD  
My immune system is powering itself up to kick my arse so I'm feeling utterly retched and forgetful too, here's hoping it's a short one!
> 
> Getting this up amused me though, poor Stephen, he's pretty much just got the job and Tony is practically setting up shop in his back yard.


	5. Thank you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Thank you."
> 
> Yup. Tony Stark is going to give Stephen a heart attack.

**Stephen POV**

"Thank you, Dr Strange." 

Stephen was pretty sure his life just flashed before his eyes and now he's just confused.

The cloak chooses that moment to finally return and settle around him, giving him a _squeeze_ as the anger that still felt like a damned physical pressure pushed in at him. Stark was obviously working to fold his anger down but he can see it's a struggle, especially with magic reacting around him as if it would be gleeful for him to give into it. Another thing, even though he hadn't given his entire name, there was a feeling of power in it. 

Whenever he says his name, Stephen can feel the magic crawl up his spine, even though humans are much less susceptible to the magic of names from what he'd read. Humans change as they grow, making a static name only useful for short periods of time, unlike a Demon for instance, when you have a demon's name you have a means of summoning and control. The fact that a single name was eliciting such a reaction, made him damned thankful his anger was _not_ directed at him. 

He praised himself for at least retaining some eloquence this time Stark shocked the hell out of him. 

"Mind if I ask why? At that speed, I can't understand what he's saying yet." 

For some reason that earned him a pleased smile which thankfully took some of the pressure around them away. 

"You released him. You gave him a home and you treat him well. That's all I ask for. Occasional visits would be nice, I've missed him. If I find out who put him in a display box, however, I might just do the same to them." 

The threat wasn't big and flashy as threats of doom and suffering are usually want to be, it was uttered in such a matter of fact manner that Stark might have stated that the sky was blue. It was, however, a very clear threat.

This situation was just getting more and more bizarre. He, however, didn't feel strange admitting that the cloak had become a friend to him. 

"He saved my life and he's become a close friend. I'm happy to have helped in freeing him." 

"Levi is as loyal as loyal can be, I hope you will be just as loyal in return my crafty little sorcerer. Because I like you." 

Considering others had called the cloak fickle, something he had never understood, considering how loyal he was to him. Having another person call him loyal was vindicating in away. The rest of the sentence was again, slightly unnerving, but that seemed to be the pattern when conversing with Stark.

Confusion peppered with threats on one's life. 

The threat was more nerve-wracking somehow than his comment of putting someone into a display box. But then ever since he had stumbled on Stark, this entire situation had been unnerving. It would probably help if he knew _ what _ Stark was, but he suspected he would not get a straight answer and that the man would enjoy confusing him if he gave him the opportunity. 

"He is my friend, of course, I will."

"That's what I like to hear. Now, as much as I'm enjoying this conversation, and I am, but I have to finish up as holding the building magic in my mind isn't exactly comfortable and I don't want to start from scratch or accidentally release everything I've already built up. When I'm finished you should get less crazy readings in the sanctum. 

Feel free to pop around later, I don't think you'll want to be here through the next few iterations as they grow exponentially. You are also very sensitive to my magic."

He couldn't help but widen his eyes, just the magical discharge from one had rendered him utterly disoriented. 

"I'll head back to the sanctum…"

He paused and wondered for a second if it was wise to open a portal in a forest like this. He turned to open a portal and figured asking was probably best. Wong would be proud, and would likely never believe him if he mentioned it. 

"Do you mind if I open a portal here?" 

The loud caw again caught him off guard, he had completely forgotten about the crow. 

"Sure, feel free." 

"Goodbye Stark." 

"Catch you later, Dr Strange." 

There, he felt it again, and from the amusement shining in his eyes, he knew it too.

However, he'd managed to not offend anyone and Wong would be impressed. He wasn't going to ruin that now, he summoned the portal and stepped through, he glanced back and was surprised to find the area completely empty, the portal closed before he could try and work it how the man had vanished. He hadn't felt a portal being summoned, even the cat was gone. 

"Ah, your back. I'm assuming everything went well." 

"I'm not even sure if you'll believe me." 

"Try me." 

"Well, the Wards are being placed around the Avengers Compound, the wall was made of Atronach and the Wards were being cast by Tony Stark who has not only de-aged, but I don't think he is human either. Also, moderately terrifying and friends with the cloak." 

Wong just blinked at him before sitting down, he goes to speak a few times before choosing something to focus on. 

"Atronach, really? "

"Completely, and no it wasn't a covering. It was nine feet high and at least a foot thick I believe. There was also an actual Dark Forest on either side that a blind crow gave me access to." 

"I'm surprised you're not dead." 

"I'm blown away by your confidence in me." 

"I know you, you just fell into a highly dangerous situation woefully unprepared. Much worse than I'd even considered." 

"You literally sent me into it! He thanked me. For taking the cloak from the display stand." 

"He _ thanked _you? Huh. Colour me impressed. Maybe my lessons are finally getting through to you. What are you going to ask for?" 

"Rude, and what do you mean what am I going to ask for?" 

"He thanked you, make sure it's of equal value too or you'll cause offence. Anyway, I'm going to the London Sanctum. I need to pick up a few books that I think you need to read and their library is unparalleled for what we're after." 

With that, Wong just left, leaving Stephen more than a little confused. Stark had stopped him from thanking him. Now Wong was interpreting a thank you as what? An offer for services? Stephen felt like he was missing out on important information and for some reason, Wong was not sharing. Usually, that meant he was trying to teach him an infuriating lesson of some kind. 

He decided to hunt in the library for anything that could help him. He collected a few books on Dark Forests, there were so many books on them it would take a while to get through but it was the only real lead he had. They weren't often found in America however, so Wong didn't have many available. It wasn't like Stark had told him what he was after all. He could potentially look up the crow as well but he figured that there would be many creatures that moved under that symbolism. It might have been a shapeshifter of some kind. The forest, however, that was a set thing. 

True Dark Forests tended to differentiate based upon the local, but that said more about who was available to live within them, there were some things that were the same for each. Maybe he could find out more, find out what kind of person has the power to move? Relocate? Grow? Whatever Stark did to have his Avengers Compound flanked by one. 

He takes the books to the map to see how far he had come with his Warding. The circle was almost complete now. He could see the after images of previous castings and could see the perfect circle with a small gap in between each after image. In the middle, so inside the compound he presumed, there was all manner of after images. From small to blinding beacons, even now, when some of the other after images were beginning to fade. 

He definitely had been busy before he started working on the walls. The walls themselves were an after image in a perfect circle. So he'd somehow used magic to shape Atronach into the wall in the first place? Or had he summoned it in its current form? Who had that much of the stuff just lying around as ready-to-go walls? 

He started reading but was also watching the circle, he was interested to see how much of a flare it would create when it was done, now he also knew Stark's magical signature, tracking him would be much easier. At least that's what he thought. 

The last piece flashed brighter than all the rest, and Stephen could almost feel it, feel the last bit slip into place. Which considering he was so far away to feel such things, was very strange. After that, however, all of the after images utterly vanished and the area went dark. It looked no different from any other area where no magic had been cast for many, many years. Even the after image of his portal was gone. He glanced at the table in shock, as far as he knew, there was no way to get around it. Yet those Wards had blanketed the place and retroactively removed all traces of power. 

Stephen wasn't sure if he was annoyed or impressed. 

**Tony POV**

He dusted off his hands, sending his equipment back to his workshop and his glamour clicked back into place. He paused at the wall, tensing for the inevitable claws. For a creature able to flow between places with such ease, Drest's favoured means of travel was this. Over the years the sheer number of people she tricked into carrying her about was utterly baffling. All she had to do was bat her eyes and people fell over themselves to carry her around. (He thought all this of course whilst _ he _was carrying her around.) 

Well, when she was this size. Other sizes could lead to the screaming and the running. His magic was finally starting to settle down, the exhaustion following the final Ward on the wall was lingering instead of building back up again. 

Pepper would be returning from Germany soon, a few days maybe. It gave him a little more time to get things ready before his next phase. He still had some work to do around the compound. 

If he was actually planning on living on this side of the mists for any protracted length of time, as himself rather than as a mortal, there were a number of things he'd need to bring over.

Blending his lives as Tony Stark and Cadeyrn together. He would need to set up a second workshop, alongside his current one would work nicely, harder to access too given the kind of things in it.

This, however, was good.

It was a good start. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only just realised it was Thursday!
> 
> My immune system is still being mean to me, but writing little chapters to this with feet on the radiator whilst listening to Aurelio Voltaire is fun.


	6. Explain. Now.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper is back. 
> 
> She is not impressed.

**Pepper POV**

She had not long been back in the country after a business trip to Germany. Tony being forced to clean up messes that were not his own often left her infuriated, and after the trip to Romania…? It was pretty fair to say that she was fuming. Captain Perfect had found himself resoundingly at the top of her shit list, which was quite an achievement considering some of the utter slimeballs she dealt with in the business world. 

Tony had been out of touch for a while, which had worried her. The last video call he had not looked well and she had wanted to scream at him to please just _ rest! _However she knew that if she did, he'd either take it as a cue to do more, or he'd say he would rest and just go back to work. Right now he needed people on his side rather than against. With their split, she was unsure if she could even get him to rest anymore, she hoped that one day their friendship would be a solid foundation once more, because Tony needed more of that, not less. 

The hospital had been her first stop, then she got Tony's message asking her to meet him at the compound, but she had to check in on Jim first. He had, however, been transferred it seems, which was odd. She and Tony had chosen this hospital as it was the best for Jim's injury, the compound was listed as the hospital he'd been sent to. Peculiar, but not out of the range of possibilities. Maybe the initial estimates and scans had been incorrect and his injury had not been as bad as they had feared. 

She slipped back into the car, smiling at Happy as she flipped through her other emails and caught up on work that had built up as she had been running around.

Happy's exclamation pulled her from her work haze. 

"What the…?"

She glanced up and was left blinking herself, it had been a few weeks since she had come to the compound but there definitely had not been a huge white wall spanning it with a large, intricate silver looking gate, which whilst she had to admit, it was absolutely _beautiful_, but it was rather strange to find it _here_. Tony tended to favour functionality over decoration. A blue light flashed over the car, leaving her blinking as the gates opened. Tony was pretty well known for having things built alarmingly fast, but this was a shock, even to her. Vision was stood just inside the gates, glancing around in confusion. 

Which was when she looked and realised there were changes _ everywhere_. It still looked like something Tony would build, sleek designs and very modern, but there was an almost… organic element to it now that hadn't been here before. Vision followed them to park the car and they walked together towards the building they were meeting in. 

"Sir has made quite a few changes in a very short period of time, he also seems to have had the damage repaired.." 

She flinched at that, she was still fuming over the what that little witch had done to Vision. 

"Well he's certainly been busy hasn't he." 

There were voices coming from the meeting room and Jim's was very clear from the hall, causing her to frown. He should definitely not be up and around, not at all. Why were these two boys so incapable of resting? Would it kill them to stay in a hospital bed for five minutes? We're doctors recommendations just a joke? The two of them were going to send her prematurely grey. 

She'd entered, ready to lay down the law, so to speak, but seeing Jim _ pacing _ back and forth utterly threw her for a loop. He was _ walking. _Even the best estimates had been that he may never walk unaided again, the more likely result of his injury was that he'd be completely paralysed from the waist down, that he would require a wheelchair for the rest of his life, or at least until Tony got to work she supposed. But there was no way he had built something already and even if he had, Jim would not be strong enough to use it. He was meant to be healing… 

"Pepper pot! How was Germany?" 

She pulled her vision from staring at Jim's legs and then was just as stunned when she saw Tony. It was like someone had peeled back the years. Jim cleared his throat and then she noticed that he looked much younger too. Shock_,_ as a rule, made Pepper _ annoyed_. Seeing Jim walking had been a huge shock on its own, and it meant no one had bothered to call her to tell her he could walk again! Add in these other changes, yes, she was unimpressed and would be letting the boys know it. Eyebrow raised, in a manner that brokered no argument as she gestured to the table. 

"Right now you two are going to sit down and explain to me exactly what has happened." 

Jim was a little on the excitable side it seemed, which was a pretty rare side of him to see. Usually, this side only came out when Tony had well and truly done something crazy. 

"Tony healed me! He put a little too much strength into it. Which is why I now look like I could get carded again." 

"Pfft Platypus, you didn't even get carded in college when you were 17."

"Right, and how did Tony do this?" 

"With _magic_." 

Jim looks a little too smug and Tony thunked his head down on the table in exasperation. 

"But doesn't Sir hate magic?" 

"Right you are Vision, Tony, want to give them your rant again about those pesky humans and magic?" 

Tony sat up and threw his hands up in frustration. 

"It's not a rant! Trust me, when you've cleaned up as many messes as I have because _ Humans _ just can't _ not _ poke around with magic, it gets annoying. Very, very few humans have an actual capability for magic, yet there you all go, reading books and touching things. It's maddening. I once met a man that had accidentally fused himself to a stone Pepper, then there was the man who tried to use magic to fly, that was the most disturbing transfiguration I've ever seen and don't get me started on the guy who thought entering his wife's _ dreams _ was a top-notch idea!"

Jim snickered to himself as she and Vision glanced at each other, at the tail end of Tony's rant and then back at Tony who looked like he was gearing up for more ranting. 

"_Not_ _a_ _rant_. Tones _that_ was a rant."

"Right. Explain. Now." 

"Well, after Germany I spoke to Wilson, I found out where Cap was going… hilarity ensued, fights were had and I technically, kind of, nearly died." 

"YOU WHAT?!" 

"I said technically! Look, I'm here, all alive and all that jazz and it's kind of lucky I did really as otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to heal up our Platypus now would I. Usually, I have to die for my memories to return, but as I was close enough we were able to exploit a loophole. Plus, things have gotten fucked enough that I can help in my original capacity instead of nudging things as a mortal. It's awesome, well, barring the Cosmic threat. But! I do better living on this side of the mists but I've not been able to do it for ages unless I was _ human_." 

"Don't worry Pep, he still keeps talking like we have any clue what he's saying. Basically like he does with science, but now he does it with magic too. He's still Tony, but he was … someone else before." 

"Right. I'm going to pretend I understood that. So, you are Tony, but you aren't?" 

She wasn't sure if she liked the sound of that. 

"Tony Stark was more me than most of my cycles, feel free to keep calling me Tony however, it's what I'm going by now." 

He jumped up and clapped his hands, waving towards a wall that shifted and then displayed 6 stones, one of which looked considerably like what Vision had in his mind. 

"We have one more person to come. "

"This that Sorcerer you met when you were working on the walls?" 

"Yes, the Sorcerer Supreme. Not the one I had expected, the last one passed on whilst I was Tony Stark apparently. This new guy seems interesting_,_ however. His sensitivity to my magic is impressively high. He was prophesied and everything. Damn Riga, she bet me that the bastard would be taller than me. How was I meant to know you humans would start getting so damned tall! Anyway, he's a good example of a human _ meant _to use magic." 

"Man, I still can't get over you talking about magic without cringing!" 

To say that she was confused was an _ understatement_. Whilst Jim just looked like a younger version of himself, Tony had differences here and there to the younger man she'd known. His hair was darker, yet, redder, eyes lighter. Just, little changes here and there. But watching Tony and Jim banter however set her at ease. This was a change, yes. But somehow, this was still the Tony she had known for many years.

This was just another in the long line of curveballs he had thrown her way. 

Vision was contemplative but he seemed quite relaxed by everything. If anything, it proved how off the mark their lives had become when things like two of her friends magically getting younger only created a few moments of confusion before it was seemingly accepted and moved on from. 

"Now. I want more about how you nearly died." 

Tony sighed and he was so much -Tony- at that moment, she knew she would be fine with these new changes. He waved a hand at the wall again and she wondered if that was technology… Or magic? 

“We have some time before the Crafty Sorcerer arrives, so here. This is what happened in Siberia. "

By the end of the video, she knew if she ever saw that man.. No. That parasite again, he would be sorry. 


	7. Odd Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wong is decidedly not helping.

**Stephen POV**

Wong had just gotten back with his 7th stack of books from the London Sanctum, And Stephen wasn't quite sure what to think. He'd barely got a word in edgewise before he'd portaled off again and this had been the pattern now for a few days. He'd glanced at some of the books, they were in a myriad of languages, heavily geared towards Goidelic and Brythonic in origin, not surprising given the library they hailed from. Several of the books he was pretty sure were fiction, but he'd picked up a few of them to leaf through and was currently looking at a translation of Red Book of Hergest. He was pretty good at picking up languages but oddly enough, middle Welsh was not one he was adept in. Or just. You know, _Welsh. _Glancing at the pile, he realised that and Gaelic were heavily featured too. Joy. 

Several of the books were straight-up Fairy tales, heavily focused on the British Isles and he was unsure whether Wong was having him on. 

Since his training, he had learnt that a lot of things had moved from Reality to Word to Myth. That just because they had, didn't mean it wasn't real. That things had also gone the other way, starting in Myth and ending in reality by sheer force of will. With a heavy amount of people writing what they believed or wanted to believe, then it being picked up as fact. But he struggled to look at a pile that contained Arthurian legends as anything not a prank of some kind. It didn't help that it wasn't the first time Wong had done it to him. That little lesson on separating fact and fiction before visiting the Feory people in the Masagix Dimension had nearly gotten him roasted to within an inch of his life. 

Since then he had been a little more critical of Wong and his annoying lessons. 

"There we go, that should do it." 

"Are you sure? I bet there are some books left in their library if you had a look." 

"Don't be snarky. You are beyond unprepared. This would have been simpler had you got a name of some kind. The masters in England are more versed in this than myself but without a name, there isn't anything specific they can tell us."

"Tony Stark not good enough?" 

"That was his mortal name during this cycle. If he's operating out in the open like you mentioned then likely old-world rules apply. Some are more… _ vicious _ in their application than others." 

Old world rules? 

Before he has a chance to voice that however, the huge black crow from a few days ago flew into the room. Both of them were startled, especially as it flew through the _ wall _ of the _sanctum_ and landed on the table in front of them as if doing such a thing was normal. Well, Stephen supposed normal had become a subjective term ever since he heard those two words and went off on a wild goose chase. 

Again, those white blind eyes found him with a startling degree of accuracy and ease before the creature hopped over to him, dropping an envelope in front of him. It let out a caw, forcing him to repress the shiver it triggered down his spine. It then launched itself at the wall and flew right through it as if it wasn't even there. The wall rippled slightly, before solidifying. He picked up the letter and a black feather that had been left behind. 

"You must have made quite the impression with Stark. At least that gives us an idea of who he potentially knows." 

He ignored yet another of Wong's cryptic comments, he was getting good at that, and opened the envelope. It was a means of correspondence that he hadn't expected someone like Stark to use. The paper of the envelope was heavy and had a rough feel that paper rarely did these days, it was also tinted. The fact it was also sealed with black wax with a wing imprinted into it didn't alleviate the oddness of receiving a _ letter _ via a _ bird _ that can fly through _ walls _ from _ Tony Stark. _

That was possibly throwing him off the most, that made this entirely impossible to fathom, that out of all the people in the world to be involved with something like this, was the entirely modern, futurist, human, Tony Stark. It was triggering a disconnect in his mind. 

There were a number of beings that could enter the mortal cycle, but from what he'd been told it had fallen out of practice a long time ago. He'd said he usually left after his mortal form died, which meant that sometime recently he had been killed or brought close enough to death that it had released him. There had been little on the news bar this Civil War. He had to wonder just what had lead to his 'death'.

The letter started off pretty formal. An invitation to the compound and assuring of his safe passage, which was a bit of a strange thing to include in an invite to the Avengers compound, but OK. 

Then it got slightly less formal and slightly more _Stark_ when the reason was regarding a "discussion about the threat to reality and a cosmic fuck up to end all cosmic fuck ups." 

The entire thing was heavily surreal. He had said _ something _ was coming, _ something big. _ Something that had made him create those Wards maybe? 

"Hmm, well, I'd have preferred you to have read more, but you also don't want to be late. Get going and Stephen, try not to put your foot in it will you?" 

"Get going?" 

"Yes, look, the meeting is in 15 minutes." 

"Who the hell sends an invite with 15 minutes to spare! What if I'm busy?" 

"But you're not busy." 

"I could have been." 

"That's probably why such an important person delivered it."

He rolled his eyes before slipping the letter back into the envelope, the cloak was practically vibrating, at least someone was excited about this. He moved to the computer to bring up a picture of the Avengers Compound this time, to turn up closer instead of outside its walls like he had last time. 

Just as he stepped through the portal, Wong shouted through. 

"Don't eat or drink anything!" 

The portal closed before he could yell back that his cryptic messages were not helping the situation _ at all. _

He glanced around and was surprised to find himself outside of the wall again. Even though he was pretty sure he had portaled inside of them. A blue light flashed over him, leaving him blinking and his skin tingling that he barely noticed the silver gates opening. 

It didn't take too long to find his way around the compound at least, locating where the meeting was with surprising ease. Despite being so large and sprawling, much larger than the pictures on the Internet had indicated too, it was very nicely signposted.

Even the door to the meeting had a sign attached to it. 

"End of the universe / Cosmic threat meeting."

Well. That's not unnerving. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, I got my days screwed up because of insomnia. I'm still ill, good news, we finally bought a new cooker. Am I kinda nervous it might blow my house up again? Yes. Do I want it to make a huge winter solstice feast. Yes xD
> 
> Also, recently discovered how to see how many subscribers and I am stunned :)


	8. Nothing Scarier Than A Fanatic

**Stephen POV **

With a sign like that, Stephen had honestly expected more people to be at the meeting.

Stark was sitting on the edge of the table with some familiar faces around him (although now he was grudgingly thankful for Christine's _fan_ status, otherwise he'd have little idea who any of them were). Stark was also literally swinging his legs like a teenager and Stephen again found himself questioning _everything. _

Colonel Rhodes was kicked back in a chair, legs crossed ankle to knee, looking at him with the air of a military man assessing a newcomer. The cat from the other day was dozing across the man's shoulders. What was strange was that he was sure he'd heard the man had suffered a severe injury at Leipzig-Halle and had been rushed to a hospital that was known to have the best spinal surgeon he knew of. Seeing the man sitting there, staring at him was somewhat confusing. He assumed that the injury was not as bad as he had thought, or, he had made an incorrect assumption as to why that hospital, in particular, had been chosen over the other, much closer hospitals. 

The other two where Pepper Pots, a bit of a strange addition. As far as he knew she was the CEO of Stark Industries, not an Avenger. The other was The Vision. The interesting life form that was powered by an Infinity Stone. 

It was definitely a smaller meeting than he expected. 

But then, he supposed that the Civil War had ripped the team asunder. The lion's share of said team was now on the run having escaped from a creepy, pretty illegal looking underwater prison that was straight out of the super villain's handbook.

The world became more ridiculous by the day.

"Well, that's everyone, for now, come on in, Levi!" 

Levi… He was unsure how he felt about his cloak being called Levi, but the cloak seemed to like it. At least, he assumed as much, the way it fled his shoulders to jump directly onto Stark's face was somewhat telling. 

"Um. Tones. Are you being attacked or hugged by the wizards' cloak? I honestly can't tell." 

Tony's reply was muffled but he waved his hands in an 'I'm fine' manner. 

"I'm a Sorcerer, not a wizard. You may refer to me as Dr Strange." 

Levi finished his '_greeting',_ waved at the other confused people and settled back on his shoulders. The chair in front of him moved out in invitation and he noticed that Ms Potts jumped a little, and Vision gave it a baffled look. Causing him to believe that open displays of magic, were the very least, fairly new to them. 

"So. You lot are being read in first for fairly obvious reasons. Rhodey-bear is the leader of the Avengers-" 

"I'm what now?!" 

Stark ignored friends shock and promptly kept speaking. It was somewhat gratifying to know that he was not the only one Stark seemed to garner glee from confusing.

"As I was saying. Platypus is the leader of the Avengers, Vision, this directly affects you because of the Mind Stone. The Sorcerer Supreme for a similar reason. And Ms Potts is one of the most organised human beings that I have _ ever _ met." 

They were all left a little stunned as Tony waved his hand, the wall flickered and the 6 stones came up. Already Stephen was not having a good feeling about this. 

"These, are the Infinity Stones. Very powerful, to be used, they usually require a cradle of some kind or they'll shred you with their power. They, simply put, are the fundamental constants of existence, leftover from the previous universe and multiverse. Someone that has been known to my extended family and friends for some time, and has caused us no end of problems, has decided to up his game. 

"He plans on collecting all 6 to speed up his goal of wiping out 50% of life in the known galaxy." 

Everyone reacted at once, with a similar sentiment-

"What the fuck?!" 

"I never said he was intelligent. The Titan is something much, much worse. He's a fanatic."

Stephen a single thought regarding this-

"Oh fuck." 

You can't argue with fanatics, you can't reason with them. They're rabid in their beliefs, even when insurmountable evidence is against them. _Especially_ when confronted with such evidence.

"But... why?" 

"From what I've been told, he thinks he's _ saving _ the universe from overpopulation Pep, or something. However, it will _really_ fuck the Balance up. It won't just kill 50%, because if the pilot of a plane vanishes, if half the doctors at a hospital vanish, more die. Killing the population will free up food, until it rots on the shelves.

"This will ripple out and will knock our dimension out of alignment. Which means others could be wiped out, we could be wiped out, dimensions could merge, or a whole cluster domino effect can happen." 

"Shit, this keeps getting better and better. Why is he coming _ here _ Tones?"

"The Mind Stone and The Time Stone are on earth. Also, we had The Space Stone for quite a while and humans, being very human, of course. You lot poked at it till it created enough discharge to create some fun weapons. Fury thinks they're disintegration rays or something, they're not, they're teleportation rays without a fixed point. Which, of course, gives off readings that it's still on Earth. Plus, things have a habit of ending up here. Earth is like a magnet. A bright light in the black of the void."

"Fuck."

"Oh, he was behind the battle of New York too." 

"I thought that was Loki?" 

"Nope, mind control." 

"When did you work that out? Also, why does that seem to be behind everything these days?" 

Stark leaned back, scratching his beard with his head tilted as if he was looking at something none of them could see. 

"I had my doubts back then, but I can see it more clearly now. He was a figurehead because the Titan wanted The Space Stone. Wiping out a chunk of humanity the sams time. No idea why its become so popular, but I _ hate _ mind control.."

For a second, the aura around Stark turned dark and heavy, filled with a wealth and depth of anger that he struggled to conceive of, it's like he can _taste_ it, his teeth were even aching under it.. and that thing in the back of his mind is practically screeching at him that danger is here. Then it was completely gone, leaving him lightheaded and Tony was bringing up videos and pictures from the invasion and talking like nothing had happened, while Stephen was pretty sure that was one of the topmost terrifying moments of his damned life. And that included being murdered, repeatedly. He listened, whilst relearning how to breathe, and made a mental note to not be on the other side of that anger. The others had felt nothing it seemed, just sitting there paying attention. Sometimes Stephen cursed his new senses. 

"He got caught much too easily, barely made use of his Seiðr which was very telling, he made a lot of noise about coming to conquer us, opened a tiny window, then went away quite peacefully. Very obvious that _something_ was up, plus friends have been trying to get me to meet Loki for centuries, he's a prankster, not a megalomaniacal overlord. He'd get bored of it in a week." 

"Okay, information overload. But this...this is what you've been talking about for years isn't it?" 

"Yup, I only implant a few things when I '_go mortal'_, but the ability to recognise threats like this in advance is one of them. This time round I obsessed on it to _my_ normal degree, which is fine for me, not really fine for a mortal." 

Colonel Rhodes and Stark bounced off each other leaving him wondering. He remembered that attack, he had been in the hospital, had refused to leave whilst huge beasts swam through the air. That it was for a single stone? That Stark didn't even deem it a _real_ attack? That did not bode well for Earth. 

Or for the fact, he was wearing one around his neck.

It suddenly felt much, much heavier. 

"So, you've known this was coming?"

He attempts to keep out the implications that if he had known, what's being done about it? Wong would be amazed at his diplomacy. 

"Not precisely. When I'm human, I'm literally human. Part of the rules. All I knew was that the attack wasn't the end of it, I could feel it in my bones. I blew up 1 mothership with that nuke, as I fell back and it came apart… I saw more, then the portal closed as I fell. Few people are interested in a threat they can't see, that looks defeated, with only an eccentric genius with PTSD knowing about it."

He winced, that couldn't have been an easy cross to carry. The fact he was casually talking about flying a damned _ nuke _ through a closing portal into _ space _was not disconcerting. Not at all. 

"Right, who wants food? Drinks? We're going to be here a while going over earth defences and what we can do under certain time frames. I won't be informing the UN just yet, I'd like a plan before chaos breaks. The UN and the Accords needs to settle first and we have time."

He had been about to agree to the food until he remembered Wongs annoyingly cryptic words and was torn. His hesitation again should have been insulting, but Stark seemed to find it amusing, whilst his companions were looking at him in confusion. 

"Don't worry Crafty Sorcerer. I'm ordering in. You won't have to worry about that in my lands anyway. All is given freely and without obligation."

"If you give me your orders I will get onto that now." 

"Thanks, FRIDAY." 

"FRIDAY?" 

"She's my AI, helps me out with everything and you'll all be able to access her on your phones, just in case something comes up regarding world-ending drama." 

Before he can say anything about how old his phone was... Tony slid a huge, expensive-looking phone over the table that came to a stop perfectly in front of him. Well, that cleared that up. He made a note to keep his current phone distinctly out of sight. He has a feeling it would greatly offend the man. 

"So, Crafty Sorcerer, are you joining the Avengers?" 

"Why on earth would I do that?" 

"World saving hi-jinks! At least think on it, maybe ask some of the other masters? I could even visit if they wanted, it has been a while. They might want you to join so I don't... Plus, if you join, I'll even lend my services should you need them on your side, only fair after all." 

"I'll think about it." 

"That's all I ask." 

The man looked far, far too smug for something he had little intention of doing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A friend bugged me into going on Tumblr. It has achieved one thing, I now feel old and have no idea what to do on it and have mostly resorted to posting pictures of Loki and Thor. XD


	9. Reapers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony drops some information on Rhodey in a tactful way.
> 
> Ha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hilo my wonderful readers, your comments, likes, bookmarks (yup, I'm sad, I read them too xD) and subscriptions give me life!
> 
> I'm still kinda ill, evil immune system. Happy to get this up, with it being shorter I didn't pass out like a hundred times 😂

**Tony POV **

A very, very long meeting later, that included more hacking of international government servers than his entire education as Tony Stark (which really was saying something). Two more food runs and more than a little magical discussion between himself and Dr Strange, who was starting to come around. Potentially because the Sorcerer wanted access to his Battle Wards, either way, it was amusing... It had been quite a while since he taught a human magic-user how to use some of his more unique Wards. The man had enough raw power to be able to work some of them. He had great potential, he can now see just why Riga spoke so highly of him. He is truly meant to hold change in his hands. Tony has a sense for people who can upset the Balance, but he also a sense for its protectors, and this crafty Sorcerer shines.

He was, however, finally ready to crash on his feet. He might have pushed a little too hard in the first several days here, even with his excess magic, but he'd wanted the place protected and his magic masked. Along with his excess magic build-up used harmlessly and constructively. Healing people didn't help matters, healing was a very taxing form of magic. 

It, however, meant that he _ needed _ to sleep, unfortunately, insomnia was not a trait unique to Tony Stark and it was kicking up a fuss. In fact, his insomnia had leaked through into his mortal life. For him, not sleeping for 5 days might not strictly be healthy, but it wasn't that _bad_. Humans however needed to sleep more often, which had caused him no end of problems whilst he was human. Tony Stark and circadian rhythms were not even remotely acquainted. 

He had bid everyone goodbye, Vision had picked a new room for himself, away from those he had once shared with Wanda. He'd be redesigning the rooms soon anyway and the bots were helping out by collecting his stuff, not that he had much, it was mostly a large selection of disturbing sweaters and cookbooks. Pepper had to get back to SI, she was already running late and Dr Strange had taken a portal back to the Sanctum. 

"Alright Tones, what did you want to talk to me for, because you look like you should be unconscious" 

"I feel it, but I've been trying to work out how to broach this and I might be using exhaustion to my favour.."

"Not ominous. Not ominous at all." 

He dropped into a comfortable chair in the common room, Rhodey joined him and Drest appeared, making his lap her nest. Rhodey was already completely whipped when it came to his familiar. She liked most Reapers, that they carried his Black Fire was part of it. Drest found his magic _comfortable_. She'd actually found several Reapers before him in the past, by sitting on random humans until he found her. She definitely seemed to particularly like his Platypus, she had remained exactly the same size each time he'd seen her. Tony hadn't thought that was possible. 

"It's not a bad thing, it's more of a… choice thing. And a _ 'confusing to explain' _ thing. Back when my people actually visited The Firelands, Earth, more often there was a closer tie between us and humanity. Some of my kind were worshipped and this lead to them becoming... specialists in certain areas. Our magic, then seeded into humanity by the Fire and then it would pool in humans that had _potential_. Mine are called The Reapers." 

"What? Like Death?" 

"No, I'm not Death, I mean, there are loads of Death Gods and Goddesses out there, I'm not one." 

"Do you have a Scythe though? "

"Were getting off-topic…" 

"Oh my god. You totally do, don't you?! Let me see!" 

Tony rolled his eyes and knew that there would be no getting out of this so he summoned the black bladed weapon, slightly amused with the look on Rhodey's face as the very long blade slid into place. He had multiple Reaper blades for himself, but the Scythe had become a signature of sorts in The Firelands. It was imposing, it made people _pause._ Rhodey was immediately drawn to the black blade, just stopping his fingers from running along it, as if just realising what it was. Tony smiled, already attracted to the Black Reaper metal? He had a feeling his Gumdrop would be strong.

"Holy shit. Does this mean you take people's souls or something? Reapers sounds pretty _ deathy._" 

He waved his hand and the Scythe vanished in another flash of Fire. 

"Humans come up with some weird shit, you know? You guys hear one thing, I go away for 10 years and all these weird stories pop up, of me harvesting souls. Mortis especially found it hilarious. So, no, no soul taking, Reapers fight _ threats_. To the _L__and_. To the _Fi__re._ To the _B__alance_." 

"Okay. That sounds a little odd, but cool." 

"There hasn't been a new Reaper called in centuries, I took it to mean the Balance was settling, the realms we're moving away from threats like this and the Fire has been sleeping more over the last few generations. As humanity moved on. For a while, things had been calming down. Maybe the Balance had become more stable. I don't know if it's the Titan, he's definitely risking the balance, or something else, but something has changed, the Fire is strengthening once more, despite humanity's efforts. Now, I've found a person who could be a Reaper. Signs are stacking up, Times are Changing."

"How do you know who can be one?" 

"The magic that pools in them is visible to those it stems from. So, potential Reapers carry my Black Fire inside them. It can be left dormant and bound, or I can awaken and release the Fire, it's your choice. I've been told I'm '_annoyingly'_ protective of people carrying my Fire, personally, I just think others are lazy. Reapers are a type of Highly Enhanced, Gifted human. Abilities are derived from my line, along with a compulsion to keep the Balance. They become 'Of Magic' when they take up the Mantle." 

Rhodey was nodding along, looking thoughtful and he knew he hadn't picked up on it yet. 

"Rhodey. It's you."

"Huh, what?"

"The person I'm talking about is _ you_." 

"Are you sure, because I - Wow." 

He didn't let him finish his sentence and put his hand near his chest, summoning Black Fire which flickered around his fingers, causing Rhodey to look down just as the Black Fire from inside him pushed upwards and out of his sternum. Becoming visible as Rhodey's Fire reached out for his own.

"Holy shit, that's inside me?!?" 

"Yup, completely harmless, however, it explains why you always healed so fast and rarely got drunk enough to be hungover. Even dormant and bound, you are more advanced humans. You could easily reach a step just beneath a Super-Soldier with the correct training. Without even waking the Fire. It is why you survived that fall..." 

"Man, this is so weird. First, you die, de-age and get all magical, now I'm some sort superhuman? That actually solves a few mysteries of my life. Yours too." 

"Yup, other Reapers in the past told me I really suck at this. I mean, I have cousins who do this magically appearing at the strike of midnight. They start a whole spiel about duty and magic and honour whilst floating, glowing and shit… but it's just not me. I am quite lazy at heart. Can you see me doing all that? So, my Reapers started this tradition of writing these journal entries and then magically compiling them into one book. To give new potentials an idea of what is ahead of them."

With flash of Black Fire, Tony handed over a large, leather-bound book. The leather was a deep blue intricate Wardings stitched in Silver combined with Celtic knotwork. His Reapers had put a lot of work into its design and contents.

"Um Tones, I don't even know what language this is in. _Languages_ even… I also think it would be hilarious if you tried to go the mystical route, see if you could keep a straight face." 

Rhodey smirked and that and Tony was pretty sure he'd barely make it through a sentence. 

"Oh, I forgot about that, do you want our version of the all-speak? What the Asgardians use to understand other languages, We didn't give it a fancy name though. I just call it a Translation Ward. Don't tell Pepper. She'd probably want to brand it." 

"Sure. And she totally would you know."

It wouldn't take too long, plus, with Rhodey already carrying the Fire inside him, he was that little bit more susceptible to Tony's magic than most humans, it likely had a hand in the healing going a little awry. The Ward was around an inch tall and wide and it was a Ward he had tweaked himself here and there to keep up with languages as they change. The Asgardians were in serious need to update their All-Speak judging by Thor's manner of speaking. 

Rhodey was looking at it critically as Tony brushed Black Fire over it as it dried. 

"Is this a sneaky way to get us to have matching tattoos? Again?" 

Tony snorted and glanced at his own arms before remembering that he still had his glamour up, as such, all of his Warding was concealed. Rhodey had stayed inside whilst he had been working on the wall and as such, hadn't gotten to see them. He sent a pulse to dispel the glamour on his arms, just the one that gave the illusion that his arms were clear any magic. Start small he figured. Only his hands and forearms were visible, the rest obscured by other glamour's or his clothing. 

"You'd need a few more before you get to my stage. There, done. Now check the book." 

Rhodey just about pulled his attention from the book, obviously amused that he could now read it. He flicked his eyes at his arms, eyes going wide in shock when he registered the Warding, from his fingers to his elbow, there were many Wards interconnected that served many functions. It resembled a sleeve really, but down to his fingers and in a single colour.

"Why did you cover that up anyway?" 

He was very proud of his Wardings, but he had become accustomed to hiding them beneath glamour's. Humans found them odd which made them uncomfortable and Tony was used to altering his attire, appearance and actions to the comfort humans.

"Hmm? It wasn't so much an intentional thing, a habit I guess. Once upon a time, these would have gotten me attacked on sight by Romans..." 

"Well, you don't have to do it here, pretty sure we don't have any Romans hiding in these halls. I'm apparently going to do my homework now. You should go and get some sleep Tones." 

He nodded, it would take him a while to get used to not hiding himself by degrees behind glamour. Even around Rhodey. It was a long-standing issue, but he figured he could try for his Platypus after all. It would be nice, to maybe be himself around others or at least close. He doubted many humans would truly wish him to be himself. It was a nice thought. However, the comfort of _his _people always came first.

He knew that Rhodey needed to think about this alone, it was a lot to dump on a person. Especially in this day and age. In the past, the magic of the land was a given fact, stories of his people were real, and mostly warnings, not cutesy Disney films.

Now, magic belonged to annoying people who tended to blow things up every Tuesday. Finding out magic has chosen you to keep The Balance of the Multiverse in check... Was likely less appealing he supposed, it had been on his shoulders since he was a child, he was used to it. 

Tony headed back to his apartment, this definitely needed refurbishing. The entire living quarters would be reworked. That was work for tomorrow, for now, sleep was definitely on the docket, even though he could feel that his insomnia was still up to no good. He had really hoped that exhausting himself magically would help, the first sleep after The Return always sucked. It was like a memory recap.

He hadn't, however, anticipated that his mother would be sat on the sofa, listening to music via FRIDAY with Cara curled up happily at her feet. Drest immediately trotted over and curled up on top of Cara. 

"Was it really important for you to do that much, just after returning? When was the last time you slept, dear?" 

Tony just dropped down on the sofa next to her, shrugged but not complaining when she manoeuvred his head into her lap. He dropped a hand to brush across Cara's smooth white fur and occasionally catching Drest's silken soft fur too. 

"First sleep always sucks. You like your new home Cara?" 

He got a grumbled reply which most likely meant that he needed to see about getting a nice large fire for his apartment. 

"Hmm, I thought as much, which is why I'm here. Sleep now dear one, I shall watch over your charges as you slumber." 

"Rhodey took it pretty well, I think you'll like him." 

"He seems very loyal, I will reveal myself to him at some point. Especially when he chooses to embrace your Fire and take the Mantle. I see great power in his future." 

"He might not, you never know for sure." 

"Mhmm. Of course dear. Now, sleep, restore and replenish, I shall guard the gates of your mind against the ghosts your past." 

He would have said something more, but the calm music and fingers carding through his hair dragged him into a calm, dreamless sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did the Tumblr thing, if you want cutesy pics of Loki and Thor xD (my fuzzbuts.)
> 
>   
[My Tumblr](http://corvixa.tumblr.com/)  



	10. Blue Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen and Rhodey both considering their place in the chaos driven world

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is extremely easy to write due to the chapter sizes, it also has developed a freaking ton of chapters, even if I'm dropping 3 a week. So, I hope everyone likes long fics as much as I do because it's all I can write xD There is actual plot to!

**Stephen POV **

He had honestly expected the masters at the Kamar Taj to be profoundly unimpressed with this idea of joining the Avengers. Especially as it included signing an Accords contract, which, for a group that had hidden in the shadows for generations, it seemed unlikely they'd want to out themselves to the UN.

The parting words Stark had called out as he had stepped through the portal had stayed with him; however, '**Times are Changing**'.

The only real comment he received was - 

"He owes you a favour, does he not? You could use it to help with your contract?" 

They were however intent that he be involved with this issue regarding the Infinity Stones, which likely meant aligning himself with the Avengers. He was Sorcerer Supreme, so he did not technically _have_ to heed their requests, but he had kept the council active after he had been named Sorcerer Supreme as he thought it was a better system than one person ruling overall.

Plus, despite The Ancient One's plans, despite their confidence and despite Stephen's confidence in himself, it hadn't even been a year since the crash, let alone since he stumbled into Kamar Taj. He learned fast, he took that drive for perfection from medical school and had applied it tenfold, he even studied as he slept. Even so, he still felt _ painfully _ new to already have saved the world once and to be already facing down a universe destruction level event. No, a multiverse destruction level event. Part of him wanted to hand this over to someone more experienced, a more significant part of him could not tolerate that idea; he _had_ to be involved. He _couldn't_ stand idly by.

He should have known really, how vital Earth was, given how it was protected in comparison to other places he'd been. He just hadn't truly thought about it before, discovering Earth was not so much the centre of the universe or any such twaddle, but rather a Balance point? That to knock it out of alignment just a little, that it wasn't only earth or humanity at stake. It was all the branches of Yggdrasil surrounding it, then the rest of the universe which spread out and, which was ostensibly littered with life of many different flavours. All the dimensions and realms attached to this world, of which there were much more he has first conceived.

All of that could suffer if the one measly little planet, that likely wasn't advanced enough to be a blip on all those other worlds radars, was knocked out of alignment. Earth was probably considered a tiny backwater planet, and yet... So much ended up here. In all his research, he was yet to find another world that attracted dimensions, portals and the like to the same level Earth had. What made this planet so unique? Why was it the Balance point of the multiverse?

Stephen was convinced this was an utterly stupid system. 

He summoned a portal that once again dropped him outside of the walls of the Avengers compound and found himself gritting his teeth. He was going to have to look into that, there must be a way around it, in a thoroughly professional way, of course, and he wanted to know dammit.

Stephen knew now, that Tony would likely tell him if he asked, that the man was surprisingly free with his knowledge, except for that of his species. That there were rules apparently that governed how he could tell people things like that and that it was merely easier if he found out on his own. Stephen couldn't tell he was winding him up not. He said that he would tell him in a second, but that he would be highly amused if Stephen worked it out himself. Stark had also said that he doubted Stephen would even believe him unless he came to the answer alone.

Anything else? Stark was happy to teach, his eyes lit up and shifted in shimmering bright golden hues any time Stephen asked a question. He got the feeling that it had been some time since he had had the opportunity to teach, that it was something that he enjoyed, prided himself on.

Stephen had never been one to gather friends easily. His personality was off-putting. This was not helped of course by the fact Stephen did nothing to mitigate this. Stark seemed not to care about any of that. He offered knowledge in trade for good conversation. Something that Stephen always longed himself, to speak to an intellectual and magical equal was something he quietly wanted but never honestly expected to find. If anything, Stark seemed to enjoy the that he put others off him.

There was also the fact that he was also revelling in the challenge aspect, something that he suspected Stark knew, so his portals continued to drop him outside. He was also hopeful in a way.

Even if the smug bastard somehow predicted that he would be recommended to join The Avengers.

FRIDAY pulled him from his thoughts as she directed him to a beautiful garden, that looked as if it had been there for centuries, it had a strange, almost ancient feel to it. Which was impossible, the compound was relatively new. It had been a warehouse before. He doubted this garden had been part of the Compound until recently.

He followed a twisting path through what looked to be a maze. Thanking FRIDAY profusely as without her, he'd be lost. He passed many different hedges, with different plants entwined perfectly. He was not a botanist, but he felt pretty confident that not all of the flowers or shrubbery he passed were from Earth. The closer he got to what he assumed was the middle, green began to give way to a myriad of colours that somehow we're complementary and not a mess of colour and scent. He had never seen so many flowers in such a small space before, the scents of some that he passed were strong and strange enough that he was very confident now in that many of these were not of Earth. One plant he passed, for instance, sported purple and black blooms. They were vibrant, beautiful with seven petals in the shape of a star. The centre was silver that glimmered in an opalescent manner. They also _followed_ him as he passed them.

He found Tony centre of the maze. He was sitting on the grass next to a man sitting on a large stone, wearing what looked to be biker leathers, at a guess he would say the man was Native American. Stark somehow spotted him first, raising a hand in greeting. The startling part was the fact that his back was to him. The other man lifted his head, giving him a sharp-toothed smile before hopping off the stone with surprising grace and then ambling towards what he swore was a dense hedge, yet he disappeared into it in a fluttering of yellow petals. A portal perhaps? 

“I hope I didn't interrupt?"

"Nah, he was about to head on his way, we were just catching up, come, sit!"

"Ah, someone you knew from _ before _ then?"

"Mmhmm, this land is closer to living on his territory, even though I've felt some connections here already, odd as it may be. I didn't want to be rude."

"Funny, I thought you were very good at being rude."

"Ooh. Snarky. Well, I am. Even I have enough sense not to be a dick to someone like Coyote in his own backyard. Anyway, I believe you have some news for me!"

"Yes, the general consensus is that joining would be wise, but there are concerns regarding the contract and secrecy of the order." 

"Hmm, they wish you to use your favour, yes? Well, you don't have to do that. Count it as payment for joining. We'll work it out. I've already started the groundwork on fixing the mess left behind." 

"Then it looks like I'm an Avenger, what favour do you mean?" 

"For rescuing my friend." 

Stark gestures to his back, the cloak perked up and waved over his shoulder. He had completely forgotten about that. It felt strange to ask for something in return for doing something that has benefited him so much. He spoke of debts, favours and payments as if they were physical things and he couldn't quite get his mind around the concept. Stark threw any further questions by shocking him again. It seemed the man _lived_ for shocking him. 

He was running his hand back and forth in the grass, which was fine. A little odd, but okay. It was Stark, the man was odd, seeing him _not_ doing something peculiar would be the anomaly.

However, this time it wasn't him that startled Stephen. It was the sudden sparks of blue energy that got his attention. All of his senses lit up the sight of this strange energy. This was something of great importance.

"What is that?" 

"Hmm, you can see it? Interesting. Strange too, with how you Sorcerers draw your magic from the universe, and not _ this _ land, don't you think?" 

He had a feeling Stark was testing him for something. It seemed he was doing well so far at least. At least he wasn't insufferable like Wong, Stark framed things as ordinary conversations, and Stephen always walked away with an inordinate amount of new information. Some times it was hours later before he realised.

Stephen had never been a good student. Oh, he was the top of every class and excelled at anything he put his mind too, but teachers from kindergarten to his PhD, as a rule, hated him. Again, Stephen put little effort into being well-liked which likely did not help the matter. Stark didn't seem to care about any of that. He was simply pleased to share knowledge with someone eager to learn. Always in a way that Stephen took in without becoming bored or frustrated. Stark also seemed to _like_ his abrasive personality. Not merely tolerate it.

"There is a difference?" 

"Oh yes, Earth is very special. Remember, it has the Blue Fire. That is why many call this 'The Firelands'. It attracts many, but those who can even see it properly are few, those who can call it? Fewer still. Those who can wield it, now they are exceptionally scarce."

He had known that this energy was significant the second he saw those first blue sparks, the extent of it was still startling.

"The Blue Fire is unique to this world, breathed directly into its veins, the blood of the world, by the fabulous beasts... It is the same in every version of Earth. It bleeds through the barriers.

"It's what attracted my people, our entire realm. It's what attracted so many pantheons. Do you know how many religions this one small planet has had since there were people to worship them? Far too many, many more than much larger, much older worlds. Worlds with trillions of people over many myrietes don't even have a tenth of the what this planet lured in from the dark. The territories here are staked and ruthlessly guarded due to how many traversed the void just to come here. Now, watch." 

Stephen had not really thought about the amount of religions Earth had had before; it was just a fact, surely. Earth had many cultures that tend to have their own religions. The Norse pantheon actually turning out to be _ real _ and _aliens_ should have started him thinking about all the others, about why humanity seemingly sucked them in. That territory was mapped out, oh he would certainly be returning to this topic.

Stark repeated the motion along the ground again, and this time, the blue light… The Blue Fire rather followed his hand eagerly. It built up steadily with each pass until it was practically climbing his hand, slipping around his fingers in an almost… playful manner as it wrapped around his wrist. Now there was so much of it. He could see the flames.

After it had built up a little, Stark glanced up to check that he was still watching, then he pushed his hand into the grass abruptly. Stephen felt the pulse beat in his bones as he watched the Fire skate off in 3 different directions. Blue Fire was rippling away, and that is when he recognises what it is. That the Ancient One had been teaching him about the Fire without saying it was Fire. Did she know he would meet Stark?

"Ley lines?" 

"Mhmm, even as a human, I tend to gravitate towards them. So, many of my properties around the world are on them. Usually at convergences like this. More so this time around given Tony Stark's resources. Pretty handy for me really." 

It was immensely peculiar to hear a person discussing themselves in such a way, but somehow, it didn't seem out of place at all. He'd only really known the man a short time, but he had a pretty good sense of him. Well, of what Stark showed him. Stephen suspected there was much to him beneath the surface. Things like why he felt like a predator his mind, how his aura fluctuated and flickered out of his scope of human sight. 

Stephen slipped down from his perch to the ground, sitting on the grass as he pushed out his senses as he laid his hand on the ground, but not coming up with much. Maybe because of the difference in their magic?

"Here, it takes a long time to learn to call it. The Fire has to get to know you first. It has to _want_ to answer. Like you're knocking the door at someone's house. If they like you and are friends, they're more likely to respond in comparison to a door to door salesperson. 

"Even for the few of my people who can possibly touch it without burning up. All humans carry a little Fire, so it is safer for them than people from other realms. But even people whose magic stems from it, which has always been very rare, they still have to work for it. The Blue Fire is very picky about who it will even speak to. It takes offence easily, and it will make you work for it. It has a brilliant, vibrant personality. It will be a best friend too you if you let it. Loyal, will never abandon you when you need it."

He considered asking how long it took him to learn this but decides he's probably better off not knowing, there is a degree of _familiarity_ when Stark talks of the Fire, that speaks of a much deeper connection, he's sure of it. How he looks almost reverent when the Blue Fire slips over his skin. How the Fire _feels_ happy when it wraps around his wrist. How he talks about it, as if the Fire has been a constant companion.

That his own magic displays as Black Flame has him wondering too.

That this Fire somehow has a personality is extraordinary.

"The Blue Fire has a few names, but it is The Lifegiver. The Worldfire. The Fire of The Balance."

Stark swiped his hand back and forth a few more times, the Fire quickly, almost eagerly answering his call this time. Leaping up his fingers to circle his wrist. He got the sense somehow that The Blue Fire was happy to have him back. This time he held it in his hands, cupped as it pooled there and glanced pointedly at Stephen again. 

He hesitated for barely a second before impulsively pulling off his gloves to get a better sense. He expected a familiar look of pity aimed his way when Stark saw his scars, but instead he just got an understanding smile, not something he was used to. He wondered what scars Stark was carrying to have that sense of understanding and quiet acceptance that instantly relaxed Stephen.

It was worth it too, as Stark moved the Fire close to his hands. He then paused, and Stephen was unsure why, until the Fire slipped from Stark's hand to his on its own volition. Unquestionably an entity of some kind. He had expected Stark to pass the fire to him.

Stephen waited, letting The Fire get to know him, not rushing it. He was rewarded after around 30 seconds when it began moving, twisting around his shaking fingers happily, before wrapping around his wrist. Stark's exclamation of shock barely registered as suddenly he could _feel_ The Fire. It didn't mind that his hands shook which was an incredible feeling on its own.

The Blue Fire was like pure, vibrant, beautiful energy, so very _different_ from the energy he drew upon. Invigorating, he'd go as far to call it life-affirming. It felt both new, incredible, yet comfortable too, like home. 

"That.. is very different." 

"You should see it at sunrise at certain convergences and standing stones, at least back in Britain. I've yet to search this land properly, bar this convergence.

"I know you don't understand it yet, but I can see why she wanted you to take after her. She spoke about you often, you know. How you would arrive thinking you knew everything, but when you realised you didn't, that you'd completely dedicate yourself with a passion that was utterly, preciously rare. The Fire did not take to Riga half as well in the beginning as it just took to you." 

He blinked a few times, that she had known for so long what he would be like? He hadn't considered that, even to this day he wondered about why he was chosen, he'd barely been around for minutes compared to others at Kamar Taj. Stark seemed just to _know_ the direction of his thoughts somehow.

"I've only met two Sorcerers who can even see the Blue Fire well enough to one day, maybe learn to call it, to manipulate it and care for it. That's the duty of anyone who can touch the Fire. We _must_ care for it Stephen because it could run out. Those two Sorcerers? You are one of them. She was the other, and you are much, much more sensitive to my magic. Which means you are more sensitive to the Blue Fire, you could have the ability to manipulate multiple forms of magic, more than what you've been taught. It makes you very powerful." 

Oh. Okay, that sounded like a pretty good reason. No pressure, though. 

"It also took Riga 16 years to get to where you are now with the Blue Fire. I know because I don't just care for the Fire, I don't just work with it."

Stephen blinked at the flickering Blue Fire in his hand, and he realised he didn't need to be told to care for this precious Flame. He wanted too.

"Do you know about the mantles of power. How a becomes the personification of something?"

"A little."

"Well, I am Blue Fire. I am the first and only being to be offered a mantle from the Blue Fire. I am the personification of it. Do you trust me? I can show you."

"Yeah, I do. How can I see, your aura is confusing enough?"

"Close your eyes."

He felt Stark's hand cover his eyes as he closed them, feeling a warmth before he pulled away.

"That will last around 10 minutes."

When he opened his eyes, everything was the same but different too. He could see the lines of Blue Fire in the grass without the Fire lightning them up. He could see a little spark in everything around him. He couldn't see Stark anymore, in his place was a tremendous torrent of flickering Blue Fire in hues that ranges from the colours of Stark's tattoos to bright white. 

When he had said that he was the personification of Fire, when he had read about mantles, Stephen had thought it was mostly symbolic. This was not symbolic, Stark literally was the Blue Fire, and it was remarkable. At his heart, we're two other Fires, the Black Flame of the man's magic, twinned with White Fire. Which if he had read the correct source, it was The Purifying Flame. He did not know the purpose of the Black Flame, but he knew this was an intensely powerful Triad of Fire. It also told him that his assumptions of Stark's power level was so far off, that it was almost funny.

It also warmed something in him. That the man who was Blue Fire, thought that he could one day learn to work with it.

**Rhodey POV**

Things had been pretty crazy lately, the whole Civil War had devolved so fast that they just couldn't keep putting out fires without ten more appearing. Then he'd fallen. It had always been a possibility. He knew it going into the airforce that there were chances of injury someday down the line. Just seeing Tones after a battle showed him that the armour didn't leave you injury-free. He was still shocked when it happened, though. As much as he'd always known it was a possibility, it had blindsided him. 

It had also meant he was trapped in that stupid bed when Tony went missing and he was unable to do _ anything_. He had hated himself at that moment. He cursed his body, and he'd prayed to any God or Goddess willing to listen to him for _something, _hell_, anything_ to let him be able to be at his brother's side once more.

Then he was waking up to a freaky, young Tony, to discover that he had been fully healed and de-aged, that had been crazy. For days he'd been scared that he would wake up back in that bed. This all being a fever dream, Tony still lost. He might have hugged him even harder on those nights. Tony always seemed to just _know _too. He stayed up with him until dawn each time.

Watching Tony do amazing things with _Earth Magic_, stone moving in ways stone really shouldn't be moving, magic or whatever it was, either way_,_ it was _ weird_. It had looked like he summoned the outside damned wall out of nowhere. Sure, he then had a lecture that creating something from nothing was an exhausting practice and really what he was doing was pulling it from his other home. To him though, it just looked like Tony magicked up a big ass shiny wall and smacked it down around the compound. Tony didn't even mention where the vast bloody forest came from. Or how it was much larger than it looked.

Oh, and he kind of had a cat now. Apparently. Tony's cat would appear and demand to be carried around several times a day and he'd woken up more than once to her sleeping on his chest. Greeted by a cold nose pressed against his own... Tony had explained her name to him, Riot. Which was odd as she was such a small, sweet little thing. 

This fanatic titan did put a little bit of a bummer on things, but he figured that they had time. It was also what brought him back to this book. It was more of a diary than a book, written by many different people. All the different languages had become English, which was handy as he could tell that the first pages were ancient. The entries he was currently reading was of 6 different people discussing the same battle. The Battle of Magh Tuireadh. 

After that, it jumped to a completely different set of events. He's not sure if that meant it went well or not. He assumed it went well, considering humanity made it to the 21st century after all. Not being horribly enslaved and tortured. Reading something someone wrote hundreds and hundreds of years ago, heck, thousands, is pretty trippy and yet… their random notes of Tony left him thinking that he hasn't precisely changed much. Taking people in and making them family. Taking on too many duties himself. Doing stupid shit and nearly getting himself killed, surviving by the skin of his teeth. Very _Tony_. 

He'd love to say that he decided to take Tony up on his offer because of the fight. He'd love to say it was because of the promise he made to a nameless deity, that after reading this diary, he realises that someone might have _actually_ listened to him and gave him his wish. He'd love to say it was to defeat the bad guy, to fight for the greater good or even just because having powers seemed pretty cool.

Although there was no preset powers, apparently, everyone tended to be different. The abilities came from Tony's line, which evidently included freaking shape-shifting! Yeah, they were going to be talking about that! 

What he actually cared about was being with his friend, with his brother. It was why he'd joined the Avengers. To make a difference and help Tony from taking everything on himself. To fight by his side. Not that it wasn't slightly nerve-wracking, to join the ranks of people going back millennia, who had been fighting and saving people for thousands of years. It was daunting, but the choice itself? That was easy when it came down to it.

He'd follow that man anywhere.

He'd walk with him into hell and drag his ass back out.

"FRIDAY. Tell Tony I need to see him." 

"Of course, Colonel Rhodes." 


	11. Planning Stages

**Peter POV**

Peter had kept his head down since he had gotten back from Germany, although he had kept an ear to the news. There had been no sightings of Ironman or Tony Stark in three _weeks, _and he was starting to get concerned. The other Avengers had broken out of jail and had gone on the run!

Captain America was a _ fugitive_, on the _ run_!

With no mention of Mr Stark after they became fugitives, he was starting to worry. Not that it was his place to worry, Mr Stark probably had plenty of way more important people to about him. Peter couldn't help it though. These people were meant to be Mr Stark's friends. His family! Yet, they had not held back. Mr Stark's side had wanted to take everyone in safely, the others had been brutal, especially with poor Mr Rhodes.

So Peter was concerned. In his opinion, Mr Stark needed more friends like Mr Rhodes, or Ned and MJ! Not like Captain America. Who he had once looked up too. His callous disregard for Mr Stark after Mr Rhodes fell? That had snapped something inside Peter. Using it to escape, that was simply wrong. You don't leave friends like that, even if you are arguing.

He swung in through his bedroom window, utterly distracted by the park path his thoughts had taken and nearly yelped when he realised he was not alone. Before he had a chance even to think, a hand closed over his mouth to stop him. Oddly his spider senses remained completely calm, that was when he saw it was Mr Stark. 

Mr Stark! 

He grinned and backed off, letting go of Peter, who was brimming with excitement because he was fine! If anything he looked significantly better than he had back when they'd first met. Actually... A lot better. 

"Mr Stark! Oh my god, Mr Stark, is in my room! Also, you look much better than you did back when we were in Germany. Uh. I mean, it's not that you looked _ bad _in Germany, so to speak, but now you look different! Younger too. Not that you were old before. And I'm shutting up now."

"Kid, breathe, it's fine. I just wanted to apologise for bringing you into that situation and offer you that internship, but for real. I can even tell you why I suddenly look different if you want."

How Peter didn't squeal and wake up everyone in a 30-mile radius, he didn't know, but it was a damned achievement. 

"Really?! That would be amazing!"

"Sure, I've got Peps writing up some paperwork. I'm going to be having a press conference in a few weeks explaining a made for TV version of what happened to me. I like you kid, and thought you'd like to know first. You came and helped me when I needed it. That kind of thing is incredibly important to me."

He'd be lying if he wasn't intrigued as to what had happened and the fact that Mr Stark valued _ him! _Him!

"That's amazing, th-"

Before he could say anything, Mr Stark started talking, and he was baffled. 

"OK, so, I'm not human."

He was pretty sure Mr Stark was human...

"Huh!?" 

"I was human, but after the airport_,_ I got into another fight that had less favourable outcomes with our dear Captain Spangles. It resulted in me sort of _ 'dying'_, but to me, dying meant I got my memories and powers back." 

Peter just blinked for a second before actually properly looking at Mr Stark and realising that he did look really different, and there were blue lines of the back of his hands vanishing into his sleeves. His eyes looked different too. He wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed that! 

"I can't believe you died!" 

In a fight with Captain America. If Peter wasn't mad before, now he was fuming.

"I only technically died, but it's okay, I do it all the time, why does everyone focus on that? I'm all better and much healthier than before. Usually_,_ I wouldn't stick around _ 'after'_, but there is something big coming this way. I know you kid, you won't stay out of it, so you need to train. I also want to place you under my protection." 

Mr Stark stayed for about an hour sorting things out around his schedule, and Peter still couldn't quite wrap his head around the fact that he had _ died _ and then came back looking younger.

The way he occasionally discussed humans was also bizarre. 

He was dying to find out more, but he wasn't sure how to go about asking. Surely it was rude to enquire upon a person's species?

It didn't take away from the fact that Mr Stark had somehow broken in into his bedroom, however. He talked himself into it and managed to ask how he got in as he was about to leave. Me Stark had just grinned, wide and Peter was sure he flashed what looked like fangs! Peter didn't get a chance to question that before Mr Stark vanished in a burst of Black Flame that caused him to yelp and fall off his bed. 

Luckily Aunt May didn't hear. 

**Tony POV**

Tony Firewalked back to his apartment, feeling pretty damned good after talking to the kid and laying about an hours worth of warding and protection charms whilst Peter had been out on patrol. It would do, for now. His powers slipped back into place comfortably after he left the threshold. The fatigue of casting on less power seeped away. He had enough power that Thresholds were not such a big deal to him as they were to others, but he still didn't like being cut off from his own reserves.

The kid was far too young to be a full-time Avenger, but he knew people like Peter, that wouldn't stop him from getting into all kinds of trouble, and if he brought him into the fold, he could do his best to mitigate it. Or at least teach the kid ways of dealing with it. His kind had a thing when it came to kids. They were to be protected, guided and guarded. Peter had already been forced to grow up fast. Tony would fight for Peter to retain and enjoy what was left before he was forced to grow up again because Peter's current trajectory was certainly aiming in that direction. He would work to negate that now he was officially _his._

The Accords were coming along nicely now too, the Raft and a few leaked documents here and there had removed his little Ross problem. There was also the fact he was working at 100% now rather than running on empty, the fact he was okay with being a little more ruthless also helped. His contracts packed a little more punch. He had apparent and defined goals.

Things were going well. Stark Industries had launched five new green initiatives, and he had his subsidiaries working on a few more, he'd also slid himself into a few other companies with a few choice words and deals. 

After he had his 'I'm alive' press conference, he could start approaching people to become New Avengers. Start up his Recruitment Drive.

When the Titan came, it was unlikely that he'd come alone. So, he needed a team to deal with that as he'd be preoccupied. With Rhodey at his side, which was a delightful, unexpected change to his plans. 

He and Thanos had been battling for millennia, and they occasionally won battles against each other, but their power also seemed to increase in line with each other. Leaving the fights at unsatisfactory draws where Tony had had to content himself with ruining the Titans plans. Tony had plateaued power-wise not long after he gained his sword. As such, Thanos gathering the gems did not comfort him. Rhodey had turned out to be more potent than his Reapers were, just out of the gates and he could call fire. Tony hoped this might tip the scales, that maybe they could end this dance. Too many had died already by Thanos' _words, hands _or_ deeds._

So Tony had hopes that this time would be different. Times were changing, after all. 

The chances of luring his people directly into the fight were sketchy at best, and he wouldn't be able to control them after, so he needed forces. Forces of Earth.

His excellent mood stuttered slightly when he walked into the main room of his apartment to find his mother and Pepper drinking tea together. Because _ that _ was a terrifying sight if ever had he seen one, and he had seen a lot. He has a feeling that they are waiting for him, and idly considers fleeing.

"I hope I'm not interrupting?" 

"Of course not dear." 

"I came to drop off that contract for your intern and remind you that you need to come out the UN with your abilities before you do the world, and that we think you should release the video." 

He dropped into the armchair next to them and thunked his head into his hands. Pepper levelled him with the look. One his mother matched with an eerie degree of precision. He should have fled.

"OK. I get some of that. I'll call the UN later and tell them the spiel."

Waving his hands, gesturing to explain what he planned without having to explain, luckily they were both familiar with this trait as his human-self had kept it.

Writing what to say had been quite complicated given his restrictions, he couldn't tell them the whole truth, they'd instantly be wary of him if they knew how old or powerful he was. If they knew his names or titles, they would likely fear him. The Norse Pantheon had given everyone the impression that the Gods were quirky Aliens, fundamentally not understanding the strength power Thor or Loki could wield. That he was both older and stronger than the young princes would likely not go down well. So he had just glossed over that entirely.

Running that line of truth, yet _without_ terrifying the humans was interesting, and not one that he'd had to do to before such a large group before. It was quite fun; however, that kind of game was something his kind enjoyed very much.

"And the video." 

"Pep, Mom, is it _truly _necessary_?" _

Having both of them stare at him with such similar looks on their faces was not_ at all _ terrifying. When did humans start to become such forces in their own right? He finds himself rather proud. He always liked humans, so much potential in those short, short lives. No matter how his kin deride them, they were inexplicably drawn to the Fragile Creatures. Stealing them away was practically his kins nationwide hobby. Never something he partook in himself, he found enough discarded humans back home and gave then sanctuary. There was no need to pilfer the larder of the Fixed Lands.

"I believe this is a wise course of action." 

"Why is that?" 

"Just because you were human when you were left to die, it doesn't change that you were betrayed and _ left to die. _ If you do not find a way to punish him, if you let this _ Steve _ off for his betrayal and abandoning someone in the field, _ 'others' _ will. Darling, you are well-loved, you know this. Many watch your human lives, this last one was particularly unkind, and I find myself angry. I am not alone." 

Ah fuck. Tony hadn't really thought of that. Mother wasn't the Patroness of Revenge for fluffy reasons. There were others who may get involved too. Many found his work in the cycles to be pointless, but many also knew it was important. Rogers had done a number of rather awful things, but to his kind? Many of his actions were capital crimes.

Hopefully releasing the video would help sate anyone's drive for vengeance for now. 

As far as Tony was concerned, if he couldn't see them, he tended to care very little. Not all of his people were the same, and an excuse to have some fun? Oh, many would jump at the chance to play.

"OK, yeah, you're right. I'll have FRIDAY leak it. Is that acceptable?"

"For now. This little parcel here might have pushed my hand."

Tony froze as he took the box from his Mother, great, Rogers had actually found a way of actually pissing him off without being on the same fucking continent. That was fairly impressive, and he didn't miss the anger snapping in his mothers' aura. Sometimes Tony forgot that she watched him through the cycles, many were hard, his line of work rarely attracted an easy life, but Tony Stark had become the derided whipping boy. Little care or regard given to his severe PTSD, used, mocked and isolated. Attacked for lying when Rogers was hiding the knowledge of parents murder, all to end in Siberia with Vibranium to the chest, left behind to die, without a glance, after yet another betrayal by a man who often quoted, 'No man left behind.'

His Mother was white-hot with rage, even if she was sat calm, drinking tea. His face was carefully blank, but his Fire was waiting.

It took him a few seconds to read the letter, and the rage he'd felt in Siberia was back, but this time it wasn't just the rage of a 40 something human. It was so far beyond that as a glacier is to an ice cube.

A humans rage could never compare to that of his kind, who felt emotions keenly and explosively. It was a blessing and a curse, for they felt good emotions with such range and all-encompassing depth too. Earths Natural disasters better described their rage. A volcano that tears a wound in the rock, fire and ash, chaos and madness. Molten stone and earthquakes. Tornadoes and brutal lightning storms. The Earths fury was theirs, which was why they had to maintain control.

His rage and Fire mixed and blended with his mother's. Twin Fires pushing each other higher as the fireplace behind then reacted to the raw power in the room. The quiet flames grew to a white-hot inferno that Pepper watched in fascination.

Pepper also managed to snag the letter before he accidentally torched it and tucked it away in her bag. The phone, however, was turned to sludge in his hand, and he kept it up until there was nothing left. His mother waved a hand, clearing the smell from the room. He packed his rage down and decided to press on. He couldn't afford to let that slip, not now, definitely not on this plane. 

"I need to call T'Challa too, offer healing for Barnes mind..."

His mother smiled, but Pepper was less impressed, a little stunned at Tony's abrupt shift from anger to this, but also pretty angry herself. The letter and phone had evidently irritated her, but they were from Rogers, not Barnes. He hadn't explained why staying angry wasn't quite ideal for him yet either. Tony hadn't even had a chance to reveal the disparity between their emotions yet. So, she still was just seeing him as Baseline Human Tony Stark. With a power upgrade. Soon they would understand that whilst he could play human, fundamentally he was of a different species.

"Tony, he was there too!" 

"Wasn't his fault Pep, if I'm releasing this video, straight after we need to sort out something to protect him from negative reactions to it, I've already got lawyers on his case. I owe that man a debt." 

"Lady Pepper, from what I have seen, and I have seen much. The Winter Soldier does not deserve more suffering." 

Pepper seemed to mull it over a little but still didn't exactly look happy with it. If he'd still been human, he suspected he would be on her side of the equation. The divide in their species meant they saw things through different lenses.

Plus, his mother had a thing for warriors, and the Winter Soldier was precisely the kind of mortal she would be interested in. Survivors were like tempered steel to his family. Hardened by a hammer that regularly shattered those it struck. He favoured Survivors. The Winter Soldier easily could fall under either of their preview.

"Fine, I'll guess I'll get right on that, and the other million things we have going right now." 

"Thanks, Pep, you're the best."

"Xavier got back to us too." 

"Oh Brilliant, is he going for it?" 

"Yes, he said it's very devious, it'll get the Accords where we want them via the people who called for them in the first place, whilst of course, being good for the environment."

Tony smirked, everything was coming along nicely. 

"Let's start bringing people in."


	12. Recruitment Drive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony has got himself a list and a mission.

**Tony POV**

He'd been having a productive time of it lately, but he couldn't quite afford to slow down just yet, no matter how much he wanted to curl up in front of the fire.

"Fry, who are we after first today?" 

"You were going to visit Pym Tech first, but an alert on the Eddie Brock file has just come up and he was caught on CCTV." 

"Show me." 

He watched the man, or rather man and symbiote for a few seconds.

"Damn, he just straight up ate that guys head, this real time Fry?" 

"Sure is Boss." 

He shrugged and switched his clothes to something more respectable and stepped through the fire into the alleyway that the man was currently stood in, seemingly having an argument with himself. 

"Hi!" 

"Holy fuck, where did you just come from?" 

Tony pointed at the patch of wall he'd appeared from. 

"There. _ Soooo _. Why are you on Earth?" 

"What do you mean don't answer him? He just appeared out of a fucking wall like magic… No I will not eat him, we've had this discussion!" 

"I'd probably give him indigestion anyway. So, Eddie Brock, what's his name?" 

"Umm." 

"Right, this is probably a bit weird?" 

"Tony Stark appearing out of a flaming wall of fire to chat with me in an alley over a dead person. Surprisingly, that isn't even in the top 10 these days. Would you be quiet! Of course he's not a- they're not _ real _ ! No, he's human! A very _ rich _ , _ powerful _ human!" 

Aw. He was going to blush at this rate. He scratched his beard thoughtfully. It seemed like an isolated case, not a precursor to an invasion. That could be exceptionally handy. 

"I suppose life with a symbiote can get rather odd. Want to come and be an Avenger?" 

Eddie however was looking at him like he was crazy. 

"Uh.." 

"It will cover food for your buddy too, chocolate?" 

Eddie glanced down at the chocolate bar in utter confusion before Venom apparently decided to take over and snagged said chocolate bar. 

"Haven't heard of your kind being active in many yearss.." 

"Circumstances change, annoying Titans, you know the drill. Food is included in the package, give this to Eddie for me will you. Looking forward to having you both on the team!" 

A human who could work with a symbiote was very interesting and he wasn't risking someone else getting there before him. 

"Venom. I am Venom." 

"Awesome, I'll be seeing ya!" 

He smiled and stepped back into the fire and grabbed his list to see who was next. 

* * *

"WHAT THE FUCK" 

"Hi, Hope Van Dyne?" 

"I repeat. What. The. Fuck. How did you get in here?!" 

"Pictures of your office online, big sign at the front door inviting anyone in. Easy peasey."

Tony dropped himself down on the chair in front of her desk. Tossing two thick stacks on paper onto her desk. Kicking his feet up on the desk and tilting the chair back on two legs as Hope stared at him in confusion. 

"So, want to talk about how we save Pym Tech from its inevitable demise and you joining the Avengers?" 

Lang had done most of the property damage at Leipzig-Halle single handedly. Pym tech was being utterly roasted for it. 

"Uh.." 

"Come on. Your suit is _ way _ cooler than Lang's." 

It really was, the videos he'd nabbed off Pyms servers were brilliant. Tony always took someone hacking him as a blanket invitation onto their servers after all. Pym was _always_ trying to hack him and steal his tech. Pym had this whole rivalry thing in his mind, Tony already had a scientific rival he hated, thank you very much. 

"What is _ happening _ right now?" 

"Your Hail Mary pass." 

He shot her a grin with a little _ too much _ teeth as she grudgingly sat down to look through the contracts he'd tossed her way. They were actually quite kind, he could get quite… _ brutal _ when it came to contracts. 

_Occupational_ _hazard_. 

He'd made an effort however, and suspected it would be appreciated, Pym Tech was on thin ice after '_ Little/Big? Man' _and ripe for the taking. It had taken considerable restraint. 

* * *

"Where is the Bruce Tracker right now Fry? Pictures too, please." 

Humming at the pictures and location, he'd definitely need a few short cuts for this trip. He firewalked his way there, skating along the Blue Fire before exiting. Glancing at the middle of nowhere-esque village Bruciebear was in this time before strolling through like a man who knew where he was going. 

It's amazing how few people bother you if you look like you know where you're going. Even if he looked almost _ painfully _ out of place. He kept an eye out, looking around before spotting the man putting clothes on a line outside a tiny hut. 

"Brucie-Bear!" 

"Wha-TONY?!" 

"That's me, How are ya doing buddy?" 

"Urr, I'm okay? What.. What are you doing here, are the.. Are the others here? Is.. She here?"

"Wow. You are like… _ Super _ behind on the news. The Avengers went _ Boom _, they're international fugitives. I'm putting my own band together and wanted to extend an invitation to my favourite lab partner!" 

He grinned and handed over supplies for Bruce to fly himself home, which he took tentatively, really looking at Tony now. Hulk was probably keying the man into his changes, he had always been much more sensitive. Bruce, whilst having amazing powers of observation in the lab, was one of the most oblivious humans on the planet. 

"Tony.. Uh, what happened, you feel.. look.." 

"Different?" 

"Yeah, but the same." 

"I got the nearly dying makeover package! Anyway, I'm on a schedule and I have to run, everything is here if you want to come home." 

"Thank you? Wait. You nearly died!“

"Think about it as incentive to come home, I'll tell you all about it!"

Tony grinned, offering a thumbs up before walking back into the Black Fire, laughing at Bruce's yelp as he did so. 

* * *

"Platypus!" 

"Tones, what can I do you for? Aren't you on a recruitment drive today?" 

"Yes! But, I thought you might want to do this one." 

Tony wiggled the thick contract and housing option for a friend in front of his brother. 

"Huh, who is it?" 

"Just your little crush from college. Say _ 'Hi' _ for me!" 

"I did not have a crush on Danvers!" 

"Sure. Sure. So, how did you know who this was for before you even read the name? Have fun, dress up!" 

Tony snickered before scarpering. 

* * *

He glanced at the next name critically as it flashed up on his list, it had been several names down. For a reason. 

"Fry. Why are you doing this to your father?" 

"You wanted to prioritise any recent CCTV sightings Boss." 

"Uh Huh. Can't we get Rhodey to do this one?" 

"Sorry Boss, he's getting dressed to meet Carol Danvers. He's already discarded 8 outfits, it is going to take _ a while _. This one is all you." 

Tony squinted at a camera to show he was sure that had been a set-up. It was totally a set-up. Sighing, he took down the location and scanned through the images to see where he was heading and where everyone was situated. It was _another_ long trip. He stretched, before pulling himself through the Fireworld and eventually stepped out onto a roof, it was dark, so there was that at least. It was also quite high up, which was nice as Tony liked heights. The red and black clad individual whipped his head around, gun pointed at him as he exited the fire and Tony couldn't resist. 

"Boo." 

His deadpan delivery, and probably having Tony Stark appear behind you out of a column of Black Fire had a quite predictable reaction actually, thinking about it. 

"WHAT THE-ACK" 

"Huh." 

"I think you made him fall off of the roof Boss." 

"Not my fault." 

Tony stepped down from the roof, landing lightly next to the semi-splatted man just as Deadpool was coming around. 

"Holy fuck did you just step of a fucking building or am I actually brain-damaged?"

"I suppose I did. Hey. Wanna join the Avengers?" 

"Uh, you want me. Deadpool. To join the Avengers?" 

"Ahuh, that's why I'm here. Look I have a contract with your name on it and everything." 

"Is this some kind of fever dream right now where a young, hot Tony Stark asks me out?" 

"Hey, I'm hot. I'm always hot. Here read this, and give this one to your buddy hiding over on the other building pointing a sniper rifle at me. Later!" 

He left Deadpool pointing at a column of fire shouting "WTF CABLE" as he walked backwards giving him two thumbs up. 

* * *

"FRIDAY. I refuse to go and speak to a person genuinely calling themselves 'Squirrel Girl'. Seriously, what power is that? No. We have enough animals in our menagerie. NEXT" 

* * *

"What is it with superheroes and dark creepy alleys?" 

Tony glanced around the dingey, unpleasant smelling alley before focusing his attention on the next person on his list. He had actually expected to get a bit of a runaround for this person and had been surprised when the CCTV alert had flashed up. 

But seriously. Dingey alleys. 

"What the-" 

"Why does everyone keep saying that to me?" 

"You just appeared out of a column of what appeared to be fire." 

"Hmm, dry. I like it. Want to join the Avengers?" 

"I don't join groups.." 

"Awww, come on. This contract even includes a significant amount of money for you to use on your pro-bono cases!" 

Which of course, resulted in the red, leather clad man stepping menacingly towards him. Tony just carried on as if the potential violence level hadn't gone up. 

"How did you-" 

"Do you have any idea how many cameras are in this city? Don't worry, I scrubbed you, which I will continue doing if you join the Avengers! I've included the next few versions of the Accords too.. Including the clause of secret identities!" 

That seemed to do it as the masked man tentatively took the thick stacks of paper as if they might bite him. 

"Awesome, luckily your pals are much easier to find, have fun!"

Daredevil had more composure than others and just barely tilted his head as the fire swept Tony away. He did wonder what the Black Fire actually looked like to the blind man, he'd find out when he was all signed up. 

* * *

He actually walked into the bar. Using the door and everything. Which he figured, was an amazing amount of restraint on his part. He had to firewalk into yet another alley so he could enter through the front door!

FRIDAY had helpfully pointed out that there might be customers who could be alarmed by the column of Black Fire and person emerging henceforth. 

He vetoed firewalking into the bathroom for similar reasons. Also, landlords tended to notice their punters, as such, a strange man appearing from the toilets just sounded like a bad plan all around. 

"What can I get you?" 

He dropped the contract onto the surprisingly clean bar, where it was glared at as if it mere presence was profaning the grand establishment. 

"That's not a drink order." 

"Nope, I just got back from visiting Double D, this is an all expenses paid trip to Avengers Town to save humanity and all life in the universe." 

"...." 

Tony sighed, pointing at one of the top shelf spirits which was dropped in front of him with an irritated glare. 

"Why would I have any interest in joining the Avengers. Didn't your group just implode after causing massive amounts of property damage and killing innocent people?" 

"Yes!" 

"Uhh." 

Luke obviously hadn't been expecting such an exuberant reply and was actually thrown as Tony smiled widely. 

"They're fugitives, now we are creating the New Avengers under the leadership of my best platypus, Colonel James Rhodes." 

"Platypus?" 

"I'll leave you to read, feel free to contact your lawyer! He'll be expecting it." 

He downed his beverage and left money and a tip under the glass. As Tony also walked out of the establishment, he figured he definitely deserved _ something _ in recompense for sparing the bar's patrons the sight of his fiery majesty. 

* * *

Which was why he was eating an ice-cream when he firewalked into the next hallway, causing a man to yelp, fall backwards into his apartment and gape up at him from the floor. Tony pointed at the door, that looked as if it had been repaired a dozen or so times. 

"Is Jessica in?" 

"Uh, she might be awake but unless you have alcohol she won't talk to you at this time." 

Tony nodded at the sage advice before flicking his fingers and pulling on of the fancier bottles of scotch from his stores. Holding it up to show the man. 

"Will this do?" 

"Sure. Sure. Guy just magicked fucking alcohol out of fire. What is my life?" 

"That's the spirit." 

He grinned before heading into the office. Jessica was in fact at her desk, just slightly slumped over and looking rather hungover, so Tony put the bottle in her line of sight. Which she instantly grabbed whilst looking up at him with more than a little irritation. 

"What?"

"Avengers, contract, joining." 

"You're going to need more words to make sense to me right now Mr Stark." 

"I'm putting together a new and improved Avengers with people that actually have personalities and your little group hit my list. Already visited Murdock and Cage. I've included a lifetime supply of your favourite alcohol in you contract and if I'm feeling generous, an un-hangovering now and then."

"A what now?" 

"Show and tell?" 

Jessica just shrugged, seemingly unphased by the whole thing. 

"Why the fuck not." 

Tony lightly, very fucking lightly, let's just get rid of the hangover and not something else this time, Thankyou. He brushed his fingers across her temple, causing her to blink a few times as the magic swept through her mind. Easing the pain and after effects of the alcohol. She gave an appreciative hum before opening the bottle with her teeth and taking a long drink. 

"I'm not sure this isn't some kind of bizarre dream." 

"Jess, this guy appeared from a column of fire. In our hall. Eating ice-cream!" 

"Is the ice-cream really an important variable? I mean, it is really nice ice-cream and everything. Give the contracts a read, anywho, I'm on a schedule!" 

The yelp and crash from the guy falling over again as he firewalked to his next destination was added to a collection of files FRIDAY had been recording. Jessica's laugh trailed after him, seems he wasn't the only person who was amused by his antics. 

* * *

Danny was actually harder to find than Matt _and_ gave Tony a bit of a chase. It seemed he'd been warned that Tony might just appear wielding contracts and ice-cream like the ghost of Christmas past. 

FRIDAY however, had real time access to anything with a lense and an Internet connection. As such, he found the guy in a tiny diner after a few false starts. 

"Table for 1?" 

"That's alright, I can see my table from here." 

The nice lady nodded and he made his way across the room and sat down in front of Danny. His own fault really for having his back to the door, rookie move. 

"Hi." 

"How?!" 

"You actually gave me a bit of a run around. Congrats." 

Tony grabbed a fork and promptly skewered the guys waffle in recompense for making him Firewalk to multiple locations. 

"So, you probably know why I'm here?" 

"The Avengers recruitment drive is terrifying." 

"I'm not _that_ terrifying. I will have you know that I'm probably as terrifying as a cute, fluffy bunny." 

"Jess said you vanished in a column of Black Fire whilst eating ice-cream." 

"It was really good Ice-cream." 

"Matt said you appeared at the end of a dead end alley." 

"Well, that was his own fault for lurking in dark alleys really." 

"Luke said you over tipped." 

"Is that actually a complaint? I mean,_ over _tipping? Is that a thing?" 

"So, what do you want with _ me _?" 

Tony pulled two contracts from his jacket, well, he summoned them, but did it in his jacket. As to not terrify the other patrons. Restraint. 

"What the.. How big are you pockets." 

"Infinitesimal. Here's your Avengers contract that includes the Accords etc. This is to offer a partnership with SI. Pym too when Hope kicks pops into gear. Right, any questions?" 

"About 500."

That made Tony grin, he liked this guy. 

"I have time for 2."

"Why do you want us in the Avengers?" 

"A fanatic space grape is trying to wipe out 50% of all life in the universe." 

"That's just created even _ more _ questions." 

"Hmm, I know, but talk to Murdock to help with the contract. Your company's Lawyers on the other. If you join I will literally sit down and let you ask me an actual 500 questions if you can come up with the full 500." 

"Cool! So, uh, why do you look like a young Tony Stark?" 

"I kind of died. Right, see ya!" 

"No, wait, you can't just leave it at that!" 

Tony snickered as he strolled out of the diner. 

* * *

"FRIDAY. Why am I here." 

Tony squinted at the Baxter building as if it had personally offended him.

It had. 

"Colonel Rhodes booked you an appointment to secure an alliance with the Fantastic Four Boss." 

"Does Rhodey know how much Reed plays with Portals? Because. It's _a_ _lot_. Like, a lot a lot." 

"He said to remind you of the threat from space and to ignore your petty rivalry."

"_ PETTY _ ?! The man opened a damned portal in the middle of a battle, and had the cheek to claim he was too _ busy _ to clean up! I'm not even getting into the fact that he tried to get a new PhD everytime I did." 

"Colonel Rhodes instructed me to make 'Uhuh' noises as you ranted. So. Uhuh." 

"Fine, fine. I'm going in." 

He made his way up quite quickly, at least Rhodey had booked the appointment via Sue. If he'd done it through Reed the bastard would try to keep him waiting for an hour. 

"Tony!" 

"Sue! Wonderful as ever to see you, ah good, the entire gang in one place. I had to chase the last group all over the damned city." 

"I hear you have a proposal for us?" 

"Yup, contracts and everything. Even just on the scientific side as long as I'm not left alone in the lab alone with your husband at any point." 

"I heard that!" 

Reed quipped from the table. 

"I know. That was the intention. _ Reed _." 

"_ Stark _." 

They were glaring at each other when Sue threw her hands up in irritation. 

"You two are impossible." 

"I'm not! / He's Impossible!" 

* * *

"FRIDAY, why is Fury on this list. He's meant to be dead. I'm not talking to dead people." 

"But Boss-" 

"Dead!" 

* * *

"Why is Britain cold? And wet? I don't remember it being this damp."

"Probably because its an island in the middle of the ocean Boss." 

"I'll just carry on blaming the Saxons, thank you very much." 

He rolled his eyes, knockin the door as a frazzled Darcy opened it. Squinting at him and his hands in confusion. 

"Where's the pizza?"

"I'm not the pizza guy." 

"Holy shit, fuck. No. Way. JANE! JANE! Tony fucking Stark is at the door!" 

"Pizza?" 

"I'm feeling like I should have brought pizza…" 

Jane stuck her head around the door, eyes going comically wide. 

"Oh my god, you actually are Tony Stark. Erik, put your pants on! We have guests!" 

"Come in, come in. If the pizza ever arrives, you can have some." 

Which was how he found himself sat, eating Pizza, with Jane, Darcy and Selvig (Who did not, consequently, have pants on). It wasn't as good as the ice-cream but it was definitely superior to Danny's waffle. 

Darcy was the first to speak up after consuming two slices of pizza like it was the first food she'd seen in weeks. 

"So, why are you in England? And you know, here? In this room? With us." 

"Oh, right. Contracts for everyone, the three of you are here by formally invited into the Avengers Initiative. There, I even made it sound fancy because, you know, _ 'England' _."

"Uh.."

"It includes complete funding." 

"YES!" 

Well, that was easy. 

* * *

He kicked back on his sofa to make the last call of the day. Smiling as T'Challa came into view. 

"So, have you learned not to take in strays yet?" 

Might be a touch petty, but the man did kind of leave him to die and took in the rogues. So the man's long-suffering sigh was music to his ears. 


	13. Standing Still

**Sam POV **

When he left the Raft, he hadn't expected to end up in Wakanda. Or for Wakanda to be a rich, vibranium filled wonderland. Quiet farming and textile villages? Peel it back and suddenly he was in a scifi novel, which considering he'd been living at the compound and Stark's inability to not upgrade everything was notorious, Wakanda was still a shock. 

Steve had said that they'd only be staying for a few days. Two weeks, tops. Then something strange had happened in Wakanda that they'd had to hide in caves from, even now no one would tell them what had happened, but he could say for sure, it wasn't good. Natasha had offered to do some information retrieval after she turned up, but Steve had been against it. Not wanting to anger their hosts. 

Days became  _ weeks _ . 

Weeks became  _ months _ .

Scott was just as miserable as he was in the beginning, Clint was angry all of the time. Like seriously, all of the time. If his toast didn't cook properly he was fuming for an hour. Wanda mostly stuck to Clint or Steve, who spent every other day looking at Bucky in the cryo chamber. Because that wasn't creepy  _ at all _ .. There wasn't even a window to see Bucky through. Lately he'd seemed upset about something, but he hadn't elaborated as to what it was and honestly? Sam was dealing with his own issues. 

Natasha had joined them after the problems in Wakanda and she'd been hopeful about going home, she said that Tony hiding away was a sure sign he was being to spiral so he would fix their pardons in no time. 

The way she said it had not sat right with him, but he hadn't said anything because he'd been angry with Stark. He'd told him about Siberia only if Stark went as a friend, yet Bucky and Steve came back bloody. 

After June, Stark Industries, and the absolute mountain of subsidiaries he hadn't even known existed, had been almost  _ excessively _ busy, it was as if the company had decided to clean up the planet and was dragging everyone along, whether they liked it or not, kicking and screaming. With a frankly terrifying degree of competency and ruthlessness. Green energy initiatives started popping up all over the planet, water cleaning, air purifiers, Intellicrops... 

There were also all of the reparation works. Then there was the fact that everyone thought he was dead, that the company was carrying out his last wishes. Clint and Wanda had been sure it was a publicity stunt, because sure, the man currently being hailed for dragging the world kicking and screaming towards renewable energy, single handedly destroying climate change.. Yeah he  _ needed _ a publicity stunt to  _ look better. _ Well, except to people who made their profits in oil and such, they  _ really _ hated him now. 

A statement was eventually issued that he was fine and would have a press conference at the end of August explaining what had happened. Which wasn't  _ at all _ ominous. All the while subsidiaries Worldwide came out with more and more eco friendly directives. He had no idea why Stark had gotten a little obsessed but at least it was for a good cause? 

Natasha howeve, had been getting quieter and quieter. 

Then it finally came to the press conference and that was where shit got weird, because Stark looked  _ different _ . He was young, healthy and just looked all around better _ .  _ He spoke about how he was involved in another fight after Leipzig-Halle, as he was trying to straighten things out with the Accords. Obviously referring to what happened in Siberia. How he was  _ mortally _ wounded. 

Steve had gone white as a sheet and everyone was looking at him. He'd said Stark was fine. Just cooling off. He could have gone in the same direction and Clint and Wanda, who said Stark was blowing it out of proportion, that this was a cover for experiments he'd done on himself to restore his youth. But Steve looked shaken. He'd never seen Steve look like that. 

Apparently nearly dying had triggered something dormant in Stark that he has never known existed, it had healed him right up. He joked that sometimes healing could be a little overzealous, whilst gesturing to his younger self. He finished by stating he would still be Ironman, but that he would do more as Tony Stark to help the world now he'd been given back his youth. 

Natasha had been frozen. After that Stark was always on the TV when Natasha was down and no one knew  _ why _ . It pissed off Wanda to no end. Steve grew angrier with every broadcast of Stark doing something, that he should be getting their pardons instead. Their hosts were tiring off them too, Steve couldn't see it though. 

The Accords grew and became something _bigger_, Sam had watched many talk shows of Tony talking about it protecting people. When the amendments to protecting children were announced, the day after, Stark and 4 unknown children and Charles Xavier, went to different locations all over America, turning toxic, dead lakes clean and healthy seemingly at random. Other countries were actively inviting them across their borders instead of being angry at powered people in their countries. Stark had never struck him as that much of an environmentalist before, baring his green energy work, but you couldn't say he wasn't committed now. Why? He hadn't a clue. 

Barely a day went by without Stark doing  _ something.  _ He could probably take over the sodding world at this point and he bet many wouldn't complain. The Avengers were growing too. More and more people were turning up to Avengers Events and when they were called. All signed the Accords. 

Things were moving  _ fast _ over in America. 

Whilst they… _languished_. 

People had been talking about them a lot - in the beginning. People calling for pardons, there was a lot of good press in amongst all of the bad. 

Then Stark started doing a very simple thing.

It was subtle as first. That Sam didn't pick up on it until it had started to gain steam. He refused to talk about them. Reporters who forced the issue? They found themselves barred from events that included him. Which right now? Was a lot. He would stand up, shrug and simply leave shows that tried to catch him out. Not saying a single word. It was subtle, but with how much Stark and his companies were involved in? No one wanted to be left out. So, people stopped talking about them. It was subtle but _painfully_ _effective_. 

Then, the video in Siberia was leaked. Stark tried to do damage control, saying he didn't want people to be forced to watch him nearly die, but even he couldn't stop it because it was  _ everywhere _ . 

The result in the house had been instantaneous. Wanda immediately congratulated Steve, but told him he could have killed him and that he should have. Clint had been stunned into an eerie silence he maintained on and off to this day, vanishing for hours each day into the forest. He and Scott had mostly split off, they did their own thing now. He'd spent so long being angry at Stark for attacking Bucky and Steve for 'no reason', that video had made him wonder what else Steve had omitted and he felt a little lost. Maybe he should have said something about it. 

Nat still stalked Tony online and on TV, still would tell anyone why. Steve was oblivious to the problems this had caused for them. He was just terrified the video would result in people calling for Bucky's head, and refused to acknowledge _anything_ else. 

Steve, it turned out, had also told T'Challa that Tony was fine, and nothing about why the fight took place. Suddenly they were restricted to a small corner of the Palace away from everyone. Safe in the knowledge they were on thin ice. The Princess had given them a blistering dressing down. 

Stark then shocked them, _again_, claiming upset for  _ his _ loss of composure and then using the release of the video to launch his initiative to gain Barnes his freedom, and raise his public image. 

Steve was barely mentioned. When he was? It was not favourable. Just by walking away and not answering a few questions, Stark had, with terrifying ease, completely destroyed what little public support they still had. Sure there were still some, but without Stark's PR teams and mind? Without being able to even contact anyone? What could they do? But slowly watch as they were forgotten. 

He noticed then that Natasha actually had started to look  _ scared _ . He'd never seen fear like that on her face before. 

"What is it Nat?" 

"I profiled him Wilson. He was left alone, broken up with Pepper, Rhodes in hospital and Vision suffering because of Wanda. He  _ should _ have spiraled. But he  _ didn't _ . Even with him miraculously healing, he  _ should  _ be spiralling.. He shouldn't be protecting Barnes like this… I keep having these dreams, memories.. I don't know… I just don't.." 

"I think we're all starting to go a little stir-crazy in here. I just wish Clint and Scott would lay off the pranks you know?" 

That was something that had become a  _ fun _ feature of his life over the last few weeks running up to Halloween, it was starting to get annoying. He knew it was Wanda, Clint and Scott, because who else would it be? At first he he swore he ass seeing things out of the corner of his eye. Dark shapes were fluttering around his vision and then the pranks started straight after. He got that everyone was frustrated! But come on! Were pranks really the answer here? They were adults and driving each other insane was not going to make this situation better! 

What was worse, Scott and Clint kept denying they were doing it! Wanda of course said she had nothing to do with the dark shadows, but like the pranks, these things come just  _ appear _ out of  _ nowhere _ . It started of pretty normal really, if extremely annoying. Salt swapped with sugar, decaf swapped with caffeinated. How one of them got a spring to the bottom of a cereal box so it exploded when he opened? He had no clue but damned was  _ he _ cleaning up their mess. It had gotten to the point he was actually nervous of picking anything up now. He'd picked up the TV remote earlier and it just fell apart in his hands. 

Scott had sent him out to pick up something from T'Challa which had taken 3 hours to find the king, who didn't have anything for him. Scott had the cheek to say he'd not sent him anywhere. 

Clint appeared just then, smiling, for a change. 

"Hey Sam, want to go out for a bit? To apologise for all the pranks you know?" 

"Thank you! That's all I wanted man. Some fresh air would probably be a good idea. I think we're getting cabin fever here. Nat, you coming?"

Nat barely even looked up, eyes fixed on the TV as if she dared not miss a single detail. Oookay. 

They'd been walking for a few minutes when he noticed it. Now, it wasn't that he was a bird nerd or something, but he liked corvids. Okay, he liked birds. They were clever and fun. Which was how he knew that that was not a bird native to Africa. He turned to Clint to say something but the man had vanished which was incredibly strange. Stranger still was the voice that came from nowhere. 

"One for sorrow.." 

**James POV**

He woke up with the chill of cryo clinging to him and the bright lights. It didn't take him long to remember everything that had happened and he was already wishing for the silence of cryo. It didn't hurt in there, he didn't remember there. After Siberia, after seeing the agony he had caused, he'd longed for the black with a passion. He knew they'd never undo what Hydra did to him, so he went under until they could find a way. Assuming that he could just rest and stop hurting, finally. 

It didn't even feel like a very long time had passed. T'Challa looked harder somehow but not that different. 

"Good Afternoon Sergeant Barnes, its 2pm, October 30th and you're in Wakanda." 

"What's happened? What's gone wrong?" 

"Nothing has gone wrong." 

"You're waking me up awful early so I thought something had happened." 

"Oh no, I'm sorry we gave that impression. A person has been in touch with me who can help with your problems. It would completely remove the words from your mind." 

"What's the catch?" 

"He's not sure you'll accept it from him and he's the only one who can do it apparently." 

"Who is it?" 

"Tony Stark." 

He was pretty shocked, the man had no reason to help him. Whilst he hadn't been trying to kill him in Siberia, he might have changed his mind. That was OK, it was better than just waiting to be triggered, he did not think Tony Stark would use the code words against him. Plus, even if he did, the Dora wouldn't let him hurt anyone. If it turned out to be nothing, or a revenge plot, he'd let it play out and hopefully just return to cryo. 

"Okay." 


	14. Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's see what Wanda is up to....

**Wanda POV **

"They'll all blame you, you know." 

She opened her eyes and found herself once again summoned to the dreamscape against her will. She tried everything to stop it, but every night she was drawn here. Now she was back in the daytime too. Great. The nebulous place between their reality and something else she didn't know about. She'd tried to investigate it, but the mists had halted her time and time again. 

She was concerned that maybe she had attracted the attention of someone _through_ those mists, because the voice? It trailed after her. Night after night. 

Her magic was not such a sure thing in this in-between space, she had to be careful too, the first time the voice appeared, she had lashed out and was woken by Steve's screaming. In her sleep her magic had thrown things around the room, as she had been pinpointing the voice to attack, in the real world, that had been aimed unerringly at Steve. 

Sometimes the voice spoke liquid words of languages she didn't know, the power that emanated from them was something she did recognise however. The words would seem almost physical around her, wrapping her up, dragging her down and down to dark laughter until she found herself deposited in memories. Twisting them, good memories twisted into a mockery, worst though… worst was the awful memories. The ones that still itched inside her skull and never healed, no matter how much time had passed. 

The voice would speak now and then, changing tiny things. Usually things that had been in her power, her words, her choices, her actions. Then she'd be forced to not just watch, but  _ live _ it, as the scenario change for the better. She'd been trapped in one of them long enough to be at Pietro's wedding. As soon as she'd stopped fighting and decided to stay in this better world, she was hurled from the dream world with a chuckle and she was left blinking at the ceiling, laughter in her ears. 

She felt like she was fracturing, her ability to tell reality from dream was fading around the edges. She'd thought at first, the old trick to tell dreams from reality, pain. But it hurt everywhere. The voice had mocked her for pinching herself. 

"Even a novice such as you should understand this. A dreamscape of a magus is different, here there are possibilities, and in possibilities… there is pain." 

That had been a terrible night, from being chased through a dark forest with black wolves snapping at her feet. Feeling every whip or branches across her face, her bare feet torn by the pine needles and the cold bite of winter sinking into her skin. She felt all of it so keenly it was maddening but addicting at the same time. Things here felt more, better… truer in a strange sense, that even when it was pain, she found herself yearning to return even though she knew pain would likely be waiting for her. Even as she drank coffee to stay awake. 

"My little red one, do you want a story tonight?" 

She rocked on her feet, it wasn't the first time she had been offered a story. Tales of fantastical beings, tales of dread creatures that stalked the night. Some had thrilled her. Some had been familiar to tales the old witch lady had spoken to them as children, to scare them away from the dark forest, to scare them into behaving. Some had dragged her into horror scapes that started with dancing beautiful creatures spinning, music playing. Then, she'd dance, and catch sight of the band. See the exhaustion on their faces, the golden shackles at their feet. 

She'd try to stop but find that she was unable, that she was helpless as time went on and the pain built and built until she was sure she would collapse, but she didn't. It carried on and on till she was scratching at the walls of madness and she was watched with hungry eyes until she awoke screaming. Her legs had hurt so bad that she'd been unable to walk the whole day. 

After that, she had said no to all questions that asked something of her, but carefully, even to the delicious food that was offered to her. That she was trapped in a room with for days to weeks to months as she felt herself waste away yet stay alive, conscious, awake to feel her body eat itself. No one entered, the food never spoiled, and she felt eyes upon her the whole time. Only to wake up and find only a night had past. 

Blue lights had tried to draw her from her path, temptations in every room as she resolutely walked ahead. Pain. Pain. And the release, of bliss and floating and happiness and tantalising glimpses of happiness and hope and friends. The glimpses of the pain she could cause, red flowing from her fingers whilst she laughed. The voice told her that she should be careful how far she pushed, that a power such as hers was a two edged blade. That she could only slice into others as far as she was willing to slice into herself. She could feel herself bleeding, could see the damage to herself that she'd inflicted, but the whispers, the whispers from the stone coaxed her even further, showing her things she'd never considered. 

"Little Red one, I won't wait forever, and I think we've shown that you don't like it when I take my own initiative."

She flinched because he was right. Night's where she had ignored him completely, those had been the darkest, those were the nights he'd manipulate history to come out better at her hands and force her to live what never could be. 

"Why don't you ever show yourself! Always hiding behind the mists!" 

"I suppose it would seem that way, alright." 

She had a second to think she had messed up before the dreamscape shifted and twisted around her. Leaving her stood in a forest so dense and dark she could barely see a few feet in front of her face. In front of her, ripped into the earth was a stairway, leading down into darkness. 

"Come then, or would you rather stay in the Dark Forest?"

She sucked in a breath and started down the steps, the Dark Forest held many creatures shed met and experienced, after barely out running these short creatures who seemed to have a thing for scalping she'd avoided it. The dark stairs were her only out, now. She knew this being didn't change his mind when the dreamscape changed. The stairs went on and on, the darkness was so thick she couldn't see her hand in front of her face. It carried on for so long she wondered if she would go mad here, just as her steps began to falter, a light appeared up ahead, luring her forward until a room opened up. Sweet smells of burning plants and oils wrapped around her as she took in the large, strange room.

There were 4 windows at the cardinal points, looking over a beautiful glittering city. By each window sat a creature that resembled an animal but had the reek of  _ other _ that she had come to recognise. Intelligence, malice and hatred sparked in their eyes, a too human emotion in such an odd shape. The boar was huge and emanated rage as it glared at her where it sat, chained to a wooden chair. A huge hawk watched her contemptuously, a salmon mocked her as it's tail beat out a rhythm on its chair and finally a bear watched her with hunger in its eyes. Each was chained to its wooden chair, huge and imposing. 

From the drapes that were embroidered with gold and silver to the carved stone and etched floorboards, magical symbols were everywhere. Lines flowing from fabric to stone to the slate at the ceiling. Red lanterns burned from where they hung, strange items from globes that looked nothing like earth, telescopes, golden equipment she could not name and books lay scattered on tables. 

In front of her, against the wall sat a figure, reclined with his feet upon someone's lap, she could tell it was a woman but her face was obscured to her. The figure was tall, she'd guess at least over 7 feet, he was wearing a cowl that seemed oddly shaped until she noticed the hood had 4 spaces for a different brass mask from each. A hawk mask assessed her and not for the first time did she think asking to see this creature was a mistake. He started talking in a voice that was different to what she'd heard, before it had been distorted, now is was clear and rang through her, bringing her to attention as if every word was whispered directly into her mind. 

_ "Without distinction to discerning, _

_ Without ships, a ruthless course,  _

_ the truth was not known,  _

_ beneath a sky full of stars, _

_ whether they were of heaven or of earth."  _

She blinked, it wasn't the first time he'd said this to her, it was the story that drew him and his kind to their world, she didn't know why he was telling her this again.

"You might be wondering what drew one such as me, to you?"

She nodded, she'd been wondering why since the first time her dreamscape shifted and the effects carried through into the waking world. Dreams fade as the person wakes, but this place  _ never _ faded from her mind, it was more real than reality. 

"You have been reckless with your magic little red one, I found traces of it in an apprentice of mine. I followed these traces and came across you, unguarded, unprotected."

A grating noise caused her to flinch as the masks rotated, the hawk going still and they moved until the boar came to rest on her. Rage and hatred shone through the small, dark eyes. Chains rattling drew her attention to the creatures in the chairs and the boar was now leaning forward, grunting in an effort to get to her. The man, or creature, whatever he was, his voice had changed. Taking on a grating, growling quality. 

"I do not take kindly to those hurting people under my protection, worst is, you do not even know of whom I speak. You have recklessly sliced into so many minds.." 

She ground her teeth together, she did what she had too! She didn't ask for this life, it had been forced onto her. Her happy home had been torn from her by one man, her brothers life had been ripped away from her by one man. If he wanted to punish someone for what her magic had wrought, it should be against him! Yet again, she was suffering because of Tony Stark. 

The grating noise ground again until it came to rest on the bear, glassy black eyes bore into her, stealing the breath from her lungs and leaving her helpless, her magic was nowhere to be found in this place. The man stood, he was so tall she had to crane her neck to see. She didn't even consider running, she was frozen staring up into the brass mask as a hand that seemed to be ravaged by fire reached out and almost tenderly brushed through her hair. 

"Would you like to see what you are to be blamed for today, little red one?"


	15. Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's see what Steve is up to..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes, lateness.
> 
> Enjoy some Steve!

**Steve POV**

He'd seen her a few times now, whenever he made the journey from their little corner of the Palace to the medical centre where Bucky's cryogenic unit stood. At first he'd seen a flash of long, long blonde hair disappearing around the corner. He'd ignored it at first, it wasn't exactly important and sure there were probably other people who lived at the Palace. 

No one else had seen a person with such striking hair and as it was there every single time he left their rooms it had started to concern him. 

Was someone spying on them? 

He asked around more and didn't get very far with his enquiries. So he started keeping an eye out for her. Occasionally he found flower petals on the ground around their rooms too, even though there were no flowers around that matched them. 

The next time, he was faster, the long blonde hair had flowers attached to it. There were tiny yellow flowers he didn't recognise but had seen around their rooms, the other two were quite strange and not what you'd usually see in someone's hair. One seemed frothy and white that twinged in his memories for some reason, the other was long strands wrapped around her hair was flowers so small he didn't even know the colour. It seemed odd, yet they were all wound into the golden hair. He'd even tried finding the names of the flowers using the laptop T'Challa had provided them. Unfortunately he'd not been able to wrangle it from Natasha. 

He was heading to see Bucky again, and because he needed to get out of the damned rooms for a while. Natasha was still watching everything with Tony in it, to an obsessive degree. He was starting to worry about her, Tony turning his back on them had really hurt her. When they got back to America he would hope the man would apologise for what he put her through. Although as to what Tony was doing these days, he had no idea. When they return home he would get to the bottom of things, as he doubted Tony was telling the truth about his _ changes _. 

Then there was Sam, Clint and Scott who had engaged in some kind of prank war? He wasn't exactly sure, they were grown ups, he would wait for them to sort it themselves. Wanda had much more of his concern, her nightmares seemed to be getting worse, she'd had such a bad night her magic had been sparking online all morning as Scott wished them a Happy Halloween, she'd immediately gone back to bed. The nightmares were bad, at the start it was one every few days. Every night he had been woken by her screams for the past few weeks, if not her screams it was her magic. If only she would _ talk _ about the dreams, maybe he could _ help _. 

Gold flashed out of the corner of his eye and this time he decided to follow. If this person was spying on them, he needed to know. Plus, it was something different to shake his day up. The repetitive nature of their lives was straying to drag at him. He had not thought Tony would hold out this long. 

He turned down the same corridor he'd seen the owner of the golden hair head down, surprised to see no one, but when he looked up, at the very end of the corridor he saw the hair flick around the bend and a flash of a pale, bare foot. 

He picked up his pace and saw that something had been dropped on the floor, it was one of the flowers. The strange one that he wouldn't expect someone to put in their hair, tiny white, not quite flowers. It was very sweet-smelling however. He gently put it into his pocket, maybe he could work out what it was now he had some. He followed the empty corridor and at the end was unsure where to go until he saw yellow petals on the left. 

This carried on through several more corridors, now and then he was treated to a flash of pale skin, golden hair and petals leading him. Some he recognised, some he didn't, there were even some nettles at one point oddly. Every corner turned pushed him harder until he was running to get a better look. Eventually he hit a corridor that had no petals at the end of it. 

Disappointed, he traced back the last corridor incase he missed something, in the middle there were a few yellow petals in the middle, he wasn't sure how he'd missed them, he glanced up and noticed it was a doorway to what looked like gardens. He followed the stone path that was now lined with petals. Tiny yellow ones, tiny white ones, the frothy white ones from the plant in his pocket, oddly spikey, purple flowers… There were at least 9 different types and it was such an odd mix to be scattered. 

Eventually he found a huge tree, which was oddly in flower for the time of year, but then it was Wakanda and he was pretty sure they could do anything here. The path of flowers finished and he wasn't sure where to turn next, not until he saw a pale ankle and foot from the other side of the tree. He straightened up, to look around the tree, the woman was sitting now which meant he would finally get to meet her after chasing her for so long. She'd obviously wanted him to find her, leaving a trail for him to follow. 

She was reclined against the tree, concentrating on what was in her hands, her feet were bare and the dress she was wearing looked airy and white with flower petals embroidered in it. There were what looked like vines wrapped around her right arm, starting at her shoulder all the way to her fingers, her left leg had the same, the vine was odd as it had many different colour blossoms blooming from it. Her long, pale fingers worked quickly and surely on what looked like a ring of flowers. To Steve it looked like someone had stepped from a book, she was beyond beautiful. 

He must have made a noise as he stared because her eyes flicked up to him, they were blue, but that didn't do them justice, they were such a vibrant blue, like moving, deep waters. The corner of her mouth picked up into a smile and he found himself grinning back. 

"Hi, I'm Steve." 

Her voice was, no lie, like bells. It was so perfectly feminine, more so than anything he'd ever heard before in his life and just hearing it warmed him inside. It was a balm to his pain, it washed away his troubles and for the first time in so long, he felt light, free of the murk that had been crushing him. 

"I'm waiting for someone." 

Not wanting to leave so soon, even if she was waiting for someone else, he had followed her trail after all. 

"Well, maybe I could wait with you?" 

"Why don't you come and sit with me?" 

He practically tripped over himself to sit next to the beautiful woman, she smiled as he did so, she finished the piece in her hands, smiling brightly and laid it upon his head. He was pretty sure he looked ridiculous with a flower crown, but Bucky always told him to go along with girls when they did stuff like this because it made them happy. He wanted her to smile again, so he sat with it on. 

"So, what are these flowers?"

She pulled the tufted, frothy one out of a pile first, offering it for him to smell. 

"This one, is meadowsweet, I find the smell quite beautiful, don't you?" 

"Yes, I thought I recognised it, my mother used to talk about meadowsweet with some of her old stories. But I can't remember them." 

She picks up the yellow petals and then lines up the other 8 plants, pointing to each as she named them. 

"Primrose, Burdock, Broom, Bean, Nettle, Hawthorn, Chestnut and finally Oak." 

"They're beautiful, do you.. Do you want to come and get a drink with me?

" I'm waiting for someone."

He frowned but figured that they could at least stay there. Especially as he felt so good around her. Pain and stress he hadn't even realised he was carrying were just gone now. 

"Mind if I stay as you wait?" 

She nodded and they remained like that for a while, talking as the sun began to cross the sky. As hours turned to hours, Steve spoke about things that had been bothering him, about his hopes and worries for his friends. All the pain from this ridiculous civil war. She smiled and she really listened, like so few people ever did. Yet, everytime he talked about them moving to somewhere else, to get drinks or food. Especially as his stomach informed him he'd been sat at the tree for several hours. Everytime he got the same response. 

"I'm waiting for someone." 

The sun started getting closer to the horizon, the blue blue sky split into reds and purples and the sun dropped lower, the pale blue sky darkening until it mirrored the vibrant blue of her eyes. She seemed in no rush, nor upset that the person she was waiting for didn't show. He found himself angry on her behalf, that a person would keep such an enchanting lady waiting all day? What if he hadn't come around? She would have been sat alone for hours!

"It's getting quite dark, do you want me to walk you home?" 

"I'm waiting for someone."

"Look, Miss, I'm not sure they're coming, who are you waiting for anyway?"

Her head tilted to one side, eyes focused completely on him and he couldn't look away, not that he wanted too. Maybe she would forget this other and leave with him. 

"Arawn, God of Death." 

Her jerked back, surprised but a sound of stone scraping against stone surprised him, causing him to glance away, when he looked back, the beautiful woman froze, before slowly crumbling into the flowers she had shown him before. He jumped and scrambled to his feet to get away, panicking and backed into something solid but soft to. He stopped and slowly looked behind him, his fight response felt crushed and he was flooded with fear, not something he was accustomed too. 

He saw the bone white of a skull, causing him to jump back and take in what he was looking at but his brain was screaming at him to run and he was flooded with adrenaline he couldn't seem to use. It was 8 feet tall, wearing a huge, thick, heavy black cape. A mask he assumed on an animal skull with great antlers coming from the top. It cut an imposing figure. It spoke, at least he assumed it was him, with a voice an intoning as a gong compared to the beautiful woman. Death to her life. His voice pressed in on him, crushing him with everything in his life that went bad, the pain he'd caused and what he'd been through was all there. Pressing him to the spot. His legs felt like lead. 

"Hir yw'r dydd a hir yw'r nos, a hir yw aros Arawn." 

He swallowed thickly before replying, because he had no idea what strange language this being had spoken to him. Although seemed somewhat familiar, he couldn't place it. 

"I.. I don't understand." 

He froze again as a person pressed up against him to whisper in his ear, blonde hair flickered in the corner of his vision and he felt relaxed until he saw flowers falling, she held him firmly in place as she whispered into his ear. 

"Long is the day and long is the night, and long is the waiting of Arawn"

He could not move and he didn't understand what was happening or why it was happening to _him_, the imposing figure stepped forward and he was held in place as the woman moved to whisper again in his other ear. He didn't dare look as the other being was so close now, even as her hair brushed over him. 

"Wandering soul, out of time, now confined 

You are _ seen,_ through eyes, forever blind." 

He closed his eyes and started praying and for a minute, no one moved, no one did anything. He chanced opening his eyes to find the skull close enough that it was practically touching his face. 

"Your god cannot help you now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wonder what's happening with Clint?
> 
> [Welsh Pronunciation Guide ](https://www.go4awalk.com/fell-facts/welsh-language-pronunciation.php)


	16. The Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's Clint up to for today then?

**Clint POV **

Halloween was usually one of Clint's favourite times of the year. He could be making costumes for his kids, watching scary movies with them. If he was working, then he and Nat always did something. Since joining the Avengers there was always a party around Halloween too. This year, he was trapped in Wakanda and the people around him were going crazy. If Sam came screaming in his face one more damned time about some stupid pranks that he had _nothing_ to do with, he was going to deck him. Or he was going to deck Scott as he was obviously where these stupid pranks were coming from. 

He was concerned about Nat, at first she was gathering information on Tony about how to get everyone home. But, it quickly turned into an obsession and getting anything out of her these days was difficult. He was worried about her, that was for sure, he just didn't know what he could do. 

He felt beyond _useless_. He couldn't even help Wanda with her nightmares. He couldn't help Steve as he was mostly worried about his man on ice. Steve had already left to return to his vigil on Bucky. Nat was sitting in front of the TV, shockingly. He didn't know where the idiot twins were. Wanda had woken from another round of nightmares closed off this time, but her magic has been going haywire all morning and even though she was going back to bed, he just reached a point that he just had to get out! 

It wasn't the first time he'd needed a break from the cabin fever. Like Nat, he just wasn't accustomed to staying in one place for so long. That's what got him in this mess. Their section of the Palace backed onto a forest of some kind, it wasn't exactly huge but it was big enough. 

He'd set himself up a few trails now, he took his bow and arrows too. Not that he was actually planning on hunting something, he just needed something to do! 

Se set off around midday and let himself relax the further away from the Palace her got, his footsteps were light on the ground, stepping lighting and making no noise. It meant he got to enjoy the wildlife of the forest as they didn't flee from him like some clumsier, loud interloper. It gave him the feeling of belonging he'd been missing lately. 

He kept walking away from the Palace, aware that he should turn back soon. If he wasn't careful it would take him half the day just to walk back and everyone would be worried about his disappearances. He sighed, knowing he really should head back and that was when it caught his eye. A strange track in the mud. He knelt down next to it, hovering his hand over it to make sure he wasn't seeing things. That was huge. Thick claws had sliced deep into the mud too. He glanced down at the print, it was heading away from the Palace. It was incredibly fresh… and he really wanted to see just what could make something like that. 

He slung his bow on his back and switched all his focus into tracking. Following the strange creature. Twice now, other tracks crossed his path, at a guess he would say there were at least 5 of them. Maybe more if he took time to check, so this was definitely a pack of some kind and they were resolutely moving away from the Palace. He was just about to give up when he heard a snap off in the distance, his eyesight picked up a flash of white and he was back on the trail. 

"I am the glint upon the spear

the breath within the horn…" 

He stumbled and looked around for the voice, glancing up at branches that people could hide in and seeing nothing. It was close, it shouldn't be too hard to locate. 

"I am the rush within the blood

the sweat upon the brow…" 

This time he'd been listening for the strange voice that sliced through the air. It was coming from behind him so he turned to face it, even though he couldn't see the person. 

"I am the thunder of the hooves

and the lust within the heart…" 

The voice came from behind him again, causing him to whip his head around. He was so sure he'd faced the right way. 

"I am the fear in every bone

the chase within each fibre

and the pounding of hooves upon the turf…" 

This time when he span around, he saw something, a glint of sun on metal out of the corner of his eye. 

"I am the dodge and turn, the swift race and the bounding escape…" 

Now he was getting angry. 

"Where are you?!" 

"The rut, the hunt and the ending of life are mine and all come from me." 

Clint was starting to have a bad feeling about this, that was when he realised just how far he was from his trails. He didn't recognise this patch of the forest and he'd gotten so turned around chasing the voice, he wasn't immediately sure which way was the Palace. He'd not brought any gear with him, all he had was his bow. 

"Each stag, each doe and each fawn are under the sweep of my spear

and each to become upon its tip…" 

There were flashes in the woods around him, bright white, similar to the flash that had lured him in. He wondered if it was their tracks he'd stalked. The snort of a horse drew his attention, as a pure white stallion calmly came into view a few hundred metres ahead of him.

The man sat on his back was strange, with long black, slightly curled hair, pale white skin covered in strange blue markings, his arms, chest, even his neck and face were covered in them. Even though his chest was bare, he seemed dressed for a fight. A long, sharp looking spear rested easily in his grip. He was holding something in his other hand but Clint the sun was caught, blurring his vision when he tried to focus on it. Oh, and there were the antlers. 

He was about to ask him which convention this guy got diverted from, because seriously _what the fuck_. Who gets dressed up weird like some strange, ancient story to torment innocent people in the forest?

"I am Gwyn ap Nudd." 

Clint was about to tell him to get lost when he raised his hand, the one not carrying the spear. Clint slipped his bow into his hand with practiced ease, an arrow knocked and waiting. He didn't want to risk him having another weapon that he could attack him with. 

It turned out, the thing in his hand was a horn, the loudest horn he had ever heard, it practically reverberated through his body, his bones and damned soul. He could feel it, a call to _arms_. A call to _hunt_. He felt it all in the long seconds the noise stretched out. 

He felt a horse beneath him, hooves chewing up the earth, heavy breathing, misting in the cold which was strange as he was in Wakanda, it wasn't cold. He felt a weapon in his hand, prey in his sights, the joy of the chase, the thrill of running them down, victory and scalding hot blood. 

Then it shifted, his feet were on the cold, hard mud and he was running. Throwing his whole body into it, each jolt that shot up his leg every time his foot hit the floor, leaping over trees. Looking always looking for an advantage to take, the thrill of running and dodging before a slash of white to his side then pain pain-

The horn stopped and Clint was panting, blinking around the Wakandan forest. The heat now felt oppressive and crushing compared to the cold of that… what was it. A vision? He was dazed but he still saw movement around him, the strange man clipped the horn back to his belt before returning his attention to Clint, he could see the man's smile clearly over the distance. 

"Now.  _ Run _ !"

The flashes of white burst towards him and Clint had a fraction of a second to see what he's looking at before his mind screeched breaks on because they're so large type of canine with red noses, powerful looking white bodies, teeth that seemed too large for their mouths but most importantly, they were heading for  _ him _ . 

As he turned, he fired off a few quick bolts towards two of the white beasts that were bearing down on him before he put his head down and ran. Praying that he'd come across one of the trails he'd laid because then he could find his way out of the forest with ease and return to the Palace where there were guards who could protect them from Mr weird named hunter dude. 

He was running too fast to be silent but not so fast that he couldn't navigate fallen debris. Running full out is all well and good along flat territory, or at least known territory. He had no idea where he was in this damned forest because he'd gotten caught up following the tracks, so he can't push too hard lest he end up catching a root of a tree and falling down, hard. 

The horn sounds again, slightly to his left this time so he immediately banks and continues forward but away from the sound. None of the white beasts are too close to him yet but he can feel the thundering of their paws around him. 

After five minutes he was starting to feel a burn in his legs and he was pretty sure he was being herded. As soon as he worked out that he was being herded somewhere, he tried making turns in the opposite direction. Only to be faced by one of the white beasts close enough to snap at his thighs, narrowly twisting to avoid the bite. He knew that allowing himself to be headed was the worst thing he could possibly do.

Generally, you don't want to be where someone is chasing you too, especially if they're choosing your route. That applied to many people in life, apparently it also applied to weirdos like this. Clint allowed himself to be herded a little longer, slowing down his pace to conserve energy as the beasts were staying a certain distance away as long as he kept to the path they chose. 

He knocked an arrow to his bow and turned of his heal, bolting the left instead of the right that they kept pushing him in. Just like he was expecting, one of the white beasts burst out of the trees, snapping towards his legs and he loosed his arrow. He carried on running as fast as was safe as he heard the beast crash loudly into the forest floor, making a huge racket. He was constantly looking for any of his markers when that damned horn sounded again. 

The beasts were suddenly a lot closer as he ran, there was one literally snapping at his damned heels and he didn't dare look behind him for a second because that would be all it took for him to stumble. A stumble with the beast that close? It's teeth would be at his legs to take him down as if it were chasing prey for its master. Well, he supposed that's what he was. He bit down on the manic laugh that tried to break free and focused. 

The burn of lactic acid was starting to build up in his and he could almost feel himself slowing down because of it. There were at least two beasts behind him and there was one on his right. Another to his left. Where the bastard with the horn that he suspected controlled these dread beasts was, he had no idea. That was when he saw it, one of his markers! 

Almost immediately he sped up because he knew this trail, he knew where the logs where, he knew when to jump and when to duck and most importantly, he knew the way to the Palace. He put a final push in, using up all of his reserves and running the route mostly on muscle memory. It felt like seconds but also an eternity, but the trees were thinning, he was jumping less and soon he burst free from the forest and was in open land. 

He risked a glance behind him… and there was no one. Panting he was surprised to see how late in the day it was, how long had he been running? He started on the path to their rooms, shaking slightly, not knowing of what happened was real or not. Maybe he was finally losing it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The poem in this chapter is part of an amazing poem that I fell in love with when I was doing a little research to back up the stories I remembered from when I was a kid. It's only named as Lee, but here is the link to the full piece.
> 
> [Gwyn Ap Nudd](http://www.dunbrython.org/gwyn-ap-nudd.html)
> 
> Also, anyone who might have noticed I seem to be choosing predominantly Welsh Fae over Irish choices, well, I have a little Irish but a whole lotta Welsh in me and I know the stories better, but I definitely won't be restricting myself to that when I invite them to play a little now and then.
> 
> I've had several suggestions for other characters for futher recruitment drives! I love it, that chapter was spawned by a comment about how Eddie would react to Tony, (so you can see how your comments feed my muse!) When my heads a little less fuzzy, I'm going to start collecting the suggestions, because that chapter was so much fun to write and I'm itching for, as Danny called it, the Avengers Recruitment drive part two. Until then, we'll, I've just invited some Fae for a little fun.
> 
> [Welsh Pronunciation Guide ](https://www.go4awalk.com/fell-facts/welsh-language-pronunciation.php)
> 
> Wonder what's going on with Natasha next?


	17. Do You Understand Now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sssh. It's still Monday.
> 
> (I'm having so much fun writing additional Avengers Recruitment Drive chapters that I lost track of the days of the week.)

**Natasha POV **

She couldn't keep up, she couldn't bear it anymore. Everytime she closed her eyes, she was ripped away from the world as she knew it. It all started when she got back to Wakanda after the utter disaster that was the Civil War. Thanks to T'Challa and his restrictions, she was just as trapped as the rest of them, her hand firmly torn from the wheel by Steve. Now they had to wait, wait until Tony let them come home. Her only escape had been her dreams. 

At first there had been a woman. Beautiful with sun brushed golden skin sat on a hill in the countryside, bare feet pressed into the grass. She had been welcoming, her hair was long and fell in tight red curls so similar to her own that she'd been shocked at first. 

She had beckoned her closer, which was when she saw the complicated circlet resting upon her head, silver rings and bracelets adorned her hands and for the first time in her known memory, she had felt completely at peace. 

She had dropped down next to the beautiful Queen, because that's what she was. She didn't know how she knew this, but the information was there in her mind and there was little use contesting it when it was fact. 

Her head had been pulled down into her lap and long, cool fingers had slipped through her hair, nails scratching pleasantly against her skull. She wasn't sure how long she stayed like that, boneless and completely pliant. It felt like forever but at the same time, not long enough. All of her pain, her stress, every second guess…  _ everything _ bled away from her. 

Waking was a torture in a way, everything came back, left to languish. She started to sleep more often, just hoping to see her queen. 

It all changed the day she assured the others that Tony would bring them home soon. She had been acting as normal, ensuring the others were calmed by her knowledge of the engineer. Even without her there to steer him, he would act according to the patterns she'd enabled since she had been set on him by Fury. 

She had stumbled into her dream, but the summers day that usually greeted her was gone, the grass was brown and blackened beneath patchy ice and snow. The warm breeze had become harsh, cold and biting into her skin. The perfect blue sky had darkened, dark clouds that looked as if the sky was boiling. Trees were bare, the three brightly coloured birds that she had fed apples too were replaced with three large black birds with wicked sharp looking beaks, black eyes trained on her from their perches in the naked trees. 

The woman looked the same as she always had, seemingly unperturbed by the change in the world around them. She was still smiling, hand out, beckoning her to come to the hill. 

She went to her, because she was warm and this dead world was cold. Out of the corner of her eye she saw white blurs moving amongst the trees in the distance. She lay down in the location she had started to see as home, the woman smiled and she had foolishly hoped nothing had changed. She should have known really, hopes and dreams were for children, and she was no child. 

Nails clutched her head, turning to face the trees and the white flashes came together, in a movement that was too fast for her to track, the billowing white went from far in the distance, too right in front of her. Details got a little sketchy then as all she remembered was screaming. The scream cut right through her, and she was screaming too. It was hard to work out where her scream stopped and the other began. Despite her increased strength, she was unable to move her head an inch, her eyes locked with the pale eyes of the being in front of her. 

Then everything slipped to black, she'd breathed in relief, happy that it was over, her dream had obviously taken a bad turn, floating in the darkness, she waited to wake up. Instead of waking however. She found herself in a memory. Full technicolour, surround sound. She could feel the scratch of the sofa under her fingers as she watched herself pace. 

Back at the tower, tormented by nightmares that wouldn't let her get an inch of rest, she had abandoned her bed and had been pacing in the common room. She approached herself, waving in her face, but it was as if she wasn't there. She remembered this moment however, Clint had been away and she had been stressed, with no one to turn to. Then, Tony had appeared. 

He hadn't made a big deal of it, he'd pulled her down to the workshop because he wanted help with something. It was obvious to her now that this had been a cover. She saw Tony enter the common room and startled when he saw the other Natasha. His head tilting as he watched her, she hadn't even known he was there. She could almost see him come to a decision and she was pulled away. They'd spent the night eating Russian candy, popcorn and watching movies as he ran tests on her gear, asking her a question now and then. 

It was a memory that made her happy and warm, even more so now she had more information about it. The scene then bled away through her fingers, scrambling just to hold on a little longer before returning to the black, nothingness of that space in between. Then things had swam back to colour, and she hoped for another memory like the first, only to watch herself stab the injector into Tony's neck after he realised she had infiltrated him company. 

Then, the screaming was back, or rather, it was like the screaming had never ended. She was lying on the lap of the queen, held in place as if she were an errant child, her head swimming. Exhaustion had spread through her as the creature cut off its scream and floated away, her own petered out and she found herself panting, desperately trying to catch her breath. The fingers that had held her as surely as a steel vice began to gently comb through her hair again, she'd felt barely able to move a finger, let alone fight it. 

That was the first time the Queen spoke, her voice was musical and she felt it lift her spirits even though she was exhausted.

"Do you understand now?" 

That was when she woke up, she was just as exhausted as she had been in the dream. Walking to the kitchen for coffee has been one of the hardest things she had ever done and that included her training at the red room. Her skin was hypersensitive, her clothes felt like they were tearing at her skin. Every noise was just that much louder, pounding into her skull, anywhere she sat or was even just standing, she was assaulted with pins and needles. If she'd been slightly less strong, she might have curled up in the corner and sobbed, but that was not her. The only time the pain eased was when Steve asked her to do some research into Tony, and how long it would take for their pardons. 

Every night, she would collapse into bed, exhausted after spending a day with the bone deep exhaustion and hypersensitivity. The only reprieve she got was when she researched Tony. 

Even though she didn't pray, she found herself praying for the summer world when she opened her eyes in the dream. She knew in her heart that it would not be there, that the dead, winter world with screams that sliced through her consciousness and mercilessly tossed her back into memories would await her.. 

Over and over. 

Night after night. 

The only words she was given - 

"Do you understand now?" 

She wanted to rage and scream that no, she didn't understand why she was being tormented like this! 

But she knew in her heart. It was something that always happens to her, but she was always careful that the repercussions didn't land at her door. 

The cost of one betrayal too many. But she didn't understand why it was happening  _ now _ . Why  _ Tony _ .. There were others she had hurt, so many others. So much worse. 

She wasn't even sure which part was worse, her dreamland being replaced with the dead land that it had become. The women in white that whipped around the hills, too fast to be real, white billowing out as they almost danced in the wind. The moment one of them would turn to her. How she'd suck in a breath knowing that they would be on her in a second, no matter how far away they were. Then, the scream. 

The scream that shredded her being and tossed her through time to experience a memory of kindness and her betrayal in return. 

Then she would be back, the Queen smiling down on her.

"Do you understand now?" 

Everytime it started anew, she considered not walking up to the hill. She considered turning from the proffered hand. The Queen always made it a choice to climb her hill. She could turn into the dead landscape and walk away because she wasn't sure she could take it anymore. In the waking world, the memories didn't fade and they didn't leave her alone. Pestering her, chasing her. She barely knew what was going on with the others, just that she needed to know about Stark. Needed to know what he was doing. Needed to know why  _ him. _ Why was  _ he  _ different. 

The day he'd turned up, younger, with gold brushed skin… That was when she felt real dread. 

Stark wasn't human. 

She'd fallen into a world that stories had warned her about. 

She'd finally betrayed someone she _really_ shouldn't have. 

So instead of turning, and running away when she opened her eyes onto the world that had slowly become her reality, she walked towards the hill. Towards the smiling Queen, she didn't fight as she was gently pulled down and lay her head onto her lap. She didn't even wait for her to turn her head and hold her in place. She turned herself and waited. 

"I knew you would understand eventually my little one." 

All she could do was wait whilst long fingers slipped through her hair. 

Wait for the banshee scream. 

Whilst their Queen watched over her. 


	18. Regret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually thought I had posted this, migraine-me is a bit dense sometimed!

**Scott POV **

So, Scott was starting to regret a lot of things. 

This wasn't a new revelation, he'd been regretting this shit the second those cuffs had snicked on and his hero was off in the wind. 

Sure, Captain America had come and broke them out, sure, a king of a supposed to be tiny village turned out to be tech paradise gave them a place to stay. That's all good and great, but everyone was talking about Tony Stark getting them pardons, and that was another point that he regretted things… 

Stark didn't know who the fuck he was. 

Well, after the number he did on the Ironman suit, maybe that was for the best? 

He doubted Hope would be working on a pardon for him. Nor Hank. So, he was up shit creek and he'd pretty much destroyed his paddle. 

Apart from the ache that he missed Cassie with, this place wasn't too bad at first. It just so happened he was rooming with actual crazy people. There was the one that had mad nightmares that tended to land on one of them. The one watching TV and researching Stark to a terrifyingly obsessive degree. The one who stood vigil of their frozen friend and kept talking about flowers. The one who kept vanishing into the woods thinking he was Robin Hood or something, then there was Sam. The most put together out of all of them, he had recently started shouting his head of about pranks that no one else ever saw! 

So it was Halloween and he wanted to be _ home _. The house was quiet, Sam had mentioned something about heading out early to watch birds. Scott just nodded because you don't argue with people who want to go out at 5am to watch birds. Steve had vanished to his vigil, Natasha was sleeping on the sofa and Wanda was back in bed. Clint had gone out too. 

So, he was left with two terrifying, yet unconscious women. 

What the fuck had his life come to? 

He needed to see someone, speak to someone. Do _ something _or he was going to end up climbing the walls like the people around him.

At least it was a nice day! Scott spoke to a few people as he wandered before music caught his attention and he meandered over to it, which was odd because it seemed quite far away for one man singing to have reached him. 

He was sat in a field, under a tree, relaxed back is strange looking clothes, tapping his foot and singing as Scott approached to actually hear what the man was saying. His accent was strange, lilting and musical. 

"The world, how it comes again,

When it falls in decay,

Again in the enclosing circle.

The world, how wonderful it is,

That it falls not at once.

The world, how peculiar it is,

So great was it trampled on." 

Ooookay. So. Maybe this wasn't the best idea he's ever had? 

"Why don't you come and sit with me, your friend will be coming to join us soon." 

He shrugged and dropped down next to the strange man, whose dark hair was tied up in an honest to god ribbon! 

"So, uh, who are you? You don't seem the type to be kicking back in Wakanda ya know?" 

"Oh definitely not, I've never been here in my life, or after it. The veil you see, some days it's thinner and we can press close. There are restrictions of course, but then my patrons taught me all about that. I'm Taliesin, nice to meet you." 

"I have no idea what you just said, but I'm Scott!" 

"You are a harmless sort aren't you? Shame you got caught up in things as they are, but young lovers and children a favoured sort you see, and you left behind one of both, didn't you?" 

Cassie. Hope. His heart, it was so painful to be so far away from his girls. Although he had a feeling that Hope might not want nothing to do with him. He'd been doing so well with Cassie. Fighting with Captain America was meant to be a dream come true. He'd always been told to never meet your heroes, he'd never realised how true that was until now. The man took his silence to start singing again, the sing song quality of his voice mixed with the strange cadence of the music lulled him slightly. Even if he had no freaking clue what this mad bloke was singing about. 

"In the deep it will cease from ire;

In the deep it will be excessively angry;

In the deep, below the earth;

In the sky, above the earth.

There is one that knows

What sadness is,

Better than joy."

"Strange song.." 

"Well, I've been away from the world a while you see, what use is there now for a bard like me?" 

"Oh I don't know, there's all kinds of music these days, everyone likes something, so which of my friends are on the way?" 

"Well now let's see, one is tangling with Math, that's a sold out show let me tell you now! Blodeuwedd and Arawn are visiting your dear Captain Gwyn ap Nudd has invited your little Archer on a hunt! Lots of fun there. Clíodhna has whisked away the pretty little doll of an Assassin."

Scott nodded along, because really, he had no idea what was happening. Every other word was confusing and sounded like an utter mouthful. He would attempt to say them back but he suspected that he would be laughed at for the disastrous attempt. Who ever these people, were they people? He seemed a cheerful sort when talking about them so Scott assumed that it was a good thing? 

"Oh. OK, is that good?" 

"Well, I'll be thinking that you and your winged friend will be happy that you got me. Let me tell you now, us humans don't really hold a candle to them." 

"... Us humans?" 

"Well, I suppose you could still call me human? I'm not sure. Spend as long as I have on the other side of the mists and you start to wonder. Just ask good ol' Tom!" 

"Tom?" 

"Oh don't worry, Tom won't be here, he doesn't approve you see, he can be a miserable sort sometimes. Good drinking buddy though." 

Scott was so far past confused now, who was Tom? Why was he miserable? What mists? Before he could ask the strange, cheerful bloke any of these questions a black and white bird flew over to him and landed on his knee! Holy crap that was cool, he'd never seen a wild bird do that before. The man then, for some unknown reason, saluted the bird. 

"Here, do you want to feed him?" 

"Heck yeah!" 

He dipped his hand into his pocket and came out with a handful of seed, which Scott thought can't he best. From all the times Maggie had yelled at him for having tissue paper in his pockets when it went around in the washing machine. He accepted the seed and was happily grinning and feeding it when Sam jogged over to them looking at the strange bloke warily before he focused on the black and white bird. Maybe Sam knew what it was, seeing as he was out here bird watching after all. 

"Hey Sam, look at this! What kind of bird is it?" 

"That's the thing, it's an Eurasian Magpie. It shouldn't be here.." 

"Around my parts Scott, we have a little rhyme that goes along with magpies." 

"That's weird.." 

"I think Sam here knows a bit of it, don't you?" 

"I have no idea what you're talking about." 

"Ah, come on, I'm sure you haven't forgotten yesterday so soon. Very well then." 

He noticed that Sam had paled and was looking at the man nervously, but he couldn't quite understand why, he hadn't done anything. Sure he was a little odd, but then they were kind of odd too weren't they? 

_ " One for sorrow, _

_ Two for mirth _

_ Three for a funeral, _

_ Four for birth _

_ Five for silver _

_ Six for gold _

_ Seven for a secret, _

_ Never to be told. _

_ Eight for a wish, _

_ Nine for a kiss, _

_ Ten for a bird, _

_ You must not miss _." 

With every line the strange man spoke, another magpie flew down and perched around them, hoping very close. Which was strange as birds tended to avoid humans, yet these had no fear. One had gotten closer to him and was tugging on his arm to reach the seeds. 

When he finished, the strange man dusted off his hands and Scott, a cold breeze hit him, startling him because he was sure it had been midday, but the sky was darkening and readying for night. The sky split with reds and purples. 

"It's been lovely speaking to you fellows, but you see, a lot of people are very angry. You'll be wanting to run now, up, up with you." 

Scott stumbled to his feet in confusion, coming to stand next to Sam, the man was still smiling completely at odds with his strange words. When he and Sam just stared in confusion, he sighed.

That's where things got weird. 

You know, if this is hadn't already been a weird enough day for Scott. 

He flung his arms out dramatically and for a whole second, nothing happened as he smiled, then there was a noise, of wings beating and then birds just exploded out of him, flying straight at himself and Sam. 

Sam grabbed his forearm and ran, head down as fast as possible but the birds were faster. Scott tried to fling his arms up to protect his face but Sam wouldn't let go of him and kept the pace up. They were both screaming and beaks and claws scratched against vulnerable skin and the beat of wings blocked out all sound. 

They ran for their rooms at the palace and almost crashed straight into Steve who was running full out like the damned devil was chasing him. All three of them were fleeing from the birds as they come across an exhausted looking Clint. 

"Oh fuck me, what is happening today?!" 

The four of them burst into their section of the palace, and as they crossed the threshold, all they could hear was Natasha, red covering her face, screaming on the sofa, Wanda was floating, straight up damned floating in their living room. The birds vanished into red bursts as they entered and the red floated over to and joined with Wanda. 

Steve recovered first, shaking the girl until her eyes opened causing her to drop in a heap on the floor. Natasha woke up, looking shaken and they all glared at the woman at their feet. 

"Fucking magic." 

  
  


**Shuri POV**

"Oh that was perfect." 

"I thought you might enjoy a little show to make up for their presence. Now, remember what I said?" 

"Don't tell Tony!" 

With that, the tall silver haired lady morphed into a bird and flew through the wall, leaving Shuri to chuckle over her entertainment. She wasn't actually sure why this was happening, but she liked Tony. If some abjectly terrifying people apparently had his back? All was good in the world. 

She chuckled as she noticed that the Captain had pulled a flower out of his pocket and paled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The sung parts of this, barring the Magpie Rhyme are pieces that I like from The Book of Taliesin. 
> 
> The first bit is from - Song to the Little World  
The second bit is from - The Hostile Confederacy
> 
> [Welsh Pronunciation Guide ](https://www.go4awalk.com/fell-facts/welsh-language-pronunciation.php)


	19. Unexpected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ever so sorry for blipping out there. I managed to severely injure myself in my sleep.
> 
> I did some writing whilst I was in tons of pain and medication, and as soon as I make it legible, there will be more Recruitment Drive.
> 
> Also, at least 1 person called this 😉
> 
> (A good chunk of this is just What Tony has been up to while I was driving the rogues up the wall.)

**Tony POV **

Tony stretched, luxuriating in the stretch as he pulled himself from sleep fully. He slipped out of his bed and into his apartment, it was a little lonelier up here now that Rhodey lived across the hall with Carol. 

The kids all had rooms in his apartment however for when they visited. Peter visited quite often what with him being an official intern, Harley was considering an internship himself, he'd convinced both families to move to the Non-Avenger residential district in the compound. He had tucked away all the families potentially in anyone's crosshairs, even with Ross gone. 

The compound was very busy these days, as were the Avengers. Rhodey accused him of collecting anyone vaguely related and tucking them behind his walls. Old habits tend to die hard. 

The small meeting they had had back in June felt like years away rather than months, but then Tony might have used a touch of magic to speed along getting the compound ready for the influx of people. There were sections that were purely for the Avengers, then there was The Guard, put together with ex-SHIELD members and housed 3 elite groups of powered individuals that were not full Avengers members called the Black Feathers. They helped out the Avengers, and they had missions of their own. 

One group was linked to the mutants, inhumans and supers that were slowly cleaning up parts of the world along with himself occasionally, it wasn't in his usual scope of abilities but his connection to the fire was useful. He was also getting laws pushed through to ensure that governments wouldn't up pollution now there was an  _ easy fix. _ A few people were quickly discovering contracts with him held more sway. Punishments had been swift and more people were falling in line than not. He checked the relative health of the planet often, the Blue Fire got stronger by the day. He'd started in places that fed power to the links around the base before spanning out seemingly at random. He had to be careful crossing into some lands, just because the government says yes, doesn't mean that a local pantheon might not still be active. Luckily, The Reapers were well known enough that he hadn't been force to fight. 

Rhodey had come into his powers with an ease and grace that stunned him. He adapted to the change as if he'd always had the ability to control fire. 

Stephen was still trying to work out his species so to speak. Or rather, he didn't believe Wong. He refused point blank and said until Tony said what he was, he would not believe that. The Sorcerer ranted at him often about it, dropped little tests here and there, he just smiled and changed the topic. Maybe he was having a little fun with him. He still called his mother 'The Crow'. He'd discover her name eventually. He really was just being obstinate by now. 

Rhodey had taken the mantle of the leader of the Avengers with Carol now and he had become their second, even though for matters that were more in his ballpark, that then flipped. When the titan arrived Rhodey would be his second for example, even though the Avengers would be involved. 

None of his family or friends had gone into vengeance mode, at least that's what he was choosing to believe. 

He'd had a few people stop by to see him and add that they did not approve of his current tactic of ignoring the rogues, and he knew damned well that something was going on because they'd been a little too quick to accept his reasoning. At least if they were being sneaky they wouldn't trigger an international incident. 

It felt like he had barely stopped for a few seconds since he was in Siberia whilst slowly freezing to death. Annoyingly he was still having nightmares from this life, added to what he had collected over his life time and he was having trouble sleeping again. It was a frequent problem and one of the reasons he'd always been so willing to become mortal. He rarely let on however, it was exactly something many people could help with and now he had shaken off mortality, a regular sleeping schedule was less important. He was also a lot more dangerous if woken incorrectly. 

The Select Committee had been informed about the Titan, and Tony was doing what he could, they were not entirely believing him yet. However they were fine to let him work so far. Advancing technology, building bunkers, launching various satellites to  _ monitor _ space. Making the planet healthier increased his ties to the Blue Fire which would lend him strength when the day came, an added, unseen bonus that enough people aiming their faith in his direction was fun too, he hadn't felt that in a while, hadn't expected it in this millennia. Plus, the world was just generally doing better. It was not perfect, of course, he might be good but it had only been months. He had some family and friends who could speed things along, but that was risky. 

Eventually they'd be able to officially tell the UN. The utter migraine that was proving Loki's innocence to set up the stage for a bigger bad guy, had yet to fade. 

Today however, today was the day he had been invited to Wakanda. 

The rogues, from what he had been told by T'Challa, continued on. Oblivious to the fact James 'Bucky' Barnes had been awake now for 16 days. He wanted the man to think on it before he just turned up, he'd accepted his offer to quickly. He was tucked away in a smaller palace atop a mountain of sorts. He'd seen Shuris pictures, it was beautiful. The rogues were in a corner of the main palace, hopefully where they could do little damage. His anger had calmed somewhat, but he knew it would not be wise for him and Rogers to be in the same room yet. 

Steve was still visiting Barnes in his cryo tube often apparently, or rather, his now empty tube. That it didn't have a window made things easier of course. 

"T'Challa! I will be arriving today as planned." 

"Of course Dr Stark, I can send coordinates to your AI if you like. If you come in through a set path you can remain unseen by the rogues." 

"Better idea, are you alone in that room you are in? Except your guards of course." 

"I am, yes." 

"What if I said I could just hop in?" 

"I would say that is ridiculous." 

"So I have permission?" 

"Sure. If you can just step into this room, yes, you have permission." 

T'Challa looked amused at his antics, really by now you'd think he'd know better to challenge him on anything. Although in his defence, none of that had been magic. 

"Cool!" 

With that he Firewalked into Wakanda. He could only Firewalk to a place he had seen, or where one of his reapers were, the video chat had made this easy, the modern world was awesome. It was a little further than a single step, but he knew of some shortcuts. When he stepped out of the black flame T'Challa was looking at him with stunned disbelief, that he came around from rather quickly was pretty good considering the weapons at his throat. He continued as if this was pretty normal. 

"Hi." 

"I'll be honest, I did not expect that." 

"Good, I enjoy being unpredictable." 

"I saw your press conferences that you seemed to have become younger, I see more has changed than that?" 

T'Challa was eyeing him, checking out any changes and assessing him. As Tony was in a land not of his people and as a guest he allowed it as he was on best behaviour. Plus, pointy things at his neck. They might not be able to kill him easily, but it wasn't  _ fun  _ being stabbed _ .  _

"Just a little, Siberia unlocked something that had always been in me. Lucky really, what with the whole drowning in blood, freezing to death fiasco.." 

"I know I have already apologised for leaving Siberia without assessing you myself several times now, but I believe it bears repeating, given what you are here to do." 

And finally the Dora backed up, he shot them a smile because if a stranger ported into his home, he would have reacted  _ much _ less favourably. He had a habit of becoming very protective over lands he lived in. He countered that it was not over protective, it was just the right amount. 

"Ah, King Kitty, were good. Shall we visit our Soldier? Plus, you're allowing me in your territory to right a wrong, that clears any debt." 

Not if the man kept sodding apologising it wouldn't, he could feel the weight of every damned one. Even he wasn't void of temptation shove into his face. 

"Of course, he's down in the courtyard reading last I checked, I'll go ahead and tell him you have arrived." 

He nodded and followed the King and a leisurely pace so the man would have a moment before he turned up in front of him. Sure this made sense to him and his mother as to why he'd heal the man, but most humans were stuck on his part at Siberia and the death of his mortal parents, and tended to think Tony should hate him. To him now, the situation was very different. Siberia, the betrayal was Rogers, although there was the aspect of him fighting with Rogers. There was a little weight as he joined the fight, but the scales tipped heavily in one direction. 

As a weapons maker and a weapon himself, he maybe saw things differently. Plus, no matter how close to humanity he was, he wasn't actually human. 

Tony saw Barnes before T'Challa had even reached him and the first thing he saw was Black Fire. 

Now that… he had not been expecting. 

Now however, The Winter Soldier, Rogers best pal, was firmly under  _ his _ protection and his mothers. Well that won't complicate matters  _ at all.  _


	20. Now You're Getting It

**Tony POV **

"Sergeant Barnes, I'm sure you know Tony Stark." 

The first clue that Barnes hadn't been keeping up with the news at all, was how his eyes went wide with shock for nearly a whole second before he got his expression under control. 

"I take it you haven't been keeping up with the news, have you?" 

"Ah, no, if you didn't come I was just going to go back into cryo." 

"Is there a private room we can talk, if you don't mind of course King Kitty?" 

Both men agree, Barnes a little too quickly for his comfort and T'Challa a little more reluctantly. Which meant the man cared for people under his protection. Soon enough they found themselves awkwardly stood in a living room type area, Dora were placed at the doors but Tony suspected that the place would be monitored. 

"So, do you have any questions?" 

"A few, but right now I'm focusing on how you look so different. It's not just age, your eyes are much different… you just look… "

He waved his arm, as if gesturing to all of him. It was funny, some humans tended to see him exactly as he'd been before Siberia, not even really seeing how his age had been peeled back unless their attention was drawn to it. Then there were a few who could start cataloguing differences in seconds. Rhodey was going to pout, Barnes had him beat. 

"Different? Hmm, yes, I came pretty close to dying in Siberia, which lead to all this. Which was quite handy really, because if I was still human, healing you would be much more difficult." 

"You nearly  _ died _ because of me, and your parents… this is so fucked up." 

"James, do you mind if I call you James?" 

Despite not knowing how he used his name and using minimal power, he saw his back tense and felt the magic through his fire, he winced internally, he hadn't expected that. Even so he nodded which made Tony smile brightly. Which didn't seem to help the confusion the other man was faced with. 

"Rogers is responsible for my previous untimely death. Not you." 

"He wasn't alone in that fight. I.. I was me, and I chose it." 

"How about this. I choose to not hold you at fault for what happened in Siberia. A lot happened very fast in that bunker and you'd been in a permanent state of hypervigilance, fight or flight and anxiety after you fled Hydra."

"Okay.. Yeah.. This. This is very weird." 

He couldn't help chuckling at that a little, although he supposed it was kind of odd. 

"Now, before we continue, I just want to be sure you are on board with this and not just going along with it for someone else?" 

"I… I think at first I might have, but I want to have a chance at living, you know, I want to be me.." 

"I get that. You should have a chance to find yourself, you don't have to be what anyone is pushing you to be." 

He paused, eyes narrowing at that, how he went completely still and held himself ready, well. Tony was a little impressed. 

"Can you read my mind?" 

Ah, yeah. He forgot that he'd spent time near Wanda. 

"No, not at all, my abilities run along a completely different path.  I just had a feeling that Rogers would expect you to be how you were in the past. Am I right? Some humans have a terrible time letting go and he is  _ extremely stubborn _ ." 

"You're saying ' _ human' _ like you're not one..?" 

"Now you're getting it." 

It definitely said something for all the crap he'd been through that he barely blinked at Tony casually admitting he wasn't human. 

"You… You really do want to help me, don't you? 

"By Claíomh Solais! What have the others been saying about me? I'm here to make amends, not take your life. Right a wrong in the world. I'm also here as a guest and any harm I cause to another guest would impact me greatly. I swear on my magic James, I'm here only to help." 

Plus, his mother would rip him a new one if he didn't. To say she'd become  _ invested _ in the Winter Soldier would be an understatement of the millenia. If her magic leaned more towards healing, she'd be here. 

Healing humans however was a tricky business, he had a bit of a cheat really being so connected to the Blue Fire. He'd seen an apprentice try and heal a human once and they became a damned tree, the thing was still standing in Sherwood Forest a thousand years later. Poor old Major Oak. 

"Magic? That sounds pretty serious, I uh. Yeah, I want your help. I want to be free of this shit in my brain. "

"Great, come here and sit down."

He pulled one of the comfier looking chairs away from the wall, he'd need to stand behind him for part of this and he had a feeling that wouldn't exactly inspire comfort, but he had an idea of getting around that. 

"Will I be unconscious or something? How long will this take? How is this going to work?"

"Magic, generally. Nope, fully awake, and not long at all really, this of magic as the universes cheat sheet. Would it make you feel better if you could see what I'd be doing?"

"Sure, this sounds interesting, I mean when am I going to see actual magic again? That isn't the Ved'ma anyway, but I don't really like her.. "

"I knew I'd like you Snowflake, you have good instincts. Many humans ignore that feeling in their head, the one that warns you off seemingly harmless or innocent looking things."

He waved a hand casually to the side and a body length mirror appeared before him, he'd get it back before Carol missed it. Hopefully. This time his eyes went wide and stayed like it. It looked like James liked magic which had him grinning, he loved his magic, others liking it tended to make him happy.

"OK, I'm doing this in stages, first I'm going to heal your physical health, remove the pain from your arm. Would you like another?" 

"Wait? What?! You have another arm for me?!" 

"Yup, Shuri made it, it's why it took so long for me to get here." 

He flicked his fingers and the case appeared on his lap, there was a sudden intake of breath at it, Tony was amazed how the fire from that even reached towards him like a magnet. He carried a lot of fire, it was more than even the first Reapers had, which interested him. He wondered if the serum had something to do with it, or potentially his age. He'd never had a hundred year old human with inactivated fire before. Mostly because even humans with inactivated fire could die of old age. 

Although he was dreading telling him, he sucked at having that conversation with new potential Reapers. An old friend told him that he was so nervous about potentially manipulating someone into taking up the mantle that he practically went the other way. But then he'd seen what many of his kin did to humans, it left him tentative. Not explaining the great parts and so on. They were right, he just didn't want any of his people to wake up one day and realise they'd never wanted this. It wasn't the kind of thing you could put down. 

James opened the case and the bright silver metal shone out, he had been fine with the design before but he thought up a change now. Especially given the Black Fire and that maybe it would remind him too much of the old one. He hadn't known before, but now he could feel the pain surrounding the socket without even touching him, so the old arm probably hurt much more. 

He telegraphed his movements so James saw his hand well before he lay it on his left shoulder and moved to the back of his neck, his non static glamour on his arms folded away, revealing the blue designs and James groaned as the black lines started leeching his pain away. Leaning into him subtly, but considering the relief from pain, he suspected that was more subconscious than conscious. Tony clenched his teeth against it and placed his other hand on his chest first to start healing everywhere there was damage. 

"Holy shit, thats, the pain… the new arm. It won't hurt will it? Then yes, I want it. You.. You're taking my pain on yourself aren't you?" 

"Not for long, soon there will be no pain to take." 

He finished healing stress fractures and bad breaks that healed too fast before moving to the mess Hydra made installing the original arm, and it was a fucking mess, the more he did, the more James sagged towards him. That James barely reacted as he slid his right hand up to the front of his shoulder told him enough. His eyes were open, but Tony could see it was a struggle, his eyelids dropping occasionally. He hated to think how much pain he'd been in, and for how long for him to be having such an extreme reaction to its removal. He really did get invested in potential Reapers quickly, that he was suffering in pain in silence? 

It sped things along. Plus, survivors like this really were a rare sort to come across, attracted his kind like catnip. Well, many of his kind had a favoured sort, some preferred soft handed artists and others wanted warriors like his mother. He liked survivors. 

When he'd healed everything he needed for the next stage, this time he sent a pulse summoning the Black Fire in both hands. Enough to completely engulf his shoulder, the fire within offered itself up too. James eyes were locked on his shoulder, instead of looking nervous or scared, he looked interested, like he was memorising every detail. 

He discarded the old socket painlessly, then healed and resituated the new one he summoned in place, coating the silver vibranium in the black metal of the Reaper blades. When that was done, he released 1 hand, the other stayed active, he summoned the arm. Sure, he could have picked it up, but his reaction was worth it. 

James was watching in fascination as he connected the limb and then pushed the fire down, throughout the limb. As the magic spread down from the shoulder, the shining metal shifted, coating with the same black metal as the socket. 

The metal of the reapers blades layered over the Vibranium would create a strong potential weapon in itself if he ever needed it. He left some silver coming through, creating an understated looking pattern down the length. It was actually a series of defensive wards. He couldn't put much on without it becoming obvious what he was doing and end up looking similar to his own arms. Instead of blue on skin, in shining silver on reaper black. This just looked like an  _ interesting _ pattern. 

The vibranium bonded beautifully with his magic, it sucked it up gleefully and the defensive wards set with surprising ease, he would definitely be investigating  _ that _ in the future. Because James carried his own fire, he wouldn't even need to top it up often. It would power itself from the residual Black Fire. As well as that, the magic should make the arm feel more like a real arm, and have the general properties of a flesh hand too. Just metal. It was enough magic that he probably should go and rest now but he was pushing on, he was pretty sure he'd be fine. He'd just have to pass out when he got home, healing was taxing. 

"There, how does it feel." 

James had switched from watching him like a threat to more confusion mixed with interest in the display of magic. Tony just stood back and let him test the arm, watching his excitement grow as he realised it could feel different textures. 

"This is impossible, how? Well I'm guessing magic? This is amazing, nothing like the Ved'ma at all." 

"Yup, magic can be awesome. Wanda's magic.. The source it comes from plus how she was lost in fantasies of revenge when he bonded with the power.. It sculpted her magic based in fear, pain and control." 

"She did something to you? Didn't she?" 

He shrugged, her magic was blasted clear from his mind by the fires of rebirth. 

"Yes, she has a habit of forcing people into their worst nightmares." 

"What..? And they let her on the team? Even though she.. " 

"My objections were ignored. Rogers was pretty determined to have her on the team and believed that she had switched sides, I think he just conveniently forgot the fact she wanted to kill me. It's fine, really" 

"What the damned hell has gotten into him? It's definitely not fine!" 

Tony would have to watch his brain/mouth filter, because he was a bit thrown by his reaction. The witch couldn't exactly come at him now, if anything that would be hilarious. 

"Just, don't go and get yourself hurt on my account. There is something I can do to keep her generally out of your mind, it's a temporary ward whilst I work on something better." 

"Why are you offering me so much?"

"I'll explain that when I've finished up, but I guarantee that it's a choice and I will not force, influence or expect payment. I also honestly just don't trust her, magic like that, it's a strong corrupting force that I  _ particularly _ dislike." 

"Okay, I don't exactly trust her either." 

Tony blinked before slowly moving in again. He wasn't quite used to humans just trusting him to do so much magic on them after so short a time period, even beneficial magic. It just wasn't something he was really used to straight up. Distrust first, work your way up from there.  _ Especially _ from humans. 

But then… time had marched on, their image had changed dramatically from what it once was. Not that James had any idea as to what he was. 

He put the thought away for now, coming up behind him. This was the big power use, the first part was easy compared to this one and he had originally planned on coming back tomorrow. He carded his fingers through his hair, concentrating to find what he needed and to put James at ease, looking with his eyes closed but guided by his magic. He did that for around a minute until his hands came to rest on either side of his head as he'd identified the damage. He opened his eyes that had been replaced with the completely white ones of his mother. That James didn't jerk away was also impressive, he couldn't see him, not really, but he could feel his interest and that told him James was watching him intently. It took longer than healing Rhodey's spine, it was much, much more complicated, the mind always is. 

He couldn't erase the memories, that was very dangerous territory, but he was erasing the control words tied into them. Healing the damage to his brain caused by the chair. It wouldn't bring back every memory, some of them were just were gone, and some might come back slowly over time. He was putting a little more in it to help him heal psychologically too, it wasn't a 'fix it', but it was like offering the first step. If he moved to heal then it would help, if he didn't take the steps to do so it would sit unused. There were limitations to healing the mind, he knew someone who was better than himself, but he really was not human-friendly. 

When he pulled back he sagged slightly. Dizziness overcoming him from expending a lot of energy intensive healing, yeah, he probably should have done that in multiple sessions… even with the black flame inside him. That possibly had taken a little more than he had expected. A lot more. 

"Oh fuck.." 

James however was quick as a cat and caught him as he blinked golden eyes at him slightly woozy and everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Major Oak by the way is real. It's won competitions for best tree in Britain and everything. It's so large, the limbs are held up by struts. A few decades ago it started dying, because people visited it so much, the earth was becoming impacted.
> 
> So there is a fence around it now, and it's flourishing again. The fence is a thee high wooden barrier and it actually keeps people back. 
> 
> Anyway. Random tree facts over. I just love Sherwood Forest and I always head straight to that tree when I visit.


	21. Did I Just Swoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James has no idea what just happened.
> 
> Or what is happening. 
> 
> Just.

**James POV **

He hadn't known what he was expecting when T'Challa told him that Tony Stark was coming to heal him and that didn't get much clearer in the following days.

Part of him thought the man was coming to kill him. Not because of Siberia, Stark could have ended that fight 22 times, yet _ they _ walked away. No, the man the others described was arrogant, cruel, narcissistic, that he would never help a person without personal gain of some kind. Stark tore the team apart, kept them from their home and there was a murder bot in there somewhere. There was no _ reason _ to heal him and Steve said Stark might still want him dead.

There was some other stuff, but as he was going into cryo, James had honestly lost interest and stopped paying attention to what the team told him about their former teammate. Or anything really. 

Now, he wished he'd paid attention seeing as Tony Stark went and his got himself a magic makeover.

It's not just that he looks younger, James is _ good _ with faces and there are little differences, his eyes for one, were like liquid gold and seemed slightly strange. It was like something in his head, that for once wasn't the jumbled mess of memories, was telling him something was _ different. _

Not necessarily bad, but there was definitely an edge to him that people didn't have. Like that one time he'd run across a wolf on a mission. The wolf didn't attack, he just stood, watching. Waiting for him to make his move. Like a predator, studying his every move. So when he said he wasn't human? James believed it because he really didn't feel human, at all. 

Everything got even stranger from then on out, he couldn't explain it, but Stark felt _ trustworthy,_ especially as he drained the pain from his shoulder into himself. He saw it travel up his arm with those weird fancy blue tattoos that appeared out of nowhere, as James felt relief from the constant pain that had plagued him since he'd fallen from the train. Then things moved fast again. In 5 minutes he was _ pain free _ and had _ 2 hands,_ it was amazing and James was left thinking was there nothing Stark couldn't do?

He wondered if he should be freaking out? 

Fixing his mind was weird because it was like he actually felt it clearing as he went. He found himself watching those white eyes intently, thinking that he should have been freaked out, but then figured if he wasn't freaked out by the man cradling his shoulder in Black Fire, the colour of his eyes changing wasn't really a big deal was it? It was kinda cool actually. 

When colour started to swim back into Stark's eyes, he was going to stand up and thank him, it was pretty lucky that he had been watching him really, otherwise he might have missed it. 

Stark wavered on the spot slightly, then his eyes glazed over and James could see where this was going, he moved fast and effortlessly and caught the smaller man. Then he had no idea what the hell to do, because Stark was _ vulnerable _ and _ unconscious_, he couldn't just leave him there, especially after he'd just healed him. To the point of _ exhaustion_.

Apparently the man was also an utter idiot. 

He scooped him up with ease, especially now he had two functional arms, Stark was so light that carrying him across the room was slightly unnerving and the whole experience left him wanting to yell the man who just healed him for doing it to exhaustion. Which was possibly the strangest thing in James' admittedly, very strange life to date. He laid him down on the sofa and decided to stay, to ensure nothing happened whilst he was unconscious. It was the least he could do. 

Sitting in front of the sofa, he decided to maybe catch up on what he'd missed using the tablet T'Challa had given him. Considering he wasn't going back into Cryo now, and last time he didn't do research Stark turned up all magicafied and less human. 

He found that a lot had happened since Siberia. He definitely hadn't expected Stark to be practically single handedly fixing the world? Why he'd taken time off such an important task like _ that _ to heal _ him _was extremely confusing. He was pretty sure climate change was more important than him.

He also discovered that the Internet was pretty fucked up and full of weird shit. He loved it. 

There was no mention of Stark's powers online, so if anything, this excursion to healing him was potentially detrimental too. He could release his powers to the world, or something, let alone that the exhaustion had left him vulnerable and alone. Not that he was going to do such a thing. He avoided watching the video from Siberia, but came across it a few times, until he discovered that a whole bunch of Stark lawyers were apparently fighting for his freedom? What the hell? Had everything flipped upside down whilst he was in cryo? 

He definitely didn't know what to do with that information. Stark was obviously unable to answer questions, sleeping peacefully, looking somehow even younger and lighter as he slept.

There was very little, practically nothing mentioned about Steve and his pals so he focused on Stark. Everything he knew about the man had been told to him by someone else and after he gave him something he had thought impossible? James figured he deserved a little effort before he judged him. 

It was about half an hour later when Stark made a noise and it quickly became obvious what was happening, he locked the tablet and kneeled in front of the sofa, panicking slightly. Tony fucking Stark was having a _ nightmare _ in front of him and he had _ no idea _ what to do.

The way the others described Stark to him had left him with many preconceptions, then having him breeze in and magically heal him of damage he had accepted as permanent… seeing him having a nightmare just threw all of that out of the window. It made him more of a person to him somehow. 

He tried to take him gently awaken him, but waking people from nightmares rarely goes to plan, but James couldn't just _leave_ him. It didn't go too badly, considering that time he punted Steve into a wall. Stark bolted upright, gasping wildly, his breathing was erratic. With one hand at his chest, the other ended up gripping James metal arm in a solid grip that he suspected from the feel of it, would easily have crushed his bones if it had been his flesh arm.

James wasn't sure how he went from being healed to being the one comforting in so short a time period, but he was happy to be able to give something back, even though it wasn't exactly much. 

"Hey, you're okay, you're safe. I just moved you to the sofa here. It's not been long, around 35 minutes. You're in Wakanda, no one else has entered the room." 

Stark glanced around in obvious confusion, James swore it looked like someone helping him during a nightmare was the strangest thing to ever happen to him. Similarly to the confusion Stark had exhibited when he had expressed anger at what had happened to him at the hands of the Ved'ma. Maybe it was because Stark had healed him, maybe it was because of what happened in Siberia. Either way, the almost wild look in Stark's eyes was like a punch to the gut. Instead of backing off like maybe he should have… Had this been literally anyone else he would have, instead he gripped his arm right back, until a little more of Stark comes back to his eyes. Hoping it would help. 

"Ah, yeah, I didn't mean to do that, hope I didn't scare you or anything..." 

"Are you seriously apologising to me for healing me till you passed out? Did you know you'd pass out?" 

"I've been human for a while, finding my limits again, healing is a lot of exertion." 

That was just a fancy way of saying that he'd known it was a possibility. 

"Well, you should be more careful with yourself." 

Stark just gave him a look that he read that the chance of that happening are pretty much zilch. He knows, because he's seen other idiots with the same look, risk themselves to get shit done, he seems to attract them.

He changed the topic however as Stark looked uncomfortable, he understood that, having nightmares wasn't something he liked to talk about, especially with people you've only just met properly. James wasn't sure about counting the other times as meeting properly. He had barely been a person then. Now, he didn't feel perfect, but he felt more… solid. 

"So what was the thing you were going to tell me?" 

"OK, so this is pretty weird, but when my people were more connected to humanity, sometimes our magic would... find people, sort of, that could help with certain tasks they carried out. There is usually a sign, for me it's my fire, I can see it in people who are fated to become protectors of the realm and the balance. I always make it a choice, you can just carry the Black Fire and continue as normal, just a little enhanced and with me occasionally making sure you're alive. Or take up the mantle, and gain the powers that come from it."

He was nodding a long, even though he was pretty sure he had no idea what the hell Stark was talking about. That was until he realised that Stark had switched from speaking of people in general to saying _ 'you'_. 

"Wait, are you saying I have this?!"

Instead of answering, Stark pulled himself to his feet, not exactly steady yet so James moved to steady him automatically.

Stark stepped closer, just shy of standing in his personal space and summoned the Black Fire he'd used earlier to his hand, which was really trippy. He held it in his hand, then moved hand closer to James chest, but he didn't have to _ see _ it. He could _ feel _ it. 

"Don't worry James, I'm not drafting you into war you don't understand, or anything like that. That's not my style. Like I said before. Choice." 

"So you didn't heal me to get me to say yes?"

"Nope, that's why I healed you before telling you. Like I said, no payment required, the healing was my part for Siberia. The rest is up to you, I'm not expecting you to decide anything now and I have to get back soon anyway. 

"FRIDAY, wipe this phone, leave mine and Platypus' number in it." 

Platypus? 

"Sure thing Boss!" 

OK. That phone just talked. And apparently its Irish. 

"So you can contact me on this if you want, or Platypus, he's a Reaper, just don't tell anyone that? Oh! And Honeybear decided to translate this into English for me just in case. Past Reapers started this process of writing a diary for people like you. Because _ apparently _ I suck at this bit."

He wasn't sure if Platypus and Honeybear were different people as he glanced at the book and phone in his hands, more than a little overwhelmed, but then an hour ago he was pretty sure this guy was coming to kill him.

This was... The most opposite thing possible. 

He got all... magically healed, got a new arm and now he has magic fire inside him that means he could protect the world, or something.

So. Yeah. Weird day.

Fuck, weird _hour_.

That was before the guys Phone talked back like a person. 

"Would it make me like you? What are you?" 

"No, you'll still be human, just with some… upgrades, I can't tell you what it would be like as it's different for each person that is chosen by the fire. But you'd live longer, be harder to kill, stronger and such as a basic. Rhodey-bear has developed a commendable strength in Pyrokinesis for example. My line has quite a sizable variation on abilities you see."

Nope. He did not see. He really needed to do homework. Apparently. 

"And people tend to freak out or not believe me when I tell them what I am, so I gave up and just let people work it out themselves. My people are from a different world, humans have given us many names, some better than others. You going to freak out on me?"

Stark grinned when he finished the sentence, wider than before, flashing canines that were a lot sharper than he'd ever seen on a human. It made James think of a cat more than anything else. 

"No. I don't think so?" 

"Tylwyth Teg, Tuath Dé, Aes Sídhe, Daoine Sìth, any bells?" 

Actually yes, Holy shit. One of them, anyway. Thank you Sarah Rogers. Who would have known her strange tales from Ireland and the British Isles would come in handy. 

"Fae?" 

"Like I said, we have many names." 

James was 100% not sure what to actually _do_ with this information.

He thought things were weird when your friend turns out to be a superhero in the future that fought aliens. This.. This was beyond that. This wasn't futuristic, it was.. ancient. So, he packed it back in his mind squarely in a box marked 'later'. 

"Th-" 

Stark's hand across his mouth stalls him, leaving him confused and frowning as Stark had stepped closer to cover his mouth. He hadn't quite realised how much taller he was until that moment. Stark had to tilt his head up to speak to him, it felt odd somehow, knowing how powerful he was. 

"Careful how you use that word. It creates debts, like names have power. James. Debts are.. Powerful things in my peoples hands."

He swallowed as he heat shot up his spine at the use of his name, he had no idea how or why it happened. James really should have listened more to Sarah Rogers, but James figured he was too old for fairytales at the time. 

Stark definitely got his point across. With that Stark turned to, possibly leave, which was when James acted utterly on impulse and grabbed the man into a hug. James had a moment of utter mortification before he heard Stark chuckling and hugged him back. That place that had reacted when he had felt the fire seemed to hum with the contact.

Stark stayed for a little after that, talking about random things, it was strange how normal it was. It was.. strange that James just felt comfortable talking so much, he'd been barely managing 3 word sentences before this. Strange feeling comfortable in the same room as another person. Strange that James didn't feel the constant _itch_ to get away. 

Stark eventually left in an explosion of Black Fire that left James utterly stunned and more than a little intrigued. That warmth he'd felt was quickly fading and he didn't need prompting to get reading. He had homework to do. 


	22. Recruitment Drive - Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony has his list again!

"What do you mean, try to be _ less _ terrifying?" 

"I mean, just, be less.. _ Terrifying _. Not like you're going to consume my immortal soul." 

"I sat in a diner and said "Hi". How was that terrifying?"

"You ate my waffle!" 

"Solid 4/10. Jane's pizza was better."

"Just... try to make the Avengers Recruitment Drive something less to run screaming in terror from, and more, you know.. _ welcoming _." 

"But.. you joined."

Danny thunked his head down onto the cafeteria table. 

"I tried. No one can say I didn't try." 

Tony patted his head and continues stealing his fries. Slightly baffled by the whole thing. He wasn't terrifying, he smiled and was polite to potential new recruits. No one found that scary. Surely. 

"Boss we have a current sighting." 

"Ooh, Show me baby girl." 

"You see, _this_ is part of the terrifying." 

Danny leaned over to see who had been picked up on FRIDAY-Recruitment Cam today. 

"I see what you mean about the alleyways." 

"I know right! Why can't people hangout in well lit areas?" 

"Before you go Tony, say it after me 'I will not terrify the recruits'. Got it?" 

"I will not terrify the recruits." 

Tony smirked as he summoned his fire to take him to dingey alleyway number 18.

"Much."

He chuckled as the sound of Danny's head thunking on the table followed him. 

"Ow." 

  
  


The move from sitting on a chair in the canteen, manipulating the fire so it was more a light falling than walking, leaving him sitting instead on a dumpster. Lovely. Before he could say or do anything, he had to tilt to the side an inch to dodge a bullet that ruffled his hair as it smashed into the brick behind him. He didn't let such a greeting disturb him. 

"Hi!" 

He had to tilt the other way to dodge another bullet. 

"Francis, darling, is that any way to greet new friends?"

He snatched the knife that hurtled at him this time from the shadows, out of the air, and started spinning it deftly in one hand. 

"Thankyou! I don't often get gifts when I'm out recruiting." 

As no projectiles came at him this time, he figured he was doing well. 

"Now, Francis, can I call you Francis?" 

"No." 

"He speaks! I assume you know who I am." 

"Iron man. Born Anthony Edward Stark. Heir to Stark Industries." 

"And Danny told _ me _not to be creepy." 

"What do you want with me Stark. I don't play with _ heroes _."

The sneer at heroes made him chuckle and hop down from the dumpster, walking up to the man who was casually leaning against the wall in the alley, using a knife to clean what looked like blood from beneath his fingernails. 

"You see, there is this guy. From space. That is coming here, to wipe out 50% of life in the universe. Indiscriminately. I'm collecting people to help me battle this chap." 

"I have little interest in being an Avenger." 

"Whilst that is option A, there is also option B. An armistice of sorts. One time deal, come together. Save the universe. Not murder each other during key moments of battle because I gaurentee you, it will piss me off and I will slice you six ways from Sunday."

He offered Castle a shark toothed grin and knew that if Danny was watching, he would be repeatedly slamming his head onto the table. The thick contract he dangled in front of the man was taken however. His methods did work, Danny had to agree to that. He had a 100% recruitment rate for people signing up so far after all. 

"After all this is cleared up, I can join you in hunting down some of the harder names on that list of yours if you're interested." 

"I don't leave my targets alive Stark." 

"Oh Francis darling, who said _ anything _ about leaving them alive?" 

He smirked and stepped backwards into black flames, flashing a wide grin as he stepped back into the Avengers canteen where Danny was staring at a tablet, looking utterly incredulous. 

"Did you just try to be extra terrifying because I asked you not to be?" 

Tony smirked as he dropped back down into his seat, swiping another of the man's fries. 

"Would I do that?" 

"Yes. And get your own food. You are a literal billionaire." 

"But it's a canonical fact that other people's food tastes better." 

"I knew getting the short straw for this job was going to make me question all of my life choices. It's been 7 minutes Tony. 7." 

"Boss, Another sighting." 

"Were on a roll today aren't we baby girl. Any advice for this next target Danny boy?" 

Danny brought up the file for the next person on Tony's list and paled. 

"Wait. What? No… you and FRIDAY are having me on." 

Tony just gave him a smile that Danny had categorised as abjectly terrifying and not safe for public consumption, before standing up, grabbing a good handful of fries that's time and stepping backwards into the fire. Into, you guessed it, dingey alley number 19! The world had too many alley ways. 

He'd just stuffed the remaining fry into his face as he ducked, a sword slicing through the air silently and slamming into the wall where his neck had been milliseconds before. The strength sent the blade inches into the concrete that shattered. Causing Tony to grumble as he brushed concrete dust from his hair. 

"Hi. Nice to see you too." 

The individual in question didn't speak as his blade was wrenched from the wall. Tony winced in sympathy for the blade but didn't waste any time before summoning a long blade of his own. Parrying the next several attacks. The only sound was of the man's leather coat occasionally creaking and their blades cracking together under both of their enhanced strength, neither breathing harshly. Tony had a feeling this could go on for a while. 

"Eric, how long are we going to do this? Because I have a schedule you see." 

Eric was a man of few words as the attacks increased in speed and strength. 

"Now, not that I'm having fun. But I am here to talk business, but I am totally up for a repeat. My Rhodey bear, platypus, light of my life, could seriously benefit from sparring with you. We just have this problem with a space grape that wants to kill 50% of all life in the universe."

That caused the man to falter from confusion, giving Tony the opening to step in closer and bash the hilt of his own sword harshly on Eric's wrist. The crunch of bones was quickly followed by the blade clattering to the floor and a gun being drawn.

Tony ignored the gun currently resting against his forehead as he fished out the relevant contract and his little dossier, of a sort, on Thanos and the Fam. 

"Everything you need is in here, including my contact details. FRIDAY will answer any questions you might have." 

"Are you fucking insane?" 

Tony tilted his head and offered a blythe smile at the gravelly voice the dhampir sported. 

"Sanity is an overrated human concept." 

The documents were taken gingerly by the man's healing hand, although he didn't drop the gun that was still pressing into his forehead. 

"I will read, but I guarantee nothing." 

"That's all I ever ask. Catch you later Eric." 

He stepped backwards away from the gun and back into the cafeteria. Danny's chips had unfortunately all vanished but had been replaced with a bottle of Jack Daniels. He had his elbows on the table and his face covered with both of his hands he peaked at the tablet to see Blade flipping through the pages of the dossier as he strolled away. 

"You're doing this on purpose." 

Tony smiled innocently as he sat down, Swapping out the bottle of Jack for Makers Mark because Danny should develop better taste. 

"Sandy, can you bring me a glass of cranberry juice?" 

"Of Course Mr Stark." 

"Oh, and bring Danny more fries." 

The young woman nodded before skipping off and Danny finally removed his hands. 

"You have been shot at, had a dagger thrown and you, and you got into a sword fight with a vampire." 

"Dhampir." 

"What now?" 

"He isn't a full vampire. He's a Dhampir." 

"I thought Vampires were fiction 9 minutes ago! I'm just calling him a vamp. Who is next?" 

"If I don't get interrupted by more CCTV sightings, I have a few options. Why ruin the surprise?" 

"I'm going to kill Jess. I swear she orchestrated this whole thing." 

"You could do some of these for me if you're so worried about me terrifying the general populace by saying Hi." 

"Ahuh. No. I repeat. You've been shot at. Twice." 

"I think that's just how Francis says Hi back." 

"Engaged in a terrifying sword fight where you both somehow looked _ bored _." 

"I got him to actually speak to me. That's an accomplishment, trust me." 

"I think I'll just remain here thank you." 

They both thanked Sandy as she brought Tony's drink and 'Danny's' fries. Tony drank the last on Danny's Jack as the man just watched. Obviously decided fighting was useless. Tony poured half of his cranberry juice into Danny's glass and topped them both up with Makers Mark before taking a long sip, another handful of fries as he brought up the image of his next hop. Winking at Danny before stepping into fires once more. Leaving Danny eyeing his drink speculatively, as if it would bite him. 

Thankfully, this was no dingey alley and he smiled as he stepped into the library, happy that his next targets were in residence as it saved hops and every other damned property he had came with thresholds. Libraries were for learning, originally to invite any who wished to learn. As he _always_ wanted to learn, it was a fun loophole he liked exploiting. 

And, his source told him that the library was the man's current favourite location. Before he could open his mouth however, a blue fist came at his face, rolling his eyes he dodged and blocked the next few hits. People were very attacky today he noted. 

"Lehnsherr. Can we sit and chat?" 

"You are the one trespassing on private property. What makes you think I have any interest in conversing with yourself?" 

"Well, you don't really have a way of booking appointments now do you? I'm here to offer a deal." 

"Again. Why would I have any interest in what _Ironman_ has to offer?" 

"Because your Brotherhood will be hit as much as everyone else if the Mad Titan achieves his goals. He is going to wipe out 50% of all life in the universe at random." 

Lehnsherr tilted his head in speculation as he continued trading blows with Mystique. Who was getting angrier the longer Tony looked mostly bored with the fight. It was amusing how easily that riled people up. 

"Mystique." 

The fight ended as abruptly as it began. Tony stopping the second Mystique did, he shot her a wide grin with a flash of fangs, causing her to frown. 

Tony simply walked past her after that and perched on the edge of the huge mahogany desk, ignoring the seats opposite. He summoned and dropped the relevant documentation in front of him, with a USB stick attached. He had a number of different contract options on the stick for members of his organisation. The contract on his desk was purely for Lehnsherr however. 

"Here, these will outline everything, including an armistice under the Accords for you and your group to help during the battle with assurances that allies will not use the chaos to attack. Before, during or after the battle for a day and an hour. Of course you will also agree to this and it is something that I will enforce. Strictly."

Magneto gave him an assessing look and Tony just smiled blithely in return, giving the mutant absolutely nothing, which he could tell irritated him given the tick in his jaw. 

"I promise nothing."

"Like I haven't heard _ that _ before. Call me, or my Baby Girl if you have any questions, you can continue as normal until events draw closer. When events start to pick up, you'll be called in and given targets." 

"Where will you be in this fight?" 

"Fighting the Titan." 

"As Ironman?" 

Tony summoned his Scythe in his right hand, grinning as Lehnsherr sat back eyeing both the blade and his now uncovered arms with interest. 

More of Lehnsherr's attention was for the blade however, legit trying to decipher what it was made from. Which Tony found endlessly amusing, an ability to sense metals must throw back something _interesting_ when confronted with a Reaper Blade he supposed. A barest of nods was all he received, Tony's message had been understood. Lehnsherr had little respect for baseline humans after all. 

Tony stepped back to the canteen, sending his blade away and rebuilding his glamour before sitting in front of Danny again. 

"This is nice. Tastes nothing like alcohol. Or cranberry juice. It's like.. Cherry drops." 

"I know, Magneto is probably on board." 

He honestly didn't time that for when Danny took a sip and no, it wasn't hilarious watching the man splutter as he helped himself to the fries, smiling as FRIDAY scratched another name off of his list. 

"Boss, we have had another sighting." 

"How many systems is FRIDAY in exactly? How does she keep finding people, who by their nature, tend to hide and have secret identities so easily?" 

"Danny. Do you really want me to answer this?" 

"Kind of?" 

"FRIDAY, Whilst I'm busy, show him how many cameras around the world you can access. Start big, end small." 

"Sure thing Boss!" 

This time he took the basket of fries with him this time. Porting constantly like this was hungry work he mused as he entered dingey alley number 20.

The young, blonde woman immediately jumped backwards instead of attacking him, which was a nice change of pace for today really. Her eyes flashing yellow as she started to fade into invisibility from her position, up on the wall. He would have to introduce her to Peter he thought, they could bond over their ability to stick to walls.

Tony manipulated the shadows around her to make it harder for her to fade completely from view if she continued, not being the first Chameliel he'd met. They tended to get on quite well with the Fae, both not overly caring that the other changed their appearances like shirts. 

"Hi there, I'm a friendly, you don't have to vanish on me. I'm just here to chat." 

Her eyes flashed a bright yellow that he returned, removing just enough of his glamour for his eyes to flash gold. Causing her to pause before she dropped down in front of him. He offered her some of 'Danny's' fries, pleased when she accepted whilst also moldy concerned by how quickly she did so. 

"You're Chameliel?" 

"No, but my species has some.. similar traits." 

"So you are not human?" 

"Nope, didn't figure that would be a problem." 

"It's.. Unexpected. To discover Tony Stark isn't human after he steps out of fire." 

"Would you rather I lie?" 

She contemplated that a moment before shaking her head. 

"How much do you know about the Avengers Miss Nelson?" 

"They've grown a lot since that Civil War, it's almost like you are preparing for something." 

"I am, did anyone ever tell you stories of the Mad Titan?" 

"The Deviant? I have heard some stories. Few of them are good." 

"He's coming here, and not with good intentions. I'm putting together a few groups to combat him and his people. To stop him destroying half the universe. Here." 

She took the contracts he summoned, and his Thanos file and started to flick through them. He went back to finishing up his fries. 

"You don't have to make a choice now, but give me or FRIDAY a call, my card is in the file." 

He waved as he dropped back into the cafeteria, with an impressed look on Danny's face. 

"See Tony, I knew you had it in you! I knew you could not be abjectly terrifying if you really put your mind to it." 

"I'm not abjectly terrifying. Who thinks I'm terrifying? Did you have fun chatting with FRIDAY?" 

"I think she is the one person more terrifying than you. I didn't know you could just access people's camera phones!" 

"You'd be surprised in 2016 how many people don't secure their tech. I generally see it as an open invitation." 

"Tony. No." 

"Tony. Yes." 


	23. Recruitment Drive - Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny's tapping out to question his life choices.
> 
> Who is tapping in?

Tony came back from a scout for more food to find that Danny had been replaced with Wade, who had folded his mask up so he could steal Tony's drink, he diverted back to the front of the cafeteria and promptly doubled everything on his tray. 

"Danny tapped out and you bring me delicious food. I don't see why everyone spent a week playing rock-paper-scissors and drawing straws to avoid this job." 

"Why has everyone been doing this exactly?" 

"Well, FRIDAY told Matt, who told Hope, who told Jess, who told Bruce, who to-" 

"Is there some kind of Avengers gossip chain I don't know about other than our mess of a group chat?" 

"Only after you decided to recruit more people." 

"I don't see what's wrong with my methods. You all joined." 

"I don't get it either."

"That's why you're my favourite, here, have some cake with those fries." 

That's why he loved Wade. He ate the cake and fries happily. 

"So, who is next on the list?" 

"I have Xavier booked in an hour because he is actually easy to contact and schedule. I finally got a location on Wolverine. So I'm thinking Canada or maybe Latveria next. Could put Avalon higher too.. My list is  _ long _ . I've mostly been using the CCTV method." 

"When you see Logan tell him I miss him, and if you visit the school I have letters." 

"I'll pop to Canada whilst you get the letters, be quick and guard our bountiful feast." 

He stood and stepped into the fire and Wade shoved half a burger in his face as he placed knives around their food it a menacing display. 

"Will do Bossman." 

"I'm not the Boss!" 

He yelled back through, only hearing laughter until he stepped out in the woods. Near an honest to God's log cabin. He knocked on the door, pushing out his senses and getting a pingback for someone inside just before the door opened. 

"Hi."

"What." 

"And people tell me _I'm_ the terrifying one. World ending drama is afoot."

"Did you just say afoot?" 

"Yup." 

Logan just blinked at him as if he wasn't entirely sure about what to do with him, Tony summoned up the contract he'd had printed for the guy, which got him a set of claws to the throat. 

"You really hate contracts?" 

"I'm suspicious by nature."

"Me too!" 

"You seen more… overly excitable." 

"Wade says 'Hi' by the way. The offer comes with lodgings if you want a change from this lumberjack calendar that you appear to be living in." 

"You want me to live in the same building... as  _ Wade _ ?" 

"Sure. Think about it, because, you know. World ending drama." 

"Are you being serious? Because I can't tell." 

"See, this is what happens when people tell me to be nice and not terrifying. Yes, crazy space grape, wiping out half of the universe, yadda yadda." 

The claws finally left his throat and he took the contracts, turned and shut the door without saying anything else. Tony shrugged and stepped back to the cafeteria, assuming he would hear from grump cat at some point. 

"Living alone in a cabin in the woods makes people anti social. "

"Na, that's just Logan."

"Is that an actual sack of letters? You realise I am not UPS right?" 

"Yup, you are better." 

Tony frowned because he wasn't going to let people know the way to get him to do things was complimenting him. 

"Boss, we have a CCTV hit for two people on the list.. But I'm not sure about how well received you will be." 

"Eh, give me the location baby girl, well see."

He flicked through images as he familiarised himself with the street as he started a slice of pizza. He stepped through still eating and straight into a blast of fire that tickled across his skin. He scooped up some of the flames that burned brighter at his attention. Tony was so enamoured with the little flame he completely missed that the two beings that had been all out trying to end each others existence had stopped to gape at him. 

"Fire likes me?" 

He placed the little flame on his shoulder where it moved back and forth a few times before jumping and burrowing in his hair. 

"What the fuck?" 

"I get that a lot. First things first, Johnny, you wait there. Now, are you still affiliated with Thanos and his current goal." 

"No, do you know how much of a headache his current  _ goal _ is? I keep getting all these souls ahead of time. It's a mess!" 

"Actually, I do, you should speak to Hela, she has a system in place to deal with the backlog, Mortis too. I can hook you up." 

"You've changed since I last saw you Merchant." 

"And you are as fiery as every Mephy." 

He groaned and sat down on a step at Tony's nickname, which just made him grin as he turned his attention to the other person. Who looked more confused than anything, but then Tony hadn't gotten around to meeting him yet. He'd met several people in his family over the generations, family curses at the strength were an intriguing draw. Not that he could do anything about it, well, he could, but the family would end up bound to him in some way instead and he didn't want to risk what could come from that. 

"What the hell is going on!?" 

"You two can get back to killing each other later, right now we have more pressing matters." 

"He's evil, if you are working with him I can't work with you." 

"Why?" 

"Why?! Because he's evil!" 

"Right now, he's the one that is going to help fight a guy that wants to kill 50% of the universe. Not even just earth, thousands of worlds trillions and trillions of people. Personally I think that's more important that the good and the bad guys." 

He tossed over a contract to Mephisto over his shoulder who deftly caught it out of the air, summoning a pair of glasses to flick through them. 

"What's stopping the bad guys taking advantage of this fight? You really think a contract will keep them in check?" 

Tony gave a self satisfied smirk at that, running his tongue across his teeth. He couldn't help his nature after all. 

"It will, contracts from me.. Well, they come with an extra kick. Anyone who does something fucking stupid like attacking each other with find themselves thrice bound and in my debt. Usually I'm pretty easy going compared to my kin, people who fuck around on my battlefield? You gonna break a contract by me Mephy?"

"Fuck no."

"There." 

"What if you die?" 

"The contracts pass to different people, whoever I think it will suck the most for. Meph, What do you think about Mab?" 

"Fucking hell Merch, what the fuck did I do to you?" 

"You know what you did." 

"That was 970 years ago!" 

"Ahuh, and I'm still pissed. So, you in?" 

He looked between himself and Mephisto a few times before holding his hand out, Tony summoned his contract in a burst of black fire. 

"This also counts as an invitation to the Avengers Initiative for yourself. Mephisto is under an Armistice agreement only. Read the contracts before you go back to fighting." 

He pointed at them both, he would be watching, then he turned and dropped back into the cafeteria. 

"Bossman. Your head is on fire." 

"I picked up a little friend, want to say hi?" 

He lifted his hand and the little flame hopped onto his fingers so he could show Wade, who instantly fell in love with the little fire and promptly picked him up. 

"Isn't that burning you?" 

"Yup." 

"And you don't care?" 

"Nope. He's so cute!" 

"Feed him some paper or something while I'm gone, I'll make a little enclosure for him when I'm done porting all over the damned planet. 

"Boss we got a hit on one of the more elusive contacts." 

"Really? She has been evading cameras with a near terrifying accuracy and now… She's sitting on a bench eating a hotdog?" 

"Sure is Boss." 

"Yeah, I have no idea how she does it, says her superpower is luck." 

Probability manipulation. Tony's eyebrows shoot up at that and he's porting to the bench with a bare thought spare to the fact it's in the middle of a public park. However as he landed, there is literally no one in sight as she hands a hotdog to him before he even fully materilised. Then several people walk past as normal and Tony is a little giddy because wow. 

"Hi" / "Hi" 

They speak at the same time and she flashes a wide grin at him, he flashes his fangs in a wide grin back. 

"Oh that's so cool, you have fangs!" 

"Yup!" 

"So, you have something for me?" 

"That I do, I wrote it up when Wade told me about his team but then I just never seemed to be able to find you." 

"Well, you found me." 

"Here's me feeling you lured me with, oh my god, this is the best hot dog I've ever eaten. And I'm old as fuck and have eaten a lot of hot dogs." 

Tony practically indecently moans as he summoned her contract and the 'What the fuck is a Thanos' file. Wade renamed it.

"Awesome." 

She starts leafing through and Tony is content to eat his hotdog, because if he takes this back to the cafeteria Wade will try to eat it, out of his damned hands. He knows that because of the day he got the last fudge cake and ended up with Wade in his lap and his fork in Wade's mouth. 

When he stepped back into the canteen, Wade was sulking. 

"That was out right cruelty Bossman, you made me watch the both of you eat delicious food." 

"Hmm, I know. It was lovely. That's why I did a nice thing and brought you one back." 

The little fire was now sat in a next of shredded lapper and was merrily burning away. 

"Before you bliss out on that hotdog, option A or B." 

"Where's A and B?" 

"Latveria or Avalon." 

"Huh, should have known you entering this 'verse would make matters more complicated. A." 

"I'm not looking forward to this… What's the bet I get to Latveria and he and Reed are duking it out somewhere else." 

"Stop stalling. Go and recruit." 

He grumbled before bringing up what images he had of Victors last known location and stepping through. The man wasn't around, but there had been a fight of some kind which was actually better. He splayed a hand casting his Magic out, humans with magic were not so industrious about cleaning up after themselves. Especially after years of holding dominion over this planet. Victor was better than most, but it didn't take long to see a silver shimmer, fluttering lightly in the wind. 

He had to scale a wall, he cast blue tendrils out to capture the thread, encasing but not changing it. That was the real fear of leaving your magic around, Tony could easily absorb this and add it to his power, instead he spoke the man's name to it, encouraging it to return home. He frowned when it brought him to a building, testing the threshold. That was annoying. The area was pretty empty though so he backed up and found a wall to perch on. Switched the spell from questing to luring. If he'd done it right, and it had been a while, he'd exit the house for a normal reason. If he'd done it wrong, he'd come out pissed off. It entirely depended on how much time Victor had spent with Morgan. 

When the door opened, and he didn't step out, Tony knew he'd spent at least some time with Morgan. 

"Who is there?" 

Tony hopped down from his perch and deflected the silvery blast that immediately aimed for him. Holding his hand out, freeing the silver thread. 

"I was returning this." 

"Since when does Ironman have magic?" 

"Since Ironman got bored of remaining human and.. You have an open debt on you." 

The words clicked as his eyes widened and he backed into the room, which he assumed was possibly a secret lab of some kind. He hadn't kept up with his and Reeds little war. The debt gave him what he needed to slip inside his threshold. Grabbing hold and feeling the threshold part for him, allowing him entrance without being forced to leave any of his power at the door. 

"I'm actually here to make you an offer." 

"Offers from the Fae are never worth it." 

"Tsk, that's a broken debt on your end Vic, not hers. How's your magic holding up under it?" 

He didn't get a response to that, just glaring. 

"How about this, you give my contract a read and, if you decide to play on our side, I will remove that open debt." 

"Only she can remove it." 

"Maybe, but I have enough debt on her that I could purchase it from her and close it. 

"What's to stop you using it?" 

"Ew. No. Gross. I dislike other people's debts, my own are much more interesting." 

He summoned up the contracts and a pen as he made adjustments regarding the man's broken debt and handed it over. 

"Up to you Viccy-boy, but I will advise until the battle is completed and a day and hour past, it will count as a deal. I won't simply leave you with a broken debt like blood in the water." 

"That doesn't sound remotely comforting." 

"Was it meant to?"

He dropped back into the canteen, before Victor attracted Reed and then he'd be caught in-between them. Immensely awkward. 

"How was Doom?" 

"Amusing actually, seemed he'd gone and broke a deal with an old acquaintance. Give me your damned sack anyway." 

He couldn't believe he was turning up with a literally sack. 

He firewalked to outside of the school, not wanting to potentially scare any of the children before making his way to Xavier's office. 

" Tony, it's great to see you again. I see you've come bearing gifts?" 

"Deadpool has some letters for people and asked that I drop them off as I'm on my way over. Have you had a chance to look at the file?" 

"Of course, we just have a few questions, come sit down, I'm sure you've been quite busy." 

Tony dropped into the comfortable seat, enjoying the general feel for this school. The combination of all the different abilities, different people. It created a please to hum against his senses. 

"Porting can be exhausting." 

"Yes, Kurt has told me that it can be hungry work. So, was he in the library after all?" 

"Yup. You saved me a lot of trouble." 


	24. Oh joy. Asgardians

**Tony POV**

The alarm to assemble jerked him out of the first reprieve he'd managed to literally carve out of his schedule for  _ months _ and to say he was irritated would be quite the understatement. Plus, it looked awful out, it was a cold, damp March and he'd basically been in a blanket nest in front of the fire. 

"That's it. I'm fucking killing whoever triggered this. Do villains not understand the meaning of day off FRIDAY? What is happening?" 

At least magic made getting dressed easy and he had the latest of his nano suits on him. He now owed James a new blanket as the guy had bet him he couldn't have a day off in peace. So close. 

"I don't think so Boss, Jane says she has readings that the Bifrost will land in 76 seconds." 

"Oh joy. Asgardians." 

He paused for a second, not knowing if he should head out suited up with the Avengers or if this was something for him and Rhodey to deal with. He let the suit form around him and headed to the contact point Jane had instructed. It was highly unlikely they knew who he was now, not landing here at least. It would be fun to see how they dealt with him as a human, before they realised he very much wasn't. 

"Tell Rhodey to suit up, we'll play it by ear. Oh and pull Eddie in." 

"Sure thing Boss!" 

The onduty group that assembled was a little strange, Himself, Rhodey, Jess and now, Eddie. Smart people had taken their designated day off and gone out for the day and others on duty were helping with a rash of fires in a different country. Others currently on duty were not rated for unknown Asgardian contact. 

"Ugh, it's drizzly. Why am I here Tony?" 

"Aliens, about to land on our lawn. Space Vikings." 

Eddie tilted his head as if in consideration before nodding. 

" _ Vikings _ . From  _ space _ are landing on our  _ lawn _ ." 

"I know." 

"Dammit." 

Tony groused slightly as the bright light flash, branding his poor lawn. Nothing fazed Eddie. Out of the bright light he could see two shadowy figures and one looked to be the relative size and build of Thor which immediately spiked Tony's irritation through the roof. As they cleared he found it mildly amusing that he was more interested in being polite to his brother and wanting to throttle Thor right back. 

The life he'd lived as Tony was close enough to him that shrugging off parts of it were not as easy as he'd made them out to be to some people, it still happened to him after all, like the Asgardians he saw time differently, a few years to him was nothing. Likely not helped by the fact he really was still kind of living the life of Tony Stark, just upgraded. Rhodey knew, as did a few others and that was enough. 

"Man of Iron! I bring word from my father of a threat heading to earth! Where is the Captain!" 

Tony sighed and lead them inside, because royal Asgardian pains in the ass or not, he wasn't standing outside in drizzly rain, as he got inside the ground floor common room, he pulled the suit back into the hive and flopped down onto the sofa. Thor looked a little confused and Loki seemed slightly startled at the easy invite. 

"Point Break, Reindeer Games. I assume you are here to tell me about the mad Titan that's coming to earth to gather the infinity stones to do colossally stupid shit with?"

Loki was however looking at him very intently, obviously he'd picked up on something so he flashed him a sharp toothed smile, he blinked for barely a second, recovered and shot a very similar one back, he had a feeling he was going to get along with Loki. He could see why friends had wanted them to meet but he'd never had a chance before the Asgardians started to pull away from earth after the ice giant fiasco. Others still travelled to the Asgard occasionally, and the other Realms, but it had rarely drawn him, never to the Palace. Usually too busy elsewhere, as Cadeyrn he was possibly more of a workaholic on occasion than Tony Stark. His aunt was forever on at him to take a break. 

"Right you are, I find myself surprised you know of this already." 

"I'm crafty like that you see. So, are you messengers or are you Asgards offer of fighters?"

"We'll be staying to defend Midgard, I know you might be wary of my brother.." 

"Nope. I sorted all that out when it was  _ painfully  _ obvious that Lokster wasn't behind the wheel. So, we're cool. You and me however, I'm still a little… pissed shall we say. That was a very  _ human  _ neck you throttled after all." 

He was highly amused with their reactions, which one was more surprised? He couldn't tell. Loki recovered faster, obviously, smirking he dropped himself down in a seat near him. Practically draping himself over the sofa with practiced ease, offering his hand. Tony knew exactly what the other God was doing, but it was confusing Thor so he was going with it. He held his magic in check however, even when Loki's 'accidentally' sparked, trying to draw his magic out to get a read on him. He played the dumb, magicless human. Loki didn't buy it, but he also had no idea what he was. 

"I was expecting irritation at my presence, seems you have out done even me Thor. Might I introduce myself properly? Last time things were a little tense, but I believe you still owe me a drink" 

"Sure, I go by Tony Stark in these parts. I will be happy to oblige, I have some drinks you might have an interest in." 

"Go by?" 

Thor interrupted before he could answer Loki and Tony knew he'd have to leave them to it soon. His irritation was well on the way to slipping into anger if he wasn't very careful. That was the problem about spending so long as a human, their kind tended to feel things more… intensely, blanks out everything else. Rhodey had nicknamed it the tinkerbell effect and refused to call it anything else. 

The longer he spent as a human, the less practice he had for keeping that anger back, and the consequences for releasing it was never worth it. It's why there were so many stories of huge reactions to seemingly petty grievances and very confused humans. 

"When will the others by arriving?" 

"They won't be Thor, we had a few differences you see. However, come to think of it, you two are quite convenient. I can set you up with the UN to announce the upcoming threat and I can move up my plans." 

Rhodey strolls back in with two sets of the Accords, passing Loki his and dropping the other on the table in front of Thor with a little added force. 

"Right, I'll leave you to read. When you've done that come and find me, till then, I was on my day off. FRIDAY can help you if you need it. Catch you later for that drink Lokster." 

He should probably hit something or other for a bit so he didn't hit Thor. 

**Loki POV**

Things had definitely turned out much differently than he and Thor had expected. He had thought Thor was to be welcomed with open arms and he was to be scorned, yet they were invited into the heart of their home with little fuss. As the Ironman suit came apart around him, he knew that something was instantly different. Out of everything, eyes of that colour didn't belong in a human and he could  _ feel _ something different about him. There was something more there although it was hidden well, sharper too, he scanned the room and moved more akin to a jungle cat that a human. It was subtle, but Loki picked up on things like that. His irritation had been sharp enough to pick at Loki's sense, which was strange, humans tended to come in at a low on his senses. 

As they were left in the room he picked through the papers to read, sighing when Thor did not. 

"I do not understand what has happened here in such a short period of time." 

"They're expecting you to apologise for assaulting their leader Thor. It's painfully obvious." 

"It was a petty squabble, that can't be it. I will have to investigate what has happened in my absence, maybe this UN could be of help? " 

"Thor. Do you remember why your father sent me with you?" 

"Too make up for the damage and lives taken during the invasion." 

"No Thor. The  _ real _ reason. I'm to act as your council when dealing with the leaders of this word. Tony Stark is a glaringly obvious leader that you have insulted. Apologising would do a long way." 

"He is my shield-brother! You worry too much Loki."

He wasn't sure why he was wasting his breath. Thor had come down here expecting this ragtag band of heroes run by the Captain, being faced with something quite different had thrown him. Whilst he could be great at politics, Thor was a lot smarter than he lead people to believe, he played the dumb oaf card to his advantage. It mostly irritated Loki that it worked so often. 

However, somethings tended to slip by him until they exploded in his face. The way everyone had angled themselves in the room pointed to a clear leader with a wealth of respect. 

There was also the fact that the man looked considerably younger than he should. His memory from the invasion was not that great, but he remembered enough of what the Ironman had looked like before. Mortals aged quickly after all and yet, he looked younger than he had been back then. Thor tended to forget the fragility and ageing of the humans. 

He rolled his eyes at the determination on Thor's face and realised he was going to have to clear this up himself. Not the first time and he doubted it would be the last


	25. Strange Magic

**Loki POV **

"Miss FRIDAY is it? If it were possible, do you think I could arrange a meeting with Mr Stark?" 

"Sure thing Mr Liesmith, I'll ask him now." 

He smiled at the name, Thor would likely be irritated with it when he eventually heard it, of course, he wondered if that was why the incorporeal voice chose it, it was the kind of careful slight that he enjoyed immensely. But considering they'd barely stepped of the Bifrost and already he was cleaning up his messes, he allowed himself the amusement. They'd been here a few days now and whilst they had met with a few people, they had largely been left alone to read these Accords and speak to their UN advisor. Thor was taking it surprisingly seriously, but he had of course, not apologised for his behaviour. 

"He says he's free now, would you like me to lead you to him?" 

That surprised him, he had expected to be made to wait a little given Thor had actually throttled the man. That wouldn't go over well in many places, but humans with their extremely fragile bodies and short life spans, it was worse. He followed the flashing lights from their guest rooms to the elevator which went up to the top without any intervention from himself. The lights then lead him to a door at the end of a corridor that opened automatically for him, leaving him in a very large living area that blended a more organic decor with the more futuristic one, similar to what he'd seen elsewhere in the compound in quite an interesting manner. He preferred it to the gold of Asgard. There was a lot of wood and natural stone around that pleased him. 

The man he was looking for was sat in a large seating area near an absolutely huge fire. He grimaced internally at the thought of sitting near that much heat, and he must have given himself away somehow, as he was surprised to find very little heat was given off by the flame as he sat down. It threw him off balance slightly, it wasn't often people read him so easily and even less often that they put consideration into his comfort. He added it to his collection of strange information about their host. 

"I thought I should stop by to apologise for Thor." 

"You know, eventually you have to get to a point in life where you stop apologising for others. Otherwise, they will never learn. Never be accountable for their own actions and if you aren't careful, it might just kill you." 

He paused and felt the truth of that statement, which was very odd in itself. It sounded as if he was saying that his covering for others had resulted in his death. 

"You sound like you are speaking from experience, but I can't help noticing that you are very alive." 

"Sure I am, but Tony Stark the human died in a sub zero temperatures, drowning in his own blood." 

He searched for the lie in that but came up with absolutely nothing, something that he'd noticed the few times they'd spoken so far. Everyone lied, even people who thought they were telling the truth lied occasionally, accidentally even, and he was not the God of lies only because he was good at telling them, but because he could feel them. There were ways around it, to tell the truth but to mislead, certain races incapable of lying were experts at it and taught him a lot of what he knew. 

Stark just flat out spoke the truth as if it was nothing, spoke to him easily and without scorn, it was a little disconcerting. 

"So, who are you now if Tony Stark died?" 

"Oh, I'm still going by Tony, it grew on me." 

Which told him absolutely nothing and yet, it was the truth again, but before he could question again, he turned to place his cup on the table beside him. Offering his hand out towards him as he had on their first meeting. Wiggling his fingers tauntingly when it wasn't immediately accepted. He took the proffered hand, but instead of the lack of magic he felt last time, this time is was right there and there was a wealth of raw power that surprised him in its strength. 

The level of trust for a magic user to offer that to another was not something he had ever expected to find in  _ his _ direction. The only answer he could think was that he was young, inexperienced and didn't realise he was basically offering his magic up for Loki to get a read on it. There was no block or shield to remotely protect his Magic from his senses. He doubted he would have been so casual about it if he knew the implications given his reputation. Not that Loki would be stupid enough to do anything at this juncture, he was a guest in this man's home, but people often thought the very worst of him and he'd come to expect it. He had to ask though, to know, because if by some chance that he did.. Then maybe there was a chance of getting to know another magic user without the distrust and thinly veiled disgust he'd come to expect on Asgard. Maybe. Midgard didn't have the same hangups Asgard had about magic. 

"Do you know what you're doing?" 

He didn't answer with words, but he smirked and sent a concentrated pulse of raw magic to him. Small black flames pulled a surge of green from him, over to Stark's skin, as if such a feat was the easiest thing in the world. He didn't even snatch his hand back quickly, he kept up the contact and keeping his magic forward for Loki to learn until he decided to let go. 

Which definitely told him a few things he was not a young, inexperienced magic user. He was  _ much _ stronger than he suspected and that Thor needed to apologise for his transgressions himself before this escalated beyond his measure to control. The tenor of the magic rang a bell but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It was as if he'd come across it, or something similar before, but long ago. Midgard wasn't exactly a magical nexus, oh there was magic within Midgard herself, but it didn't often pool in humans themselves to this extent. Other creatures were attracted to it however. Seated at the centre of the tree, home to a strange, blue magic he'd never quite understood, Midgard attracted all kinds of people. 

His appearance didn't help Loki in discovering who this man, that had been a human not long ago, really was. The golden eyes definitely were not human and he felt predatory, but that could be one of thousands of races. His magic was as innate to him as his Seiðr was to him and he could be behind a glamour just as he was. It was a mystery and Loki liked mysteries, he would get to the bottom of this, but maybe with more care than he usually showed, goodwill such as this was strange to him and he was interested in keeping it. 

If anyone had told him when they arrived on Midgard, that  _ he _ would be received better than his brother and end up sitting with another magic user like this. He would have considered them insane. However, it seems the Midgardians knew more than they had ever suspected and Stark had been laying the groundwork to announce the titans plans starting with convincing the world he had not actually been behind the attack. 

Miss FRIDAY had given him the rundown, that at first people were confused why he was defending an alien invader that wasn't even here. He could see it as merely a first step in announcing a larger threat was coming. Not that Stark had feelings towards him in anyway at that point, or, like Thor thought, he was doing it for him. Otherwise people had believed the threat defeated with him, and even then, a single band of heroes had pulled it off. Convincing people of his innocence lead to the question, "Then who was pulling the strings?" which was what Stark wanted. 

They stayed talking for a while, he did not try to bring the conversation back to Thor again as that had been closed with a note of finality. He needed to also get Thor to stop bringing up these missing teammates, it was painfully obvious it was them he was referring to and explaining this to Thor who, as a rule, purposefully didn't understand magic, was going to be painful. 

Stark summoned a number of different bottles, arriving in bursts of heat-free dark flame as he explained where each came from, it's potency on someone like Loki which lead him to believe he had a constitution similar to him and Thor, he added it to his list. He became quite enamoured with a honey strawberry and raspberry wine that Stark had made himself. Sweet, but not cloying, an edge of tartness but not overtly sour with a devious kick. It was the kind of drink you'd finish several bottles of without realising how inebriated you were becoming. 

A delightful black cat appeared from beneath the table, seemingly coalescing from the shadows and Loki was very sure that she had not been underneath the table previously. Stark introduced her as Drest, meaning Riot in a language he was only partially familiar with, which he found amusing and the name started to potentially give him more clues, she became smaller as she curled up in a ball on his lap, claiming him as a new bed with an ease that again took him by surprise as he knew this was no Midgardian feline. 

Stark became Anthony, much to his mortification and Loki's amusement, he asked him if he had any other names and was told he had plenty. Again. Not a lie. 

That maybe he could tell him some of them one day. Loki didn't take it as an insult, some creatures were more susceptible to truenaming than others and he got a sense he had suffered great betrayal before, as he had suffered the same, he had a sense for it. For some it was rude to even speak their names. He was willing to wait this out he thought.

  
  
  
  


"Thor, when are you going to apologise to our host?" 

"Do not worry so much brother! Things will sort themselves out sooner rather than later. The aid the UN sent to me has been most hopeful. You should stop your fretting." 

The desire to slam Thor's head into the nearest wall was strong. He had a bad feeling that whilst he had been trying to mend bridges that Thor had been setting them alight. Cursing Odin for putting him in the position for the hundredth time, he sat down and tried to be calm. 

"Thor? What have you done?" 

  
  


**Tony POV **

“Motherfucker!"

Tony was just staring at his phone, he'd read the email from the UN a few times and he was trying to remind himself that violence was not the answer. Who was he kidding, violence could be very well the answer, but Rhodey was pacing in front of him. Rage practically pouring off him, so he had to be the sensible one it seemed. The fire in his apartment was white hot as Rhodey's rage bled over. Cara was of course enjoying himself in front of it. 

"I can't believe this Tones. Thor's been here for two fucking seconds and people are already using him." 

"I should have expected it. The Cap column has been growing since I started informing them of a greater threat. Thor is their golden haired ticket." 

"We can stop this." 

"We could, but it would cause us problems down the line." 

"And you don't think  _ they'll _ cause problems?!" 

"Probably. But we can get ahead of it, if we agree we can set down some ground rules that they'll have to accept." 

"Tones, you shouldn't have to keep doing this." 

"If we look to be blocking help when I'm telling everyone of a serious threat. It would look as if I was putting personal grievances ahead of the planet." 

"Attempted fucking murder, manipulation and the mind raping bitch are some pretty serious personal grievances." 

"I know Platypus. We'll work it out, we have good people on our side."

"So you're just going to let Thor get away with this?" 

He just laughs to that which eases the anger in Rhodey a little. His phone went off again and discovered he had 26 texts from James asking what the fuck was going on. 

TS - Looks like you're coming to America. Unfortunately so are your housemates. 

SF - At least Shuri will be happy? 

"Ah, so that's why you aren't so against this." 

"Huh, I'm against it. I don't want Rogers or, Wanda especially, anywhere near me, it will be an effort not to cause serious damage." 

"But getting to see your boyfriend is a free silver lining?" 

Rhodey had switched from barely contained violence go a complete shit eating grin in a matter of seconds that made him roll his eyes. 

"He's not my  _ boyfriend _ . He's a  _ friend _ . We just text occasionally." 

"You and me have different ideas of texting  _ occasionally _ . You guys watch movies together on video chat. That's next level sappy shit. Plus, I always know when you're texting him." 

"No it's not, I'm helping him get up to date on things, and no you don't?" 

"I do. You get this smile on your face when you read the texts, if it wasn't so gross I'd call it adorable. You are so gone for him dude." 

"No, I'm not, we're  _ friends _ ." 

"Mmmhmm, you keep telling yourself that…" 

It'll be interesting to see the man again at least, they'd kept in contact secretly since he had healed him. Well, secretly on James side, maybe he should have kept it secret on his side too as its given Rhodey the wrong ideas. James even provided him with occasional updates of what the others were up to. He'd only popped back to Wakanda once to place the mind protection ward on James so Wanda could not invade his mind and that had been months ago and he had missed him, but he'd not had a reason to pop over so he'd stuck to texting. 

"He doesn't think of me that way, so you can stop planning weddings in your head." 

"Ahuh, sure, the guy who texts you like a hundred times a day isn't into you. Makes perfect sense." 

He rolled his eyes, spinning on his heel to stalk off, he had a lot of planning to do for these newcomers. 

"Right, I'm going to go and do something more productive than this, like sort out accommodation for that lot." 

"You should house James in the residential unit with us, make a separate unit for criminals only or something. There's a free room down the hall. Didn't you mention that he likes heights?" 

"That's a good idea actually. I'll get on it." 

Rhodey smirked to himself as Tony hurled himself into work.


	26. You Idiot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit longer than usual because I kept adding to it xD

**Tony POV **

"Boss, you need to go to the common room."

Tony jerked out of his doze, having fallen asleep on his sofa whilst reading, he had a feeling it was around 3am. But that was early for being summoned places. 

"What's going on FRIDAY, its 3 am for fucks sake." 

"Mr Liesmith just came across Goose." 

Tony froze for a second before swearing profusely in a few different languages. Dammit, how had he forgotten that someone like Loki would obviously be well travelled. He jumped up and firewalked to the common room, not wanting to waste and time and immediately jumped in between Goose and Loki. 

Catching the surge of green magic before it got to his murderfloof. 

"Mm, tingly!" 

"Do you know what manner of creature is stalking your hallways?!" 

"Actually, yes I do. I know Goose is a Flerkin, and she's very nice! Best Flerkin I have ever met!" 

Loki just blinked at him with a facial expression he was very familiar with. It was the "Are you out of your damned mind?!" look. He edged closer to Loki, knowing the man was still on edge. 

"Look, why don't I introduce the two of you?" 

Loki was squinting at him now and Tony wondered how the next meet and greet he had planned would go. 

"Hey FRIDAY, is Eddie up? I figure we should get our interesting residents officially introduced to our resident God of Mischief." 

"You consider me a resident?" 

He took that opening to link arms with the other God and sublty tug him in the direction of Goose. 

"Of course I do! Now, Goose will eat anything you put ham on, but if you ask her not to eat anything in your room, she won't. Usually. Isn't that right my Goosey-Loosey Murder-Floofy." 

"I'm actually more concerned for your sanity than I am for my safety right now. Bravo." 

Tony snickered at that and it worked in loosening the other God up. Goose had been watching them with mild disinterest until Tony opened up his arms, the Flerkin made a graceful leap and he caught her easily. She started purring like a train. 

"You like Drest, I'm sure you'll like Goose too." 

"Drest is small, and does not have tentacles." 

"Well. One of those things are true, don't freak out." 

"One saying 'Don't freak out' is usually cause to 'freak out'." 

He pointed as the table where Drest coalesced from the shadows in her small, kitten shape. In the several steps towards Loki she shifted, growing larger each time until she was the size of a very large, sleek Panther. Muscles rippling under shining fur as he proceeded to greet Loki in the same manner as she had since they'd been introduced. A head but from a kitten however packed a lot less punch that as she was now. Loki wavered on the spot, his hand automatically going for her ears. Drest trained people very quickly. 

"I did not expect that. Do you have any other felines that defy the laws of physics?" 

"No, but since you are doing so well with Goosey-Loosey and Drest, I figure you should meet Eddie while we are ahead. Luckily the man's sleeping patterns are worse than my own, is he alright to come down Fry?" 

"He's on the way Boss." 

Loki was gingerly offering a hand towards Goose, who was purring up a storm. 

"Is it normal for people of Midgard to harbour one of the most dangerous species in the known universe and name them after harmless avian creatures or is it just you? "

"Actually, Goose has Carol as her pet human. And harmless? Goosey-Loose is much nicer than actually geese!"

"That ridiculous nickname is causing quite the disconnect in my mind. Right, after this I'm sure nothing could shock me. Why do you wish me to speak to Eddie? I remember him vaugley from when we arrived, he seemed Midgardian in appearance, but everyday I spend around yourself that means less and less. "

"I'm taking that as a compliment, so, funny story. Do you know much about Klyntar? "

Loki seemed to be speechless, something Tony found rather amusing. In his defence, it was 3am.

"You are jesting. Surely." 

"What are you after Tony, I was playing Diablo 3, Venom is grumpy as he finds the voices amusing." 

Loki was looking at Eddie critically and Tony kept himself not so subtly in the middle again. 

"Well, you see, Lokester here just ran into Goosey-Loosey, which made me realise that introductions might be in order." 

Eddie was however quite distracted by Drest.

"Tony. Are you quite aware there is a giant fucking Panther head butting you right now?" 

"That's Drest." 

"No, Drest is a kitten." 

"Didn't I mention Drest can change her size to whatever she wants?" 

He was sure he'd mentioned that. 

"Nope, I would have remembered if you told me the kitten that sleeps on my chest could eat my head in one bite." 

"Really Eddie?" 

"Okay, fair point. So, what's the deal?" 

Tony turned back to Loki, who was still holding himself carefully but had been following the conversation back and forth with amusement. 

"Loki, no magicy or throwing sharp pointies, Venom is friendly." 

Tony magiced up some chocolate which instantly got Eddie's attention. Tony had become Venom's chocolate dealer pretty early on after Eddie moved into the compound. 

"If this is a prank, I commend you on your commitment." 

"You get used to weird stuff happening around Tony. I say this as part of the weird, right, Venom, no attacking. No. You can't eat him. He's Tony's friend." 

Before anyone could say anything else, Venom decided to become an active participant and Loki proved to be very adept in swearing in several interesting languages. 

"Friend of Tony is Friend to Venom?" 

Loki nodded minutely before turning to Tony. 

"You are actually insane." 

Tony opened the huge bar of chocolate before handing it over to Venom who was very happy with the Offerings. Giving Loki a huge smile. 

"You only just notice that Lokester?" 

  
  
  


He was slightly tired, having spent the early hours facilitating conversation between Loki and Venom, he had not gotten much in the way of sleep. So he was relaxed, sitting in a chair in his favourite meeting room, chair tilted back and his feet were up on the table. 

Rhodey had told him that he looked like a teenager for someone so damned old, he'd just grinned and tipped the chair even further back. 

He'd been in the workshop when Thor had agreed to the meeting so he was dressed in torn jeans and a t-shirt. He'd had the glamour covering his arms again since the Asgardians arrived, mostly because it amused him that Loki was trying to work out who or what he was. Rhodey was stood behind him on his right, a stark contrast to Tony's easy going expression and dress, he was straight backed and stone faced wearing a very smart bespoke black on black suit that may or may not have wards stitched into the fabric. 

Loki entered first and Tony could tell that their resident God of Mischief did not want to be in this meeting but was stuck following Thor's problems around. He felt for the guy, he really did. The two of them were on the way to becoming good friends, it would take a while for him to open up, Loki had obviously not had much luck, but then being a magic user in Asgard wasn't fun from what he'd been told, even for an excellent battle magus like Loki. It was a damned shame and he could see it anytime he switch topics mid sentence if he thought he'd been discussing magic to long. 

Asgard tended to see magic as _ lesser _ , parlour tricks compared to _ real _battle where as his people venerated both in equal measure. Magic was not a woman's art or cowardly to them. Math would probably eat anyone who said that to him. Or worse. Loki could do more with a thought than several well trained warriors. Which is what it boiled down to in the end, magic was power, sheer power that a well trained magus could bend and shape the world with. It scared people, and it should really. He would have to introduce Loki to Math some day, maybe even have him visit his lands underhill. He had a few books he was hoping to tempt the other God with too, he'd wait him out, he could be quite patient if the hunt required it. 

It would not stop him leading Thor into a debt however. It would be amusing to see if Loki caught him before he managed it though. The other God, despite not being from his neck of the woods, was Fae enough that this kind of game was fun for them both. 

It meant shortening his game with Loki about his race, but Thor had forced his hand. His mother was looking forward to meeting Loki too, he has a feeling meeting the Patroness of Magic would be good for him. His mother was far different to the shiny, fluffy magic users from Asgard but then she was also the Patroness of Revenge and a few other things. He figured Loki would be amused that Tony was the Patron of Battlemagic, an area the other God specialised in. 

He was shaken out of his thoughts by Thor entering. Thor looked happy, probably thought he had done a great thing when really a bunch of people at the UN were basically using him to force through these damned pardons. 

"So, I'm sure you two have heard that a number of people in the UN are pushing for pardons of the international fugitives." 

"I think it's great Friend Tony, you have gathered many to your cause, but getting your team back together is an important task you should focus on." 

Tony's eyes narrowed dangerously, Tony Stark might have hated people touching his things, Cadeyrn? He hated taking orders from people who had no business giving them to him, it was a sore spot born from a painful time in his life. His irritation must have been visible because Loki's eyes widened minutely and he elbowed Thor with a painful looking jab to the ribs. He wasn't there yet, but he was quite dangerous when angry, he wasn't loud or explosive, he was quiet and stone faced in the face of pain he might inflict. He had to be, anger was dangerous for him. 

"You should be careful Thor, that sounds a lot like an order." 

"I just think that it's important to bring your friends back." 

"Well, they obviously aren't my friends, if you had bothered to talk to me about it, I could have told you exactly why they are not, did you not wonder _ why _they're currently international fugitives? I didn't think I had to lay everything out for. I'm really considering taking a leaf from your book here and I'm trying to remain calm here for Rhodey." 

"Don't be calm for me Tones, I don't think he's going to understand just what he's done until your blade is at his neck. Maybe you should introduce yourself properly for a change." 

He tilted his head to consider Rhodey, he was probably correct but he really was trying to avoid it. Damn Asgardians and their warrior culture, nearly every time he'd had to deal with them in the past, they got absolutely nowhere until he had a fight of some kind. Barring their magic user's, they were amazing. Maybe if he dealt with the more official lot it would be different, but he'd never had the cause to do so. So when they crossed paths, it usually took a fight before things could be sorted. His height was a lot of the problem. Because he was not extremely tall and built like a brick shit house, he had a runner's body and didn't wear skin tight shirts that showed off his muscles after all, they assumed he was weak. Which is why they didn't treat him with the same respect until he beat them bloody, usually much to their enjoyment, even when they lost. 

After, they were brilliant, easier to deal with than some pantheons that's for sure. Easier to deal with than his own people, but that's a pretty low bar. Some of the Courts of Underhill were mostly straight forward. Then you had the Seelie and Unseelie courts. Every pantheon had its quirks, ran by different rules and loved making things hard for outsiders. Asgard was no different. 

When he was younger and enjoyed brawling occasionally, he always sought out some Asgardians for example. But, when you were trying to get shit done, it could be extremely annoying and he just wished he could skip this step. Loki was whispering furiously at Thor to think about his words before he finds himself attacked and Thor just had to push him by saying he was _ harmless _ out of the armour. Which caused Tony's jaw to twitch in irritation and Rhodey gave him a _ look _. 

Thor saw Rogers as the leader in his mind, and whilst he liked Tony, it was glaringly obvious he didn't hold the same respect as someone stronger like Rogers, which was amusing as he was a damned sight stronger than a super soldier now. Rhodey was much stronger than the serum, and he hadn't carried his active fire for a single year yet. But then his people were much better and taking apart and repurposing humans than a human scientist, they'd had much more practice at it. 

Sighing, he dropped the chair back to the floor with a thunk loud enough to disturb the conversation in front of him. He was pretty evenly matched with Thor when it came to strength, so he'd have to do something showy enough to make his point fast or end up brawling and breaking his meeting room and taking hours of his time up until they came to a draw, low on magic too, maybe just Firewalking. He'd take his speed to his advantage as he was definitely faster than Thor, being small could be handy. Plus, cloaks slow you down when they aren't like Levi. He stood up, taking time to dust off his clothing, Loki even took a step away from Thor that made him chuckle. Thor looked confused. 

The next things happened incredibly quickly, he Firewalked, coming up behind Thor, while he was in the Fireworld, he shook of the glamour on his arms only and shifted his clothes back to the more traditional garb and summoned his scythe, as he stepped out of the fire, Thor barely had a chance to register that he was behind him before a well placed kick into the back of his knees, added to the shock of what was going on, allowed him to cause Thor to stumble and before he followed it up immediately with another to the small of his back. As that included a lot more strength he was dropped to the floor, air forced out of his lungs as Tony placed his foot on Thor's mid back to make it hard to gain leverage to remove him. Before he hit the floor, Tony slid his Scythe soundlessly around his neck. Just resting the blade against his skin, the threat clear. 

The combination caused the Thunder God to freeze and not immediately retaliate. He'd hoped Thor would recognise the black of his blade, that made things a little easier. His mother would be impressed, usually she'd leave him too it and they'd still be fighting several hours later. Maybe he was getting old. Loki and Thor were at the equivalent age of very early 20s in human years. Where as he was around late 30s, early 40s.

He only kept enough pressure to keep him down, he knew Thor was shocked by his sudden strength and the blade curled around his neck delicately was hopefully enough of a threat enough to make him pause to _ think _. Tony's blades where wickedly sharp and he was one of the best of his people when it came to weapons. Many had tried to recreate the black metal he made the blades from, none had succeeded. Except for daggers which he gave to friends, full Reaper blades could only be welded by Reapers and were made for the individual by him. He had a few, the scythe was his favourite, but not always practical. It was however perfect for situations like this, showy and it had a reputation, a lethal one at that. 

It helped that he hadn't expected it and his reactions were slowed. Not having his hammer in the room was also a plus. He'd not tested his blade against Uru for a while and that would be a long, annoying battle. As the two Gods fully registered the blade, both of them instantly froze. Loki spoke up first, but then he didn't have a blade pushed into his throat. 

"I did not know any Reapers still walked Midgard." 

"They do, but you are reading this situation wrong, I'm not a Reaper." 

Thor relaxed slightly and made to move so Tony increased his pressure, Loki just looked more intrigued. Focusing on his arms. If Thor thought him not being a Reaper was _ good _, he was in for a rude awakening. 

"Might I ask Anthony, if you are not a reaper, why do you carry one of their signature weapons?" 

"Why does everyone think that, just because I happen to like this.. Oh shut up Rhodey." 

Rhodey smirked and summoned his own black blades, the man was constantly ribbing him for favouring his scythe. Loki was glancing between them like he'd started to put the puzzle together and that they'd come out of the bad side of the equation. 

"He's got you there Tones, it is a little obvious. Introduce yourself properly this time." 

"Humans, I swear. Overdramatic little shits the lot of you. I have many names, I don't know which you two would be familiar with God of Thunder, Lightning, Storms, Fertility and The Protection of Mankind." 

He felt Thor twitch beneath him, Asgardians might not be susceptible to truenaming, but Tony had enough magic that he could cause a flare, even in other gods. 

"I'm of the Trí Dé Dána. The Merchant of Death, Gaurdian of Life. The Patron of The Reapers and The Upholder of Battle Magic. There are more, but I figured that should get the point Across. You might know me as The Balance." 

With that, his scythe vanished into Black Fire and he stepped over the stumbled Thor to return to his seat to grab his tablet. He had a feeling that even if Thor did not recognise one of those titles, Loki might. He had a few other titles, like his Mother, the more time you spend around humans, the more things they begin to associate you with. 

Their will, backed by the Blue Fire tended to nudge them in certain directions. His mother for example was entwined deeply with magic and his father with war, making him uniquely skilled in battle magic, he was skilled in other paths, but he didn't hold a candle to his teacher, Math when it came to pure magic. Just like the fact that he was a known battlefield healer, especially when it came to damage in the mind, but Dian was the master. Dian was _ slightly _ less human friendly however. As in he tended to see them as the same level that humans do lab rats. Potentially cute, could be trained and came in handy when testing new things. Order up a batch of 50. Shockingly, his apprenticeship there did not last long. 

As well as being a battle mage, he was also known as The Balance. He had a unique feel if it was in danger and passed this onto his Reapers, as his mother was known for Prophecy he believed it stemmed from that. He didn't know of any other pantheon that operated the same way, almost guided by humans, but then many couldn't interact with the Blue Fire directly like a small portion of their kin could, others deemed the cost too high. The closer to the fire, the closer to humanity after all, there is always a cost. 

Thor at least seemed to finally realise he's not dealing with a human anymore, but someone at their level from a different pantheon, in his own home. Sure, Tony could have told him when he turned up, but that wasn't in his style and really, if he was planning on living in his house, he needed to develop more respect for humans under his care. Not just the really strong ones. Even then, it still took a jab from Loki elbow to produce a lackluster apology. It was still better that a throw down fight, he really liked this room. Plus, it was a start and it gave him the opening he was after. 

"I did not know, I hope you can accept my apology? My anger got the better of me and I forgot how fragile humans can be.. I'm sorry.. " 

He shot Thor a sharp tooth grin as he felt the debt sink into place. Which was good, had Thor thought about it, he might have realised that the event was far enough in Tony's human life that he'd been unable to form a debt. Otherwise the debt denied would have been something he could work with. Nope, he'd needed Thor to give him those words and he saw Loki register what he'd done at the same time. 

"Was that so difficult? Right, I have other things to do today. I know you're responsible for their pardons Thor. Thus I hold you accountable for every fuck up they make." 

A pressure built up in the room and snapped as he finished talking, causing Thor's eyes to widen and for Loki to raise an eyebrow, obviously impressed at the fast magic. Anything they did that was against the rules Thor would see in a vision and would be expected to clean up, he better hope Wanda had learned to behave or he'd be getting disturbing visions. He wouldn't chuck Thor in jail if they did something that dumb, he needed Thor as a fighter. He would however make Thor be the one who has to explain to them when they fuck up and he would be the one who cleaning up messes, not him. 

He just about heard Loki's 'You Idiot' as Rhodey was singing 'You fucked up' as he strolled out of the room. At least Rhodey had a little fun. 

**Loki POV**

After learning about Thor's meetings, encouraging people to bring back the team dubbed as 'The Rogues' he'd been waiting for Anthony to call a meeting. He really didn't want to go, because he knew it would likely be terrible. He'd at least tried to counsel Thor but when Thor got stuck on something, he rarely could see the bad until it exploded in their faces. After their early morning encounter and discovering the kind of friends and allies Anthony effortlessly surrounded himself with, he'd been waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

When that extremely familiar black blade appeared he knew things had exploded spectacularly. 

Most pantheons that visited Midgard knew of The Reapers, The Guardians of The Balance had defeated many and saved more, even those that hadn't visited Midgard knew of them as they were known to walk any plane where there was a threat to the balance, although in recent years he had not heard from any of them, things had begun to quieten down. He should have realised that Than posed a threat to the Balance, that it would attract Reapers. 

They were extremely ruthless in their work, lethal alone, but they rarely traveled that way and their Patron was unlike others he had heard of, in that he was _ very _ invested in his people, he equipped them, trained them and most importantly, he fought by their side. He was also quite old and very powerful in magic and with an assortment of black blades. 

It made Reapers dangerous in a way other blessed, raised humans simply were not and a Reaper's blade was pretty dangerous on its own. No one knew what the black metal was crafted from. The Colonel summoning twin black blades added to it. Two Reapers was a dangerous situation, Cadeyrn was surely around _somewhere_, he watched and cared for his people closely. Thor should hope that Anthony does not inform his Patron of Thor's transgression. 

He had thought that was it. But then Anthony claimed not to be a Reaper. 

Thor relaxed but Loki did not, because Rhodes was a Reaper and Anthony was carrying a _ black scythe. _

No… surely not. Anthony couldn't be _ The _ Scythe? Could he? Cadeyrn in the flesh? If so, then Anthony was much, much more dangerous than he had first rated him as. Loki simply had not thought he was that dangerous, he didn't give of that feeling around him. 

That's when Loki _ really looked. _His attire, the celtic designs that graced his arms, he suspected there was more. He knew a little of Cadeyrn, his exploits on the battlefield, a battle magus had obviously drawn Loki's attention but he had never met the man. Only read about him. 

Hidden beneath a glamour there was no way of confirming it. The Sidhe were known for some of the best glamours amongst the magical community. For their ability to seem far less threatening than they were. Which Anthony had managed perfectly, no way would he have connected the two. 

Golden eyes was one thing that he remembered however. Either they burned through his glamour or he left it that way intentionally. He also wasn't stupid enough to piss him off by truenaming the man. Later, he would meet up with him, Loki had many, many questions. 

As they left, Thor had the sense to at least look chagrined. If only he could realise these things _ before _ situations escalated. 

"You idiot."

"Brother, how was I supposed to know!"

"How were you supposed to know there was obvious conflict between Anthony and his teammates? They're hiding from the law in a different country!" 

"I believed Friend Tony to merely be human, I did not expect him to be someone else. Which Pantheon does he hail from?" 

They both were surprised before he could answer by a large black crow flying into the room _ through the wall _. Thor startled as the Crow transformed, Loki having now realised what pond they had been unknowingly sitting in, an extremely dangerous one, was not surprised by this. Asgard might have little use for magic, but this pantheon? They were steeped in it and dangerous with it. The woman was motherly in a way, with silver hair but she also looked young and beautiful, she reminded him deeply of Freya. The white eyes were a tad unnerving as they rested on them and Loki was just pulling information in his mind, it had been a very long time since Asgard met with the Shining Ones and he hadn't read up on protocol for dealing with them in a very long time. He did however recognise this woman, which meant Anthony had very powerful Allies. 

He remembered the warnings however. Agreements, bargains and just generally talking to them was to be done with utmost care before you found yourself bound in contracts and on your way to Elfame. 

"You put your hands on my son." 

Loki blinked, because again, he had not been suspecting that. Although, now the level of his power suddenly made a lot more sense. Loki wondered idly if he would stop being utterly shocked by this man. 

"I do not know who you are." 

"Thor. Stop. _ How _ do you not know who this is."

He needed to teach Thor how to apologise without actually apologising too. And fast. 

"If you think my son is powerful Thunderer, what do you think _ I _ am? When these people arrive, you will ensure my sons workload is not burdened, do you understand me? I'm asking for such a small thing considering your transgression, will you do this?" 

"I shall of course do my best to help the Man of Iron." 

"Good, I will be watching so I may advise you as to what is required from time to time." 

Loki decided to jump in there before Thor agreed to anything else, said something rude or slipped up before he had a chance to teach him how to speak with this Pantheon, like the Greeks, they were not ones to take slights well, but instead of a curse they'd wrap you up in words and debts until you no longer know up from down before you even realised what was happening. 

"You have a wonderful son, Anthony has showed remarkable trust in myself." 

"Hmm yes, Tony told me about you. Told me you're a survivor. I happen to like survivors, I hope you will be a better friend to my son than he was. And Thunderer? I'll be watching you. I'm not the only one, he is well loved you see." 

With that subtle threat hanging heavily in the air, she utterly vanished in a blink of white light, Loki's hand was left tingling slightly where she shook it. He bent down and picked up a large, silken soft black feather from where she had stood. 

"Loki, I'm assuming you know of these people?"

"I _ knew _ you skipped the lessons when it came with dealing with other Pantheons. Come on, this will take a while. The Shining Ones are an interesting lot, on your side they will move the earth and sky for you." 

"And… against?" 

"Oh, that's a _ much _ longer list, they can have you praying for death and for more in the same instance. They're also nearly as bad as the Greeks when it comes to perceived slights." 

_That_ caused Thor to wince slightly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally planned on Tony being the same age as most people guesstimate Loki and Thor in Marvel, but I misremembered the battle I put him at as being 2000 years ago when it was more like 4000. So, Tony is older and more badass than I intended. I assume this won't be a problem xD. 
> 
> Also, the last bit with Thor wincing is a nod to a fic I found hilarious. I can't remember the name but it's in the 'Tony is a God' lot that I love (and there are not enough of!) Tony is Hephaestus and Thor got turned into a dandelion for his attack on Tony 😂. It stayed with me and made me chuckle. If I can remember I'll pop a link in.
> 
> Lovely people in the comments found the fic xD. Which I'm going to reread, because Tony is a God is one of my favourite things and there is so little of it! (Which is why I started writing this tbh, I just don't have the base knowledge to pull off Tony as Anubis even though I really love it! Same with Greek Gods. Which is why you lot got the Celtic Pantheon xD, Plus, Tony being Fae is endlessly fun to write.)
> 
> [What are you hiding, Tony? ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17794769?view_full_work=true)


	27. ARD- Magical Edition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avengers Recruitment Drive - Magical Edition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My usual blending of what I find interesting from 616, for Morgan I went a bit heavier to mythology that Marvel Morgan.

"Anthony, please provide me with a distraction. Thor is driving me up the wall with questions." 

Tony was relaxing on top of the tallest bookcase in the library, it was in front of a very large window that was a beautiful mixture of stained glass. Carol had had it designed to make the library more colourful for the kids. What she didn't know was that Fae were somewhat (very) partial to pretty colourful things. Warm things too, and the window caught the sun perfectly. Loki ported from the floor to the next to him, sitting comfortably and gesturing at his nest. 

"Why are there pillows and blankets on top of a bookcase?" 

"Because it's warm and colourful."

"Ah, so that little bit of information that Fae are attracted to colourful and shiny object is true then? Interesting." 

"Don't forget the warm. Hey, how do you feel about helping me recruit people to the Avengers?" 

"Ah, is that the Avengers Recruitment Drive I've been hearing about, where you terrify people with contracts and cordial greetings?" 

"Hmm, someone is up on the gossip. Usually I don't try to be terrifying, but I have a target that FRIDAY keeps putting on my list." 

"I think I could be convinced to help you on your endeavour." 

"You don't have to worry about Thresholds do you?" 

"Thresholds?" 

"Hmm, without an invite my powers can be limited." 

"That is quite strange." 

"Annoying more like, but if you are on full power I don't mind going in with limited power myself." 

"You do keep surprising me Anthony." 

Tony flashed a wide grin before pulling his list out to tell Loki who he had left. He was very impressed with the FRIDAY-Recruitment-Cam too. 

  
  
  


"Greetings!" 

"No, we say Hi, I don't know why, but Danny says that was the most terrifying part." 

"Why would a friendly greeting be terrifying?" 

"I don't know, humans though, am I right?" 

Fury was sat behind his desk, watching the pair go back and forth. Blinking rapidly. 

"Motherfucker. How did you find this place!? How did you get in here?!" 

Tony raised an eyebrow, smirking as he hopped to perch on Fury's desk as Loki leaned against the wall. 

"Come now Nicky-boy. You didn't think you could hide from little old me now, did you?" 

"I'm dead!" 

"I know, that's what I kept telling FRIDAY, yet your name keeps appearing on my list." 

"I'm confused, he is clearly not dead. Are you a shade?" 

"Oh no, he just faked his death and actually thought I fell for it." 

Fury threw his arms up in the air. 

"What's going on with you anyway Stark. You found yourself a fountain of youth or something?" 

"Do the Midgardians not know of your position?" 

"Not many, but it has been quite a while since I was worshipped in this realm. Although recently things have started kicking up again, the power boost of modern humans worshipping you? It's quite interesting isn't it?" 

"I had noticed there was a little extra kick lately." 

Fury's eye was twitching, which almost made this worth it. 

"What the fuck are you two talking about. How did you get in here?! Why is the goddamned God of Mischief back on the planet? Why isn't he in jail?!" 

"Oh Nicky. Being dead is not good for you. You are so out of date! I recently got Lokester cleared of all that mess. He's now an honoured guest. So, want to save the multiverse?" 

"WHAT?" 

"This is much more fun than I was expecting Anthony, you didn't mention how flustered he would get. The very threads of reality are at risk, a chain reaction could be lit that would upset the very Balance of existence. Causing parallel dimensions to crash into each other should we not act. "

"Stark!?"

"What, Loki's right, he says it much better than me. More doom and class. Look, I have a file that explains it and everything."

He summoned the files in a burst of fire. 

"What the fuck is a Thanos?" 

"Deadpool named it." 

"DEADPOOL?!" 

Tony hummed and started picking up random items on Fury's desk to look at. Not because they were interesting, but because his eye twitch increased with each item he inspected. He was so stressed Fury completely missed the bug that Loki placed on Fury's computer as he came to stand next to Tony. He was to busy watching Tony, expecting the bug to come from him. Tony kept his hands fully visible the entire time just to confuse the pirate. 

"He's quite an excitable fellow that Deadpool. The Avengers is far more interesting and diverse compared to the last time I visited." 

"Visited?! When you trying to take over the planet you mean."

"Catch up Nicky, we already covered that. I told you back then that the invasion was hinky. Now I have proof, so, catch up, your stuck in 2012."

Fury grumbled under his breath and Tony was sure it was mostly swearing and complaining as he leafed through the contracts. 

"Why is there a file here for Coulson?" 

"Because I know he's alive. Nicky darling, I am on good terms with several Gods of Death. It will take a lot more to pull the wool over my eyes now. Now, I recommend you read these contracts. Your usual games won't work as well, you don't want to know what I do with people who break my contracts. "

"Oh, you really don't. He has quite a wicked, devious mind this one. Even for a Fae." 

Fury had been reduced to just looking between them in confusion and irritation, Tony cackled, flashing his fangs before giving Fury a more serious look, pulling back the human mannerisms he aped and being more himself. Fury had impeccable instincts so Tony knew he would be pinging as something dangerous. Then he slipped back into the easy, more human stance. Leaving the man to wonder if he imagined it. 

"Be hearing from you Nicky, Rhodey and Your pal Carol are heads of the Avengers. I however deal with recruitment and contracts, all that jazz. Whilst we are interested in utilising every means to deal with this oncoming threat, I think you will find me much harder to manoeuvre or control."

"Oh, please do try, I believe that would be most entertaining to watch. Eddie and Venom recently introduced me to popcorn, I believe that is the correct confectionery for such events?"

"Caramel popcorn, perfect for it. Come on Lokes, we have other people to visit. Be seeing you Nicky-boy!"

Tony waved as Loki executed a perfect bow and flourish, with a sharp smile. 

"Director." 

They vanished in black flames and green ribbons, both of them chuckling as they stepped back into the library. Tony collapsed back into his pillow nest. Practically giggling. 

"FRIDAY, tell me you got that recorded?" 

"Oh course I did Boss, distributing it now. Shall I record Danny's reaction when he sees it." 

"Oh definitely. That felt far too good." 

"Well, from what you described I think you let the man off easy." 

"Well, he thinks his new version of SHIELD is completely secret. We just told him we know, we can find him in his most defensible position. We know who he has working under him. Also alluding to my Godhood is going to give him nightmares." 

"That was quite impressive, when you pinged my predator radar, I wonder what he was thinking." 

"Humans spent millennia to get that instinct to recognise my kind, they then spent millennia teaching themselves to ignore it. All I have to do is use human mannerisms and they are unsure whether I am a threat or not. So I can seem utterly harmless." 

He shrugged as he pulled his list up again. He supposed he should visit Avalon first. Victor had finally hashed out a contract both of them were comfortable with. Loki might enjoy a trip to Avalon too. 

"I don't think anyone with eyes would mistake you for harmless." 

"Oh you will be utterly surprised at what humans can talk themselves into, remind me to get you a Starkpad and let you loose on the Internet. Right. Have you ever been to Avalon?" 

"No, it was of interest when I was on my travels but garnering an invitation was quite impossible." 

"It's good I keep a few of these on hand. Given freely without obligation, of course." 

He summoned an apple of Avalon from his stores, it would give Loki the ability to see through Morgan's Mist and protection from the nine under his banner. 

"interesting, I have always wanted to visit the Isle of Apple Trees." 

"It is quite a beautiful land, this covers safe passage, but I don't think I have to remind you of the rules?" 

"I have recently been teaching Thor the rules, unfortunately. So you do not have to worry." 

"Good, good. Morgan is usually good, but leading people from the path is a favoured game of hers. This is the location we will port to, got it?" 

Loki scanned the images and nodded as he finished the apple, and they stepped through. Tony took a few shortcuts through the Blue Fire, so beat Loki by a good minute. He was comfortably sat in a tree when the green ribbons signified Loki's arrival. 

"How did you beat me here?" 

He jumped down from his perch, bending down to run his fingers along the earth, blue fire sparking and jumping eagerly into his hands. The Fire was always strong around Avalon. More excitable too, happy to have someone paying attention to it attention. 

"You travel along the blue fire currents? Isn't that terribly dangerous?" 

"Yes, for most people. I have a connection to the fire. Touching a vein let's me know everything about it. It's why I'm working to raise the health of the planet, to heal damaged veins. It increases my own strength. Here." 

That Loki actually held his hand out when he offered was quite impressive. With a bit of training Tony was convinced Loki could garner some control over the blue fire, being a God of Fire, he could speak to flames like he could. Tony's connection was somewhat more visceral. 

"I've always wondered about this strange fire, it never answered my calls." 

"Fire of the fabulous beasts can be quite capricious. Speak to it as if you are speaking to a Fae." 

He let Loki talk to the small flame as he sent a signal fire through the mists. A few minutes later a boat arrived. Loki released the flame grudgingly, he had an idea that it wouldn't be the last time as they hopped onto the small boat. He let his magic flow into the boat, wards lighting up in a mix of blue and black flame to protect them as they crossed the waters and to guide and propel the vessels. 

"Your magic, it isn't just black flame is it?"

"Oh no, it was once closer in appearance to yours actually, but black instead of green. I bonded with the blue flame, and it altered the appearance of my magic. That's where the black flame comes from." 

"I've never heard of someone's magic changing appearance before." 

"It's not something I overly recommend." 

He drummed his fingers over his chest, where the reactor had been in his life as Tony Stark. Where he carried the Blue Fire with him now. He shifted the conversation to something more pleasant, the island coming into view was hand. 

"There, the mists should clear for you now." 

That would never get old for him, Avalon was beautiful, steeped in magic yet closer to Albion than Underhill and less painful for him to remain on. He steered them into the docks. He'd spent long enough on this island that he knew every pathway, but he was under invitation to bring debts to the table, so there was a path lit for him to follow. With her foresight, she likely knew he was bringing someone, so he suspected it would be a winding path that showed of the beauty of the island. With temptations at every turn of course. To see if she could win his guest from him, would give her an advantage in the debt talk. 

"She will try to lure you from my side on the pathway to her castle, be careful not to look at anything for more than a few seconds. If there is something that catches your eye, tell me and I'll basically hold you to the path." 

"It's a strange way to talk business about such a serious matter?"

"No matter is so serious that a Fae wouldn't try to one up the other. Bringing you is my play in itself. You have a reputation among the Fae." 

"I doubt it is good."

"It's very good actually, remember Loki, the Fae are not Asgard. You are a known trickster with very strong magic, those things are positives to us." 

He hopped out, holding the boat still for Loki to follow. She'd lit their path with wisps. It was a crafty ploy, they would be following wisps, so there would be several intended to lead them from their path. 

"I don't think I'll get used to that."

"I'll just have to keep reminding you. Follow me rather than the path. She's lit our way with wisps." 

The trip to the castle was quite enjoyable, it had been too long since he had visited and he was enjoying soaking in the magic and generally energy of the island. The Genius Loci of the island brushed against them in greeting. 

"What was that?"

"Does Asgard not have Genius Loci's?" 

"As I have no idea what that is, I'll say no."

"It's probably best described as a protective spirit of a location, but it's more than that. It is the island, greeting us. Underhill has many. A court is born from a Fae settling, a strong power in someway deciding to stop travelling in unowned lands. Others are drawn and the court grows. Underhill is a place of intention, enough people think a thing, and it simply becomes. The tipping point between a gathering, the equivalent of a Lord and holdings to a court is a Genius Loci. The land given form, personality, magic. The Loci then chooses a Foci. Here that Foci is Morgan. She can feel where we are through the Loci if she wants. She's bonded to the entire island."

"That is… I knew the Shining Ones had powerful magic, but I didn't know that. Are you part of a court?" 

"Oh no, I have little interest in binding myself to a court. True, all of the Trí Dé Dána usually take up royal commissions, but I chose not to. I rent lands specifically in the middle of two opposing courts, which is where my house is, my forges. I have a few people. The location and my ability to mine Atronach gave me a high debt gathering level. I used that to free a number of people from some of the less desirable courts where I can."

He hopped a few times on stones across a stream, they were coming on the castle now. Loki had been interested enough in his explanations that the wisps had barely caught his eye.

"Underhill has always seemed to be such a strange land, Asgard is bound entirely by the Odin Force. All under the same power." 

"Well all the Genius Loci's of Underhill come from a single Loci. At the heart of Underhill. I call her Tilly. Generally though, it's best not to draw Tillys attention. What people forget is that the Loci's are also Fae, with all of our bad traits, but instead of a person, it is a land. So innately powerful. Here we are, Morgans Castle is quite impressive."

"You'll have to tell me more about Underhill later." 

"Of course, you might regret that. If there is one thing a Fae enjoys more than getting one up on another, it's telling stories." 

"And little Black Scythe always has many stories."

He did his usual bow, in other words with a heavy dose of sarcasm, Morgan just rolled her eyes. Used to his ways, Morgan had been trying to have him take up a commission since it had been known he could handle bane metal and become one of the Trí Dé Dána. 

"I'm not exactly little any more." 

"True, I do like this new glamour you are using. Very Handsome, I do miss your woad though little nephew. I might even consider parting with Victor's broken debt should you design me a new ward? Then I can see your contract for this matter with the Titan. I assume you are not inviting the Courts of Underhill."

"Definitely not. Only Albion and I am considering visiting a few other active pantheons only. Humanity has moved on in our absence and whilst some returning occasionally wouldn't be bad, we can't expect things to be as they were. "

"True, I will consult the nine with this. They feel the same, we enjoy our safety behind the mists. Humanity has spun Bane Metal in protection of their world. However, if some people realise the state of land…" 

"Yes, yes. I know. I'm working on it." 

"I know you are, come on. Introduce me." 

"Loki of Asgard, God of Mischief, Fatherhood, Truth Telling and most importantly, Stories. What can I say, I have a favourite."

He grinned at the surprise Loki showed over that, eventually he would realise that the Fae had a very different opinion of him than other races. 

"Morgan the Seaborn, Enchantress and Chieftain of the Nine, over Moronoe, Mazoe, Gliten, Glitonea, Gliton, Tyronoe, Thiten and Thiton. She's also good friends with my mother and put up with me running all over her island as a child." 

"And that is why you will always be little to me Nephew. I chased you through enough caves and pulled you from enough ponds that I think I earned that right."

"So, I'm assuming you have embarrassing stories you might wish to trade?" 

"Hey, hold up, when did we get to embarrassing stories of me!" 

Tony pretty much sulked as Loki and Morgan looked quite pleased with themselves. 

"Oh, I like this one." 

"You did claim me God of Stories after all." 

Tony flopped backwards on to the chair. 

"I'm not sure how I didn't see this coming." 


	28. Welcome Home?

**Sam POV **

They were going home.  _ Home.  _

He was even getting home in time for his Ma's birthday in a week at the start of August. 

It was like a dream, it felt like they'd been in Wakanda forever even if it was just over a year. It didn't help that things were still pretty awkward around the house, especially after Halloween when Wanda's magic got out of control and screwed with all of them. He still had dreams of birds scratching and pecking at his face to strange songs. 

After James randomly turned up one day, looking tons better, sporting a new arm and code word free, speaking occasionally full sentences. He wasn't 100% better, but then that was a pipe dream of Steve's that had no basis in reality. In fact it was damned magic he was even this good, Wakandan tech was amazing. He was seeing a therapist and he smiled more than he seemed to hurt, getting better every month. Sam thought it was freaking amazing what he had achieved with the Wakandans. Because he was really putting the work in to get better, no matter how many times Steve said he didn't need a therapist, he stuck at it. 

He and Scott had spent a lot of their time with James outside of mandatory team breakfasts and team dinners, getting to know the guy. Steve and James had been clashing since Steve started to realise that James hadn't turned back into Bucky and more importantly, that he didn't  _ want _ to. Steve had initially been over the moon of course, but as time moved on and he proved to be different from the Bucky in his memories, things got awkward, fast. 

James also had a phone, even though they were barred from outside contact, he didn't know where he got it from but he'd seen him with it more than once, texting someone possibly. He didn't know who exactly, but then James hadn't slept the decades like Steve had. Maybe he had friends outside of these borders. It was also, without fail, one of the times he'd seen the man smile, so he'd just not mentioned it to anyone. T'Challa obviously knew he had it, as they were obviously under surveillance and he seemed fine with it and that was all that matters in Sam's mind. Plus, even when James was having a hard day, a text from the mysterious person would brighten him up, he'd seen him grinning like a damned teenager with a crush into that phone. It was grossly adorable. 

James freaked out when he first realised Sam knew, but Sam assured him he would never tell a soul. He even helped clear the house out occasionally because he wanted to watch a movie over damned video chat with the mysterious person. Which was the most adorable thing in the world he'd seen the giant super soldier master assassin getting excited for and perfect ammo for ribbing. 

James also refused to be around Wanda for extended periods of time but didn't elaborate as to why, but after Halloween Sam could get behind that. Clint obviously took great offence to this and was increasingly hostile to James, going as far to call him Bucky constantly, even though he hated it, and being a dick around him when he had bad days, just a lot of awful shit that pissed Sam off because going after a person with PTSD was never something he could get behind. So James avoided Wanda, Clint was awful to James and He refused to be around Clint much which had Wanda using her powers around him more which was nerve racking for everyone. Scott was just generally freaked out and Steve was left trying to pull the squabbling family together. Badly. Because nothing ever got addressed. 

Nat was still pretty obsessed with Stark, who had not slowed down from that original pace all year. The ruthless businessman was definitely out to play and just watching it made him thankful Stark had good things in mind. He'd never noticed before how terrifyingly well he could wield power that had nothing to do with superheroes and more to do with his mind. 

He even had a hand in their pardons! It had surprised him really, he'd thought Stark didn't want them back, for a long time it seemed he had washed his hands of them, moved on to greener pastures, yet he helped arrange their pardons. They had to be on house arrest for a while and they had community service as Avengers to work off their charges. No two of them had identical charges so it was individual for the person, they'd all signed a base version of the Accords which counted whilst they were under probation. Their actual contracts would be discussed and individualised when they hit Stateside. 

Whilst they were under house arrest, their movement around the compound was restricted in areas and their rooms were in a separate building. To him, it all sounded reasonable, it was a dream compared to The Raft, or even a normal jail. So he was cool with it. Especially after he discovered Stark had  _ saved _ his family from one of Ross' minions who had tried to use them as blackmail material. He didn't have to do that, he hadn't even really talked to Stark before all this went down yet the man knew of his family and saved them, he didn't know how he'd ever pay him back, but he knew he'd try. 

TicTac was equally happy. As Clint's Accords came with divorce papers, he was less happy and Steve kept assuring him and Wanda that he'd sort everything out with Tony when they got home. Steve had also sworn them all to silence about Wanda's little magic explosion, worried it might affect her pardon, he'd agreed for the time being, when she was near. At some point he was going to find a way to tell Rhodes or Stark, if they could protect him of course, he avoided thinking about it just in case she heard. He thought Steve was a little too hopeful, he was expecting the Stark they'd left behind, Sam wasn't sure he existed anymore. 

He'd seen the news, the writing on the wall, this new Stark didn't look like he could be pushed into accepting the old status quo. He'd done too much, and there were forums dedicated to working out Stark's new powers, as that was a thing now apparently, several weeks ago someone had a picture of him dressed in a strange black outfit, blue tattoos up his arms, talking animatedly with a  _ pardoned _ Loki. There were forums dedicated to practically worshiping the guy which was utterly bonkers. 

He'd tried to point these things out to Steve of course. Fuck did that backfire. Wanda stoked that fire, that without them to watch over him, Tony had obviously done something to himself and they needed to make sure they weren't moving towards an Ultron 2.0. James hadn't commented but had seemed highly amused at the time, Nat had been silently nervous like maybe she knew something, but she didn't say anything. 

For now however, he could push that out of his mind. Because the plane was landing soon and they'd be  _ home _ . 

**James POV **

Leaving Wakanda was harder than he'd expected it to be. For years no where had been home, just a series of missions interspersed with cryotubes and pain and foggy memories. Bucharest was as close to home, but he'd been ready to run at any second. Wakanda is where his pain was taken away. Where he was given a new arm, much better than the one before. Where a strange man came and healed him, then dumped a bunch of magic on him, hugged him and practically fled into a wall of fire. Because these are things that happen in James life now. 

Wakanda is where Stark become Tony. Where Tony became someone he  _ trusted _ , where he went when he was hurting. The first person he thought to text when he saw something awesome, the first person he talked to when he said woke up and the last before he went to sleep. Okay, so he might have a teeny, tiny crush on Tony. 

He hadn't used the phone at first, too nervous, how do you just text a person like Tony Stark? But the more he read, the more he couldn't help himself. So, when he had questions about the insane, fantastical events he was reading about, he started texting, he didn't expect much Tony was a busy man and he didn't think he'd have time for him, man was he  _ wrong _ . Tony always replied. He then used it when his nightmares spiked after pissing off the Ved'ma by getting at Steve for calling him Bucky, Tony instantly turned up, and half an hour later he had a nifty woad tattoo, his pain drained away, even though he'd told Tony he could deal with it. Tony had told him that just because he  _ can _ , doesn't mean he  _ should _ and then they'd spent 2 hours talking about rifles before he poofed into fire again.  _ Bizarre _ . 

After that, they'd spoken more and it snowballed, he practically knew everyone at the place they were heading too in some way or another. Tony had sent pictures all over the compound, some with him in them. He'd kept all of this to himself, the others seemed to dislike Tony, and he'd been very pointed about not getting into trouble for him. He'd gone along with it, but he had called him an idiot at the same time. He didn't deserve the crap they were spilling. Wings knew about the phone, and he'd kept quiet about it, which was great. He didn't know how he would have coped these months without it. 

In the small space of the ship he was unable to pull his phone out, which sucked, because he had a horrible building migraine and he was sure it was the Ved'ma, trying to get into his head and his anxiety was spiking. His inner arm near his elbow was burning, the place the woad tattoo was that kept his mind safe, he'd managed to keep it hidden from the others. He really wanted to text Tony to even him out after the argument with Steve he had before getting on the ship, he always seemed to know what to say. 

He traced the protection wards that Tony had laid into the arm for him, he found their presence comforting, magic laid into the arm to protect him. When he was stressed or anxious he would follow the pattern with his fingers, the black metal was slightly raised, laid on top of the silver, so the wards were like gaps down to the silver. Meaning he could trace it without looking. It had become a soothing exercise for himself that he enjoyed. He knew that Steve didn't seem to like it. But he had no idea why. 

He ignored everyone but Wings and TicTac, when Shuri and T'Challa crossed through to their section of the plane, he spoke to them, but no one else, he wouldn't even  _ look _ at Steve right now. Before they had boarded the plane, he'd gotten into an argument with Steve who had wanted to sit him by Wanda. He had even said they might 'hit it off' on the trip, as 'Bucky you were such a ladies man, maybe you should find that part of you again'. He added that he didn't like Wanda and didn't remotely find her attractive. Things escalated, James might have punched Steve, who knows. He was trying to find himself, it was scary but he was trying and he didn't like being told to like someone. 

Wings and TicTac, both of them were practically vibrating in glee, they'd also missed the fight. Wanda and Clint were like dark angry clouds. Steve was unsure and just kept trying to talk to him and he seriously wanted a break, he'd told him he was not talking to him till he apologised. 

Natalia was the curious one out of everyone, she was quiet, if anything he swear she was nervous but Black Widows didn't get nervous. 

When the Wakandan ship landed it was like everyone held their breath for a moment. T'Challa and his sister disembarked first followed by several of the Dora Milaje. They also had a contingent attached to them. They slowly moved out, carrying their meager belongings accrued in Wakanda and he assessed those waiting for him. Putting names to pictures he'd received from Tony. 

Tony stood in-between two men, one that he recognised as Colonel Rhodes, he knows Wings has been excited to speak to the man after what happened at the airport. The other is a reporter, a little odd to be associated with the Avengers so he's pretty sure there is more to that. T'Challa and Shuri head straight towards them, leaving them to amble out slowly. They know someone is waiting to be paired with each of them. 

Hope Van Dyne, looking incredibly irritated and staring daggers at TicTac is pretty obvious. 

Colonel Rhodes detaches and raises a hand towards Wings. 

The very oddly dressed man who Tony had informed him was a fancy sorcerer of some kind, looked incredibly bored but he can see his undivided attention is on Wanda. 

The Reporter, Eddie, that was it, detached from Tony and put a hand up for Steve. Which was incredibly interesting. 

A strange man dressed in a red and black suit actually has a sign for him with James written in it surrounded by hearts that looks like it was drawn with crayons. Jumping up and down. So that's Deadpool. Tony had apologised profusely. 

A small blonde woman, who he knows as Carol Danvers, partner of Colonel Rhodes and Co-Head of the Avengers is waiting for Natalia.

Bruce Banner is last, waiting for Clint. Probably because they already knew each other he assumed rather than gauged on strength. A bit overkill really, Hulk vs Hawkeye. 

Steve was trying to catch the attention of Tony but was immediately blocked and redirected. He would have missed it if he wasn't watching, but Tony smirked at the same time before subtly waving to him when the others were occupied. He smiled, he would definitely not be admitting to anyone how much that small acknowledgement helped him feel better. By the time Deadpool linked arms with him, he was feeling better already. 

Deadpool he discovered seemed to have an unlimited amount of energy and a penchant for skipping places. Most of them from Wakanda seemed mostly baffled by their partners and the trip to the compound in the converted bus was pretty tense for the most part. He and Deadpool had a good talk about the weapons he was carrying, the tic in Steve's jaw clenched everytime the masked man pulled another gun or blade out. Deadpool showed him which ones Tony had made for him and that he was the best at making 'sharp things', each blade was different in someway and he'd admit to being kind of envious of his collection. 

The Royals obviously aren't travelling with them in their prison transport, because that's what it is, they and Tony were in the flash car they were following. Tony had offered for him to travel with them, but he knew that would cause problems. 

Tony however, got through the meet and greet without being dragged into a single awkward conversation which means on their daily challenges that Tony won this one. For him, it's it he can make it to his room at the compound before Steve realises he isn't sleeping in their dorm. 

Unlike the rogues, he was entirely cleared months ago after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit transitiony, but I'm considering making the next few chapters come out faster, which is the pairs mentioned and born from me practicing writing other people xD
> 
> So, as long as life doesn't poke me, there should be some rapid fire chapters. 
> 
> What can I say, the Chapter a day in my other series has grown on me.


	29. Hope & Scott

**Scott POV **

As he exited the plane, he was so happy to be back in America and to be near Cassie again that he nearly forgot everything that had happened. Seeing Hope however stood there, with the other one to ones reminded him quite sharply.

He made sure to put himself slightly separate to everyone else, because he figured not being seen in the same group as Wanda was probably a damned good thing?

He chucked his bag on his back and glanced at the other chosen guards and wondered what it was that made these people up to the challenge? The man staring down Steve just looked like an ordinary dude… but then everyone just looked kind of normal really when you're next to super soldiers with more muscle mass than is strictly fair.

T'Challa and Shuri walked over to Stark who was standing next to a really awesome looking car. Even though he was there to oversee the transfer, he barely offered a glance in their direction. It was so weird looking at the differences in the man from the last time he had seen him at the Raft. It wasn't that he'd exactly looked  _ old _ back then, but now he just looked fresh. More put together talking to royalty overseeing a prison transfer of international fugitives that he could manage on his best day. It was more than a little intimidating. 

He turned his attention to Hope and boy did she look  _ pissed.  _ She didn't speak but she jutted her chin towards the bus thing and then practically dragged him to it as everyone paired off. Thankfully they didn't have to spend too long on it, because it really did feel like a prison transport vehicle, but much comfier. The compound was amazing when it came into view, the exclamations from the others made him think that a lot had changed. 

He got to shake hands with a cloak though, that was something he honestly never thought would happen. 

Passing through the extremely intimidating white walls was nerve racking. The man in the red and black costume perked up when they did, halting his conversation with James about his knives. Which he had not been watching with a mixture of awe and fear, at all. 

"Rightyo International Fu-gi-tive-ios! You and your babysitter will pair off when we exit the bus, you will get a little tour! You can ask your questions and then you will be seen to your rooms!" 

"You will be given cards that allow you access to areas you have been given authorisation to go. You will have access to a map that clearly states where you have access. Green is Yes, Red is No. Yellow is by escorts only. Mistakes will not be tolerated as it will be obvious it wasn't a mistake. 

I do not recommend attempting to access other areas. If you manage to behave, you will be given a wristband that will allow you to leave the compound. Too many strikes and you will be restricted further, sentences extended. Too many and you'll actually end up in jail. Ignorance is not a defense, so if you didn't read your packs in Wakanda, do so tonight." 

Steve's pair was surprisingly intimidating for such an ordinary looking guy and Scott found himself nodding along. Like, more intimidating that the happy sounding guy with all the scary weapons. What was it with the New Avengers and effortlessly intimidating the fuck out of him? 

He knew Steve was not happy with everyone separating when they left the bus, but his complaints fell on deaf ears. He was sure that his pair muttered to the strange suited man that this was making him hungry which got amused glances from everyone on their side. Scott actually found himself liking them, they seemed like the kind of people he might get along with. Still bonkers intimidating though. 

He didn't get a chance to really find out much about them and everyone was split up. It seemed they were getting individual tours. 

"You have no idea how unbelievably angry I am at you Scott, your actions nearly destroyed Pym Tech, you know that, right? The only reason it's still going is because Tony wanted it that way." 

"I bet Hank wasn't happy about that!" 

The first crack in her frown broke through at that, leaving her grinning slightly. 

"No, he was not happy. But then in the papers they were calling you Tiny/Giant Man. So he hasn't been having the best of times." 

"Tiny Giant man? Ah come on! So, this place is huge!" 

"Hm, yeah, Tony is a damned miracle worker, seeing him move earth and speed along the new buildings is awesome." 

"You mean in the Ironman armour?" 

"No, with magic." 

"Are you telling me Tony Fucking Stark, Ironman, has MAGIC. Aww come on. That's not fair." 

"Yup, you would not believe how much he's changed, but don't worry, you'll probably see it soon enough. So you better not piss him off." 

He already knew that, the man was intimidating in a way he didn't quite know how to deal with. In a way he hadn't experienced before. Stark was friends with God's. Literal God's, just.. Yeah. 

They walked through a building that had a large common room, all kinds of people were lounging around, it looked nice. This was the common room that they had access to as long as they followed the rules and behaved. No bothering the residents and they were allowed in. Same with this huge cafeteria with just… the  _ best _ smelling food. 

Comparing this to his actual stint in prison was night and day! 

There were laser tag and paintball facilities for God's sake. Clint and Wanda can call this a gilded cage all they want, it's amazing. They clearly hadn't been to an actual prison, at least not one you were expected to stay in. 

Hope showed him the other residential area, that Tony had cordoned off for people like Maggie, Jim and Cassie. People who aren't superheroes but their lives were affected by them. It was a pretty, neat little street really. With detached 2 story houses with large gardens, it was gorgeous. There was a wall that was hip height and another silver gate. 

"When Maggie decides, you'll be given access to The Borough. I know the wall looks like you can hop over it Scott, but don't." 

She bent down, picking up a stone and flicking it over the fence, it stopped in mid air and there was a distinct crackle, a smell of ozone and the little pebble started lighting up until it was bright and exploded. He put his hands and to shield from it, but it had somehow harmlessly blew apart, only a gust of wind hitting them. 

"Holy shit. Stark isn't fucking around is he?" 

"When children are involved, he is quite ruthless in their protection." 

Note to self, do not piss off Stark. 

Addendum - Hope he has forgotten about that getting tiny and destroying his suit. 

Although that rang a bell in his head for some reason. 

_ "Young lovers and children are a favoured sort you see, and you left behind one of both, didn't you?"  _

Weird. 

Hope showed him a few more places, from training floors, entertainment to little restaurants that were restricted to people who lived and worked here. By the time they were heading to the residential block that had been created for them he was slightly overwhelmed. 

This wasn't a base, it was a goddamn town. 

A town where everything was free, where you could just walk in and order food or anything. There was a freaking mini cinema, and a lake with a bay that looked an awful lot like a beach. 

He'd been warned to avoid the forest and only enter it with permission, thinking about the stone exploding fence, fair to say he was giving it a wide berth. 

If his prison sentence was to live here, he was pretty overjoyed really because this place was  _ amazing.  _

"Right, tomorrow you have a meeting with your Accords Advisor, it will show up in your calendar for the when and where." 

"Um, what calender? I didn't even know if I'd be signing, I mean, without the suit, what's the point right?" 

"Scott, if you carry out your sentence with best behaviour, and sign the Accords, I'm willing to let you join the team with the Ant Man suit for your community service, maybe more." 

Which was enough to stun him into silence as they entered the pretty white building. The bottom floor was a mini version of the huge common area he'd seen earlier. Sofas and a TV with a decent sized kitchen. No pool tables and arcade games though. He could tell which common room he'd be favouring! His room was on the first floor. And by room, it was more like a mini apartment, small living area with open plan kitchenette. Bedroom, office and a bathroom. He'd  _ lived _ in much, much crappier joints. 

"Here is your phone and your tablet, this is where your calendar is. The map in there too which is what Eddie mentioned. Also FRIDAY has access all over the compound if you ever need help or get lost." 

"FRIDAY?" 

"Good Morning Mr Lang. May I offer on behalf of the Boss a welcome to the compound, he hopes everything is to your liking, should you need access to any services not mentioned on your tour, feel free to ask me." 

He did not jump. Or Squeak. Hope was chuckling to herself as the Irish lilt came from the ceiling. 

"Um, who is that?"

"I'm FRIDAY, Mr Lang, I'm the Bosses Artificial Intelligence."

"Holy shit, that is amazing." 

He might be nerding out a little, but he had a degree in computing engineering and a sentient AI like this was so awesome! 

Hope left him to it, he started looking at the tech that had been left to him and he was just sat on the sofa. Looking around his apartment, with more tech on his lap than he could ever have afforded. Remembering everything that they'd passed and he couldn't help the huge smile on his face. The others had been complaining about gilded cages, but it was obvious they didn't know what prison was actually like. Obvious that they'd gotten used to getting everything for free. It was obvious because this place was amazing and he felt privileged to be on this side of that white wall, it didn't matter if he wasn't allowed to leave for a while. Why would he want to?! 

"I think I'm going to love it here FRIDAY." 

"Boss will be pleased that you like his compound." 

"Would you tell him, whenever he's free obviously, that I'm thrilled to be here, this is the best place I've ever been. And that you are amazing too." 

"I'll pass that along Mr Lang." 

"FRIDAY, You can call me Scott too, I mean, if you want." 

"I think I'd like that Scott."


	30. Rhodey & Sam

**Sam POV **

Everything narrowed down when Rhodes left Stark and moved to greet him. He hadn't noticed it before, but like Stark, Rhodey was different. It was like someone had peeled back the years. There were no new additions though, at least not that he could see. Stark was wearing a long sleeved black shirt, but from here he could see what looked like dark blue tattoos winding around some of his fingers, a spiral was very clear on the back of his right hand and they vanished up into his sleeves. 

But Rhodey was  _ young.  _ And  _ walking.  _ He could have sworn that the fall would have done some damage, he'd heard that he'd been rushed to a very fancy hospital through Nat. He'd looked up the hospital online to find out why that one in particular and found out it had the foremost specialists in the world for spinal trauma. Maybe he'd just been thinking the worst? He hadn't been in the papers constantly like Stark had, so he really had thought the worst. 

The transport ride was  _ uncomfortable _ , everyone was on edge and it didn't help that their one to one's were a little… Strange. Wanda's guy was the Sorcerer with the apparently sentient outerwear that waved at him, he found himself waving back in utter confusion. He made the cloak happy though as they shook 'hands'. Scott was watching in amazement and tentatively offered his hand, the cloak seemed happy, at least he assumed it was happy again, judging the emotions of a cloak was not something he was well versed in, shockingly. The Sorcerer pointedly ignored their entire exchange with his cloak. 

He mostly just looked bored but he didn't take his attention of Wanda for a second. The guy in the red and black suit remained masked in front of them, which he could tell irritated the hell out of Steve. The fact he was pulling out an increasingly wild selection of weapons for James, who was enthusiastically responding he noticed, didn't help. James was speaking more to this masked stranger than he had in months to Steve, but given his new tactic of walking out of the room anytime someone called him Bucky, that wasn't a surprise. 

They'd had a serious argument before getting on the ship, he could tell, but Steve refused to tell him what happened, saying it was 'nothing' and 'Bucky' was just 'confused'. He'd pointed out that James was not confused, at all. That he was doing amazingly considering what had happened to him. Steve, of course, disagreed. He can't be doing amazingly because he isn't acting like Bucky! He has no idea what James did today that was un-Bucky like, but he hadn't seen Steve get this worked up since James told everyone he wanted to be called James. 

Steve looked around helplessly when they were all separated as they exited the bus. Sam shrugged, it was just a tour, he didn't get why Steve was so desperate to keep them together, they were literally sleeping in the same building and none of them could leave the compound. Hope practically dragged Scott away. He'd been eyeing the impressive wall that hadn't existed the last time they had been here, before Rhodey took him on his own tour. The wall wasn't the only change he noticed as they walked. Damn when Stark is motivated, healthy and happy, he gets stuff  _ done _ . It's not at all intimidating as fuck. The dude built a damned town! 

"I thought I'd show you around outside first, give you a chance to stretch your legs after the trip back." 

"That's great, thanks man. Before we continue, I just have to apologise for what happened at the airport. Seeing you fall from the sky…" 

"Hey man, it's alright. We're cool. Plus, you dodged an attack, it wasn't your fault. That's the kind of shit that happens when people like us fight. Someone was obviously going to get hurt." 

"I was just so worried that you'd be paralysed or something." 

Instead of laughing it off, Rhodey slowed to a stop of his little tour and turned to face him. Completely serious. 

"I actually was, I mean. I was paralysed from the waist down." 

Sam's mind practically stuttered to a stop, things got hazy and everything slowed down. That had been his worst fear. He'd been searching for every press release and anything that Stark or the Avengers did for a solid year trying to put his fears to rest. That he'd been at fault for an airman falling from the sky was painful to him. 

"But… How? I mean, how are you walking right now?!" 

"Tony." 

He shrugged as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. 

"Did he build you something?" 

"Na man. He healed me up. Turned up in my hospital room after coming back from Siberia and healed me. It's why I look like this now. The magic accidentally turned back the clock." 

"So after nearly dying, Tony Stark got magic or something, used it to heal you and accidentally deaged you. Do you realise how insane that sounds." 

"I know, but you'll get used to it living around here. Insane is our normal. He didn't so much nearly die in Siberia Sam. He partially  _ did _ . If he'd been any other baseline human he would have died." 

"Shit, how long was he out there?"

"Around the 22 hour mark was when it happened. No one knew where he was. He brought himself home. Who knows how many hours or even days he could have been left there. Roger's never called it in, just left him to die." 

This was so much worse than he had expected. Sure he'd seen the video, it started as they watched the video of his parents being  _ murdered, _ but it had ended shortly after the fight. It hadn't shown how long he'd been trapped there. Shit, he'd been feeling guilty for ages about sending Stark and his friends got injured. Now he felt like shift for forcing Stark to go into a situation alone, 'as a friend', and he'd ended up being traumatised and somehow dying! As insane as it was too refer to an alive person as someone who had died. 

"Fuck, I'm so sorry, for what happened to you, but can you apologise to him to? For me?" 

"Sure, but it'll be better if it comes from you." 

"You think he'll even meet with me? I thought he was done with us, I mean, I wouldn't blame him if he was, I asked him to go as a friend, he went alone and was left behind because of  _ me _ . I can't imagine how terrifying that must have been." 

"I think he will, think about it, everything you know about Tony comes from people like Rogers, Wanda, Clint right? So, set up a time through FRIDAY, I think meeting the real Tones would be good for you. It's about time you take off those Captain America sized blinders, don't you think?" 

He nodded, thinking about that as they traversed the base, it was utterly different to the old compound. This really was a town. So many people greeted Rhodes with respect as they passed, he was definitely doing well in his new role as the leader of the Avengers. The deaging probably helped too, he just seemed even more collected and sure of himself than before. Which considering how confident he had been before, that was saying something. 

"Yeah, I think I'd like that, I shouldn't have just assumed what they said was right. I was going to meet with him when I first moved in, you know? Steve told me it was a bad idea and anytime I recommended talking to Stark about the missions, he just got irritated at the idea. I thought it was just stress… but after those Siberia tapes… "

Now he realised that Steve wanted Stark in the dark. Because if he had known what they were doing, then the chances of Stark discovering Steve's secret increased. 

"It's good to see you really thinking, I've been best friends with Tony since he was 14 years old."

"Holy shit, I didn't know that! Steve always thought it was weird you and Tony were friends, he wondered how because he thought you had nothing in common. Told me you were assigned to him as a military contact and that was it, it's not is it? "

"Fuck no, I was 17, off to college and my first class there was this 14 year old skinny white kid at the front, correcting the professor! No one would team up with him, which I thought was mean, I thought he was just doing some classes you know. Like extra credit for high-school? I didn't realise he'd been sent to college alone, at 14. The only time Howard showed up was to give him work, he'd been making things for SI since he was a kid. The way at 14 how he could disassemble and reassemble weapons was eerie. So, I kind of just adopted him."

"He was alone, in college, at 14, what the fuck man.. and what do you mean work for SI? He was a kid!"

"I eventually switched to share a room with him, he was working on like 4 degrees and was close to finishing one and starting a masters when I did. He liked to build and Howard wanted him focusing on the family business rather than his 'pet projects.' If Tones had had a choice, he probably have focused on artificial intelligence rather than weapons."

This was a completely different side of the man. A man he had been so sure he had figured out. 

"He didn't even know it how messed up it was that during midterms, after not sleeping for days, having Howard yelling at him for not getting his designs in time. Older kids pushed him around, it was like he didn't know how to say no. When Howard died, Obie was worse. I was worried he wouldn't reach 20."

"Shit. Does Steve not know this?"

"Doubtful, he was fed some videos and read a report by SHIELD and then made up his mind. Tony tried to be his friend, bent over backwards, would have died for that idiot. He's extremely loyal as a friend, kind, giving to a fault. Complete idiot. Me and Tones have tons in common, he's my little bro. So, if you want to talk to him, cool. If you hurt him Sam, I will not stand for it anymore, understood?"

Rhodey had a sharper, more menacing aura around him that had him blinking and then it was gone. Leaving him wondering if he'd imagined it. 

"Crystal!"

He nodded, trying to absorb what he'd been told. He knew Stark was smart, but he hadn't realised  _ how _ smart. Like going to college at 14 smarts. 

Although the idea of sending a kid to college alone is just wrong to him. No wonder his socialising skills were kind of weird, he didn't really get a childhood if he was working from a young age. Much different than the picture Clint painted of an entitled, drug addicted party goer, skating through college on dad's money. He was going to research Stark, maybe he could ask Nat, she seemed to be trying to get a degree in Stark lately. 

"There is also the fact you lot aren't safe in Wakanda now, his family were quite restricted as to how much they can do you know?" 

"Huh?" 

Rhodey shrugged but grinned before switching to talking about how the canteen worked. Sam was a bit confused? Family? 

They didn't enter many buildings, it was mostly just Rhodes explaining what each one was. They came to what looked like a little street with several two story houses in. 

"Now we can't stay for a long time, I have to take you to your room, but I thought you might want to say Hi." 

He was slightly confused as he put his palm on what looked like a white stone pillar. A blue light flashed over them, similar to the one when they arrived. The silver gate opened and he followed Rhodes to one of the houses. Before they even started up the path, the door flew open and 3 kids erupted out and he was utterly frozen as his brother gave him _the_ _look._ The one that said clearly he done gone fucked up. 

The kids mobbed him and they'd changed so much! His ma then appeared behind his brother and he couldn't believe he was seeing them after such a long time. It didn't matter that they were going to chew him out. 

Rhodes hung back but he was dragged into the house for tea, with such familiarity that he thought this wasn't the first time. He was uncle Rhodey and they even spoke about  _ Uncle Tony _ who was teaching them Italian. Which was mind blowing, when did he get the time to teach the kids Italian?! Rhodey just laughed and told him that that's Tony for you. He drops everything for the compound kids. 

He got to spend half an hour covered by kids, getting chewed out. He was told however that he had access to The Borough. Which meant he could visit them. He couldn't sleep there, part of the agreement was that they resided in the containment residential block. 

He had a month first, then if he passed that he'd be allowed to leave the compound as long as he returned by 9pm. Rhodes showed him the fence surrounding them. He'd never have pegged Stark for such a degree of protection for kids, but then he was realising that he had a lot wrong about him and looking back, things had him more than a little uncomfortable. Steve had said it was just jokes and that Stark didn't want to spend time with them anyway, now he was just thinking back on loads of little things, arguments he witnessed, so much with Wanda. 

He'd actually tried to bring that up with Steve once, he swore one morning, Stark had come looking for coffee and Wanda had opened the cupboard, Sam was off to the side, neither of them had noticed him. Tony didn't look annoyed or upset, for a second he swore it was fear on his face before he wiped it. It had concerned him because if he could hide fear that quickly, it couldn't be an isolated event. Instead of asking Wanda to not use her powers around Stark, something he'd seen Stark literally begging Steve to do. Steve assumed Stark had put Sam up to it and there was a huge fight, Stark called the suit after Wanda started actually throwing objects with her telekinesis. Steve yelled at Stark, said nothing to Wanda and started mandatory training biweekly for Stark to  _ get over _ his fear of Wanda's magic. Stark dodged every session, Steve forced it. Come to think of it, it wasn't long after that Stark left. He'd never looked at it that way before, God, how much crap had he heaped on that man by trying to 'help'. 

He was a little subdued on the trip to their residential zone, wishing he was still in that living room and rethinking of practically every action with Stark. But his family were  _ here _ , they were safe and he was so damned thankful for it. 

His room, or rather apartment was more than he had expected it to be. Clint and Wanda had been discussing the new accommodation as if it was going to be horrendous. Instead he had a bedroom, an office and full set up. Free tech and a meeting tomorrow with his Accords Advisor on this fancy calendar app. FRIDAY also made herself known. 

"FRIDAY, do you have surveillance foot from the compound before the Civil War." 

"Of course." 

"I wonder if you can show me interactions between Stark and Wanda, anything when I was there, or those training sessions Steve wanted." 

FRIDAY was silent for a minute, he thought the answer would be no, but he wondered if she was thinking about it. 

"Why? What do you plan on doing with them? I won't have you hurting Boss." 

"I don't want to hurt Stark, I… I've been thinking about stuff and I think I've maybe been on the wrong side with some things. Wanda.. I think here is a lot I missed. I think I didn't really know Stark, just what I was told." 

"Okay Mr Wilson, I'll show you. I'm trusting you because you want to make up for what you have done. Please don't betray my trust." 

"I won't FRIDAY, you have access to my tablet, so I can't show anyone else anyway. You can just hide it, or something." 

"Might I suggest one thing whilst I compile relevant data?" 

"Of course." 

"Call him Tony, he hates being called Stark." 

His eyes widened in shock. 

"Fuck. I have a lot to learn, don't I FRIDAY?" 

"Yes you do Mr Wilson." 

"You can call me Sam if you want to FRIDAY." 

"Okay, Sam" 

The compound was amazing, but all he could think about was his family and how much pain they'd caused a teammate. Team was family, that's what Steve said. So why had they done it, he can't remember why. 

Maybe his brother would let him take the kids to the cinema tomorrow. To get out of his head a little bit, ask them what they knew. Kids always saw more than adults realised and his brothers kids were sharp. 

Until the welcome dinner, he has videos to watch. Videos where he says things he can't remember saying, where he does things and doesn't remember why. He starts keeping a list with FRIDAY. FRIDAY starts to get concerned for him. With FRIDAYS help they look through night surveillance and he sees red mist settle over him. He doesn't know what to do. He's starting to see why James wants nothing to do with Wanda. For now, he'd act normal, he  _ lived with her, _ it wasn't safe to act against her, she could hurt him, Scott or even Nat. He can't even go through it all at once without feeling sick. 

"Will you be my secret partner for information gathering FRIDAY?" 

"Of course, but are you sure this is safe Sam? Shouldn't you tell Boss?" 

"If we're careful, I can't risk her lashing out because I went off half cocked. But if she ever wipes me, you can tell me about it, anytime she's anywhere near me FRIDAY, even a smidgen of red Mist near me, you have full surveillance permission." 

"Be careful Sam." 

"I will, this is something I have to do, maybe to make up for what I've done." 


	31. Stephen & Wanda

**Wanda POV**

They had spent a long time in Wakanda and she was more than ready to go home. The dreams hadn't stopped, but since Halloween, they had not manifested in the waking world. Everyone had blamed her, just as he'd predicted, which was ridiculous. 

She had had a lot of practice using her abilities and increasing her strength over the last few months, and she practicability wanted to dance at the thought of returning home. She would finally get to see Vision! Who would be so proud of how far she'd come, she just knew it. Maybe he could help her find a way to protect her dreams from invaders. 

She still did not like these Accords, but the choices of languishing in Wakanda? They agreed to sign even though she had no intention of doing such a thing. Steve and her Clint didn't either. They had been her rocks in this place and she had done everything in her part to make them happy, even if they blamed her for things she had nothing to do with. It wasn't their fault, they were confused, scared and know so little of magic. She had made sure that they wouldn't stay too mad at her though. 

Sam and Scott didn't really concern her anymore, Scott never really had and Sam had just been a stand in for Steve until Bucky came home, so now she had to focus her magic where it was truly  _ needed. _ Natasha had been nervous at first, which had started to concern her Clint. She'd put effort into fixing the situation for him back then and it had stuck, even though she had very little interest in being her friend so she didn't bother with anything else. Really she was just happy with Clint and Steve. Anyone else were extras. 

Plus, actively using her powers on so many people was  _ exhausting _ , so she just had a few suggestions implanted in the others to improve their lives for the best. It was a shame they would never know it was her, but she was fine with that. She would work from the shadows to help people. 

The blight on her happiness had a name, and for once it wasn't Stark nor the terrifying man from her dreams.

It was Bucky Barnes. 

The coward had slunk off into cryo the first chance he got, leaving Steve depressed and forlorn. She could help for short periods of time but it always returned, but then happier emotions were complicated. Harder to implant without pain to lock it in place. 

Then he came back and she was happy that Steve had his Bucky back. Maybe he could even join their family, he might be better than Sam. Who kept sticking his nose into places. He questioned too much, thought too much, was too concerned with his teammates ' _ mental health'.  _

Bucky didn't seem to remember the time they had met at Hydra, and she had suggested to Steve that they not mention her connection with the organisation, as surely discussing Hydra could be triggering for the man. She did not want him remembering her. 

Also she convinced Steve to only tell him that her powers were telekinetic based, incase just mentioning mental manipulation could trigger him. He hadn't wanted to lie at first, but she had convinced him it was in Bucky's best interests and that she would be willing to hide her powers around him, even if it hurt her to do so, she'd be willing to do so for him and his Bucky. Steve was so proud of her. 

Until she got a proper look in his mind she needed to know what could trigger him to remember her. He was gaining memories back daily now. Ideally she needed to get in there to see if there was anything to wipe. 

Bucky didn't explain why he was suddenly healed, word free and sporting a very different looking arm. He seemed happier too, it was like someone had… accelerated his healing. His mind felt different compared to the first time they had met. Then it had been like jagged, broken glass. Shattered and broken. His pain had been amazing and he was so interesting. Now it seemed the breaks were filling in. It concerned her, between the memories and how his mind felt more stable, she knew he might remember her. He might tell Steve about her time with Hydra. 

She didn't know enough about Wakandan health care to know it something was suspect or if it was just normal to them. When she suddenly couldn't hear his thoughts however, then she was suspicious. Because no tech would protect a mind from her magic. She also wondered why he was shielding his mind all of a sudden. She spent a few hours each night trying to pick apart the magic protecting him, because it  _ was _ magic. 

Where he had gotten it from was something she needed to know as it was incredibly strong, but she was wearing it down. As each day passed he was in more and more pain that he wouldn't mention to anyone. Eventually it would snap and she could slip in. She just hoped her room in this new facility was close to his, not that she needed the proximity persay, but her magic was stronger for it. Then she could correct his aberrant behaviour. 

Steve was unhappy that they were being separated, she wasn't exactly happy either but she assured him they will all be together soon and calmed him as best she could. He was under so much stress, it didn't help that every time he called Bucky by his name he left the room! Such a selfish man, after all the things Steve did for him! When she got past that magic, she was going to have to correct such selfish behaviour. 

Right now she had other things to be concerned with. 

Hydra had given her a list of names and titles of people she should avoid being in the presence off. The title at the top was - Sorcerer Supreme. There was no name attached, but this man called himself the Sorcerer Supreme so she would have to be careful. Such a pretentious title, she suspects he would be weak compared to the magic the mind stone had gifted her. But he  _ had _ magic and as such was a potential threat to her family, so he should be assessed as soon as possible. 

He didn't speak the entire trip to the compound and she switched her thoughts to Sokovian just in case he was trying to get a read on her. She skimmed into his mind but was faced with a buzzing that left her feeling sick and her head was pounding. She was not to be deterred however and continued to look for a way in. There was  _ always _ a way in, she followed the whispered encouragement from the magic that the Mind stone had imparted her with teaching her. Guiding her. 

It was her closest companion, always pushing her to new heights. No matter what the man from her dreams said, using her power didn't cut her up. She was  _ stronger _ for it. The more she pushed, the more powerful she became. The further she went, more opportunities would open up. She wasn't selfish, everything she did was for her family. She helped people. Steve had had such a hard few years, helping him out really was the least she could do for the man who gave her a new family. 

The blue light that had flashed through the bus as the arrived left her skin buzzing and instantly she knew it was magic. This Sorcerer wasn't just polluting her home with his presence, it was clear he had left his Magic lying around too!

No matter. She would inspect all of it, she might even leave some of it benefited her in some way. 

As the others were drawn away, he waited until they had been the only two remaining. She stood, uninterested, as if she could last a year. She would show him nothing. 

"Come." 

Finally, but did he have to be so rude! The incessant buzzing was keeping her from his mind and correcting such an awful display of behaviour. Did his parents not teach him manners as a child? He turned, the peculiar cloak snapping behind him as it ruffled against the wind. She remembered from the press conferences that it seemed to have a mind of its own. Maybe if she could not get to this sorcerer she could get through to his companion. 

For now she would appear the dutiful little prisoner, obedient and hurt by her trials. Maybe they could lure some of these new members to their side also. 

"I shan't be giving you a tour, you can find everything using the tablet provided in your room where I am taking you now. I will remind you that entering someone's mind with magic is against the law and if I discover you trying what you have tried on me on anyone else who resides at the compound, I will not hesitate in my actions. "

She smiled sweetly, making herself small and scared. Sniffing slightly and allowing a few tears to fall. Men were very susceptible to this. Women would like a little sister to protect, that was the best method of manipulation for women, but men liked to protect. To be strong and powerful, protecting her from the bad world. Even though she was obviously powerful, a tear here or there, turning her body language to huddle, appearing timid and downtrodden. It triggered these protection instincts and made them easy to mould. She could pander to his magical abilities too, that would probably be wise. Make him think he was more powerful than her, then he would underestimate her as she learned his weaknesses. 

"I am so sorry, sometimes it just happens, especially when I'm scared and this place has changed so much from the home I knew and then… we were separated." 

She ducked her head, so she was looking up at him, eyes wide as she tucked her hands into her sleeves. Vulnerable and soft. 

"Well. Let's be sure it doesn't happen again. I can offer lessons in control if you like. Now, here is your room. You have a meeting tomorrow with your Accords Advisor. If you do not wish to go alone, for your comfort of course, we wouldn't want you to accidentally violate your advisors mind now would we. Speak to FRIDAY and whomever you wish to go with you, they can rearrange the session."

Well. Even if his mind was difficult to access, it seemed he was easy to play at least. She found men to be quite easy if she played the 'scared and alone' card. It made them wish to protect her or in this one's case, teach her. As if there was anything he could teach her that the mind stone couldn't do better. Although lessons would be a good chance to assess him. 

"Thank you, you have been so kind to me. After the last year, it means a lot to me. I'm sure you have heard many things about me, I'm happy you have not let them unfairly cloud your judgement. "

"I like to see things for myself, now, I'll leave you to get settled. You have been through quite an ordeal. If you need me, you can contact me using your phone or through FRIDAY. I do not live at the compound, but I can be here in a second if required. Goodbye."

With that, he shut the door and she dried her face. Dropping her bag on the floor she turned to investigate the paltry offerings. If Stark thought he was going to get away with this, he was in for a nasty surprise, even her belongings were absent!

Yes, she certainly had a lot of work to do. 

Aberrant behaviour that needed correcting. Her work was never done.


	32. Eddie & Steve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Stebe.

**Steve POV**

It was good to finally set foot back in America. Wakanda had been nice, except for that terrifying incident with Wanda's powers, he still had nightmares about the beautiful woman and her terrifying companion. 

T'Challa had been very kind to shelter them from the fallout from the ridiculous Accords and they had healed Bucky. But it wasn't  _ home.  _

They had made him a new arm, that he obviously was happier with than his old one, although he didn't exactly know why, They were both the same really? How different could 2 metal arms be? Sure, it looked different to the plain steel and red star, but he thinks that this one definitely needs brightening up. The black with silver accents seemed a little scary and definitely was a downgrade, Steve thought it sent the wrong message. 

He had no idea what Shuri was thinking when she made it so  _ dark _ , out of so many options! She could have made it look skin coloured even, that would have been better. Maybe he can convince Tony to help fix that mess, remove that peculiar pattern too. Bucky seems to like the pattern, he's seen him tracing it with his fingers but it's not fitting for an arm. He definitely did not like it, the original steel colour would be better than what it currently was. Maybe he could even go for red, white and blue. That would be much nicer. 

Bucky seemed happy with the arm itself though, surprisingly. He had avoided anyone touching the other, wouldn't let Steve touch it and didn't like even looking at it himself. He'd meant to ask him why but then Tony had cruelly blown it off for no reason and Bucky had weirdly said good riddance. He assumed it was the pain and shock talking. He'd mentioned never having it replaced before he went into cryo, luckily he seemed to have gotten over that. When Scott had asked to touch it he'd been baffled when he'd said yes! Then he had flinched when he went to inspect it. Cryo had clearly left him awfully confused. 

He almost seemed proud of the new one which is incredibly strange and he doesn't quite understand why. The old one seemed heavier and more useful as a tool or a weapon, much more robust. This one seems to light for such purposes and the colour and patterns… no. It definitely needed fixing. They could maybe choose a new colour together so he can make sure it's better, Bucky was still new to the future and if he was so set on having a design, they could choose one together too. It would be a chance to talk properly. Even though it was too reminiscent of a tattoo for Steve's liking and he never liked them. Even though everyone seemed to have one these days. Steve just didn't see the appeal in marring one's skin with needles, his mother had thought of them as dirty and he agreed, it says a lot about a person and none of it was good! As it's a  _ metal _ arm, he supposed he could make an exception for Bucky. 

For now it didn't matter, to have him out of that blasted cryo tube, a strange limb was by far worth it! Easy to fix too now they were heading home. He would accompany him each time of course, Tony needed to be monitored, it was bad enough the man had been alone for a  _ year.  _ God only knows what he had gotten up to in all that time, he'd definitely been messing with something to make him look so young. He would love to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe it was just plastic surgery and vanity, as Nat would say, his ego was definitely one for that, but Steve had an inkling it was more. Hopefully it was reversible whatever it was, then they could find another pilot for the suit which shouldn't be to hard, he can't imagine it's terribly complicated after all. Then Tony could just focus on making their gear. 

Bucky was starting to do slightly better at least, his memories were returning too, more each day, even though he was fighting it for some odd reason, everytime he tried to help correct him to what he should be doing he got angry. He assumed this was just because healing was hard and when things are hard you lash out at those you love most. He could take it, when he had all his memories back, he knew Bucky would apologise for everything he had said and thank him for never stop trying to save him. Even if it was from himself. The Wakandans had somehow cleared his mind from those vile words and had set his brain off on the path of healing. It was painfully slow, they should have perfected it before they used it, then he would have just been Bucky straight away. But Steve was a patient man. It was just so hard to watch him struggle, to do things he hated. Like this business with his name. 

If they had simply deleted all the memories from after the train, this would be moving at a swifter pace he thinks. For each good memory of Bucky he seems to get 5 horrid memories of his time at Hydra. What use are those? It wasn't him after all so he shouldn't have to carry them. Sam had shown him these glasses Tony had invented to help people with PTSD alter memories, he was quite excited. He was unsure why Tony would go to the hassle of altering, when he bets if you can alter, you can delete instead. That was a definite possibility for Bucky. 

His other idea had been for Wanda to simply delete everything after the train, and maybe even use Steve's memories to fix any problems or fill in blanks. He also thought that Wanda could help. Unfortunately Bucky was oddly… disliking of Wanda, even though he thinks they would make an adorable couple, Bucky could finally settle down and marry as he'd barely seen a gal twice back before the war. 

It's exhausting keeping everything going, but it will be worth it in the end. He just wished it would move faster, for Bucky's sake. 

There are a number of things that trouble him for the time being though. He didn't smile much, when he did, he wouldn't tell Steve what he was smiling about either, he was constantly tense and stuck to the shadows more often than not. There was also the fact he vanished for a few hours every day and so far Steve had been unable to follow him. Maybe Tony could loan him one of those tracking devices. That way he'll always know where Bucky was and then he could protect him. 

This was a strange new time and Bucky was not prepared for it at all. He couldn't let him do this alone! If only he could get through to him faster! Stop all this nonsense of him going by  _ James _ , where did he even get that from!? He hated being called James in the past. He was sure that it was slowing his recovery too. It was so disheartening every time he pushed away from him, every time he pulled away, every time he refuse physical contact even though Steve was sure after being with Hydra for so long that he would be touch starved like the internet said. A lot of the psychobabble was useless but some of it made. Yet he still pulled away from him. 

Every time he slammed a door to hide away from him or even took off into the jungle! He was left fretting the entire time, what if he got hurt out there and Steve didn't find him in time. 

It was just so disheartening but Steve wasn't a quitter and he owed it to Bucky to save him. First he'd had to find him, now he had to help Bucky find himself. 

If only he understood that he had a  _ family _ here, willing to catch him if he stumbled. He didn't need to pull away or be alone, they were there for him. But he really just didn't seem to like Wanda, and he couldn't work out why! Wanda was the sweetest gal he ever did set eyes on and deserved the love and protection of them all, seeing her in tears when he refused to even eat at the same table had been utterly heartbreaking. Steve was determined to heal this rift in his family however! Together they could be the couple that came back from the ashes of Hydra. They'd understand each other in a way no one else could, she could help him with his memories and he could treat her like the queen that she was. Wanda would probably be much happier with children and a home to take care of too. They would be an inspiration to the world of overcoming anything. 

America would be their fresh start. The American dream would be theirs.

They would be home again in the beautiful compound. 

They were apparently assigned new rooms, some silly rule that because they were  _ fugitives _ they had to be housed separately with rules for where they could be put. Utterly ridiculous, and the sooner this farce of calling them fugitives ends the better. There were even restrictions on where they could go in the compound! In their own home! They couldn't even leave the compound for the first month! These restrictions were frankly ridiculous, but he couldn't sort it out from Wakanda. He just needed to talk to Tony, then they could get rid of these Accords, Tony could get the government out of Avengers business and return the Avengers to its rightful position. 

He just needed steering in the right direction, like Natasha, he didn't seem to understand right from wrong sometimes but where as Natasha came to him, Tony assumed he was correct. With some guidance Tony could be truly wonderful. Less ego, less of this flashy showmanship, he should really just leave the business to Pepper even though she was a dame, she was quite capable, like Peggy had been. If Tony would focus on one thing, focus on being humble and following instructions, practice his craft, he would find himself much happier. 

He had so much to do, he wondered if he would ever get a moment to find happiness for himself, no, that was selfish of him. It was up to him and he would make things better for everyone. He'd needed to see to Laura too, divorce clearly wasn't the answer, it wasn't Clint's fault he was forced to hide out in Wakanda after all. T'Challa should have let him talk to her. That would be easily sorted now they were home. 

The new members were a quandary too, Steve would have to assess them to see if they could actually remain. Tony had seemingly just let  _ anyone _ into his Avengers even though he didn't have permission to take such action. If he was that desperate for more people he should have sorted their pardons faster, or he could have called him, they could have gone through resumes together. 

So far, he was unimpressed. The one to ones they had been set had not impressed him one bit. Wanda's pair, Dr Strange was extremely rude and as they had Wanda, he was unnecessary, he doubted he was close to her level of power. Hope seemed nice, even if she did seem excessively angry towards Scott. He had always respected Colonel Rhodes, he'd hoped that he could take on the mantle of Ironman one day but he seemed quite attached to the Iron Patriot and he had to admit, the name has a nice ring to it. It was nice to see Bruce had returned to them, he had missed the man. Even though he was unimpressed with him for shirking his duty and running off for no reason, he was a calming presence and he could forgive the man. This Carol he was unsure about, but it warranted further investigation, knowing she was military helped, having an assessment of her abilities would be next, that she been paired with Natasha meant she was obviously unenhanced, so he wasn't overly hopeful.

That brought him to the two individuals that would certainly not be staying. The Black and red masked man would have go first. Such costumes in the field were one thing. To wear them in the presence of fellow Avengers was quite rude. Even if he was enhanced or had some kind of ability to be paired with Bucky, his temperament was all wrong. He was currently pulling out a at all manner of weapons. All attempts at interrupting their conversation had been thwarted, which brought him back to the final person who had kept him from disrupting the pair. 

Eddie Brock, he had introduced himself as a  _ reporter _ , which instantly made him dislike the man. The utter trash paraded as news in this day and age was a sacrilege. So he  _ obviously _ didn't have the moral compass required to be an Avenger. He also had not stated if he was enhanced, there must be something for him to be placed with him. He had hoped Tony would be his one to one. It would streamline things and he could finally quiz the man over what he had gone and done to himself without the team to keep him in check. The lies he had presented to the world were obvious, he had been perfectly fine when they'd left Siberia, he was not close to death. He had played up collapsing for the cameras but he likely flew himself home straight after. So he had done something to himself to make him appear younger, potentially using the super soldier serum from the deceased winter soldiers perhaps. He would find out soon enough. 

Entering the compound, he found himself frowning. It was practically unrecognisable. There were so many unnecessary new buildings and just far too many people, this would also have to be addressed. All the security was unnecessary too, they lived here, why did they need security, they were the protectors after all, if it were known that they were cowering behind a wall and security they would be a laughing stock! 

Another thing that would have to be addressed quickly would be their quarters. The easiest option would have been for them to move into their old rooms, but it seems like Tony hadn't finished being petty. What was the point in giving them new rooms when their old ones were just sitting empty? He had thought a year of keeping them away from their homes was enough, but it seemed not.

"Eddie, you know you'll get indigestion if you eat that." 

"Believe me, I've told him. Every argument possible has been bounced back." 

Was a parting quip before the black and red man dragged Bucky away. He'd hoped to speak to Tony when they got off the bus, but the car carrying him and the Royal entourage was nowhere in sight. 

"Right, anything in particular you want to see?"

"Well so much has changed, I don't even know where to start. I would like to see Tony though, that would speed things up." 

"No." 

Steve was confused by that response. 

"No?" 

"Yup. I'm one of Tony's body guards you see, and I will not be authorising a meeting." 

"Tony doesn't need a bodyguard from me, we're friends! I'm sure he wants to see me." 

"No." 

Steve frowned as they came to a stop. Eddie seemed mostly unimpressed. 

"Not even a hand, you remember what Tony said." 

"What?" 

"Wasn't talking to you." 

Steve glanced around, there were a few people wandering around but none close enough to have a conversation with. No one else was stopping and he was speaking quietly. 

"I'm sure if I can just talk to Tony, we can just get this sorted." 

"No." 

"You can't just keep saying no!" 

"You will find I can. No. See. Easy." 

"How is a reporter even qualified to be Ironman's bodyguard anyway?" 

"Oh you will find we are uniquely qualified. So, do you want to have a tour, or do you just want to see your room." 

He would like to see his room, his actual room on his floor. Not this ridiculous new residential area. Eddie turned to walk and as far as Steve was concerned, the conversation about Tony was not over. These petty games were annoying so he reached out to grab the man's arm. 

"You'll want to let go Mr Rogers. Or you will find out exactly why we are Tony's bodyguard. You see V, he loves Tony. Tony brings him snacks and is fine with the licking thing. Not many people accept V so easily, Tony gave us a home. So you see, he is  _ very _ protective of his Tony." 

"What?" 

This man was making no sense! 

"Let go." 

"Now hang on a minute." 

Before he could say anything else, the man's muscle moved beneath his head, rippling and this black substance came from nowhere and started covering him. He jerked his hand back as he transformed. Leaving him taller, covered in a black, shiny substance with huge teeth and a long tongue hanging down. 

"Eddie says Venom can't eat Rogers. But Rogers has two hands, Venom is sure he can live with one." 

"What?!" 

"Venom guards Tony. Tony is ours. Rogers understands this now? Yes?" 

Steve blinked a few times, wondering what the hell was happening with his team whilst he'd been away. This did not look like an Avenger, this looked like an enemy. 

Venoms face…? Peeled back on one side, showing Eddie underneath. 

"We are Tony's bodyguard. You nearly killed Tony. As he won't get a restraining order, a number of us have decided you will not be alone with Tony. Now you see that white building down there. That is your quarters. FRIDAY will direct you to your room." 

With that Eddie? Venom? Stalked off, that black substance peeling back, just leaving Eddie walking towards a large building. He would not let this deter him however. Tony couldn't be guarded  _ everyday _ . He would have to see him eventually and stop this schoolyard behaviour. 

Steve was thrown however, he was utterly confused, not understanding what actually just happened. He headed to the white building deciding to put it out of his mind. It looked newer than all the others. What a waste of effort. 

As he entered, he had to admit that wasn't actually that bad, at least when Tony was being petty, he still put effort in to see to their comfort. It showed he still cared about them. It was however much smaller than their old quarters, instead of having a floor each there was 4 to each floor. 

He was sharing with Sam, Scott and Clint according to the names on the door. Which was upsetting, he'd rather be closer to Bucky. Maybe he could encourage Scott to swap to whatever floor Bucky was on? Or, as he had an office in his little apartment, maybe Bucky could move in there. The papers had told them that they were restricted to this building until they had worked off their community service, but it didn't state they  _ had _ to reside in separate rooms.

For today he would fix Bucky's accommodation, he doubted Tony would see him today by choice based on earlier, but he'd have to stop being petty soon however. When Bucky returned from his tour they could fix their little fight they had before they left, he was sure by now Bucky would feel awful for hitting him and would be ready to apologise and then they could head to this dinner together as a family, there were some people he wanted to introduce him to and he bet Bucky would love them. 

He'd seen on TV that Thor was here, he imagined they'd get on very well, he would also help him get things fixed around the compound, then they could have words regarding Loki. After New York he should not have been allowed back to Earth. He was definitely going to be busy, but it was good work, he was home and he had Bucky. All was well. Even if things were strange. 

He stepped into the bedroom to store his bag of clothing and saw something on his pillow. He completely froze, he could see it from here but he found himself reaching out for it anyway, raising it to his face, the scent of meadowsweet chilled him. No, it was only Wanda's ability, this was just a coincidence, that was it. 


	33. Carol & Natasha

**Natasha POV**

This had probably been the longest year of her life. 

As Steve had been concerned about angering T'Challa, she had been trapped, languishing in Wakanda with no ability to speed things along. Her dreams had taken over her life completely, but last night it had been different. She'd told Steve to not corner Tony, to not go ahead with their plans, that they should apologise. Steve hadn't listened, of course, but her dreams had been filled with warm summer air and comfort on that night. 

She was unsure how to approach Tony now, not knowing what he is, except not human. Of that she was sure of. She had not wanted Tony to think she was betraying him, she really hadn't, but it became clear during the battle of Leipzig-Halle that Steve was not going to stop and the best way to avoid further conflict was to separate them and regroup. 

Before she had a chance to do that however, Steve and Yasha had gone to Siberia to face the threat of 5 Winter Soldiers alone, which was frankly ridiculous of them and that Steve didn't call her in for that fight was insulting. Via Sam, Tony had headed there too and fallen into Zemo's ridiculously convoluted trap. 

If Steve had done what he'd sworn he would do, the trap wouldn't have been sprung. She had foolishly trusted him to tell Tony about his parents. She had trusted him that it would be better coming from him as a friend than her. 

Even though she had thought of Tony as a friend. Steve had told her that she wasn't best with emotions and she'd believed him. Her Queen had helped her seen the friendship Tony and others had offered her, that she'd been unable to see before. 

Back then however, it wasn't her area of expertise, so she had deferred to Steve. Without Clint around to help her through interpersonal matters that didn't include manipulation, she needed Steve. 

Even though the look on Tony's face at the airport haunted her for some reason she didn't quite understand. Her Queen had let her relive that so many times, he looked shocked at her betrayal she noticed after a while. Shock. Meaning he genuinely thought she had come far enough to be trusted. 

In the beginning, when they were safe in Wakanda, before the dreams changed, it was just a matter of time before Tony organised their return. The man was alone and he did not do well alone. His break with Pepper and subsequent awkwardness had lost him Pepper and Happy. The battle of Leipzig-Halle had lost him Rhodes who was unconscious and paralysed. Something Tony would blame himself for. Vision was also likely to be distraught. 

However, he didn't bring them home. She then suffered for her cruelty and arrogance, she'd been taught a lesson. 

Stark Industries started working harder than ever and for a while she was concerned that the pain he had mentioned at the airport had become a heart attack and that he was dying. The fear was a surprise, not for her, but for Tony. It was something she didn't understand so she fell back into old patterns. Collect information and analyse. 

Tony being declared alive had left her almost giddy with relief. 

However, he steamrolled on without a single glance back at them, that hurt. Steve wouldn't tell her what happened at Siberia, so at the time she was confused. 

Then he turned up, saying he had nearly  _ died _ and was now magically young again. His skin, brushed gold, was so much like her Queens, and she started to understand. He was one of the old ones, or something close, maybe? That was more likely. She didn't know how, but she  _ knew _ . She watched everything, devoured every news source for mentions of them. The closest was when the Siberia footage was released and she'd nearly attacked Steve. 

For some reason, even with the knowledge the Winter Soldier killed his parents, he started protecting Yasha. He would not even talk about them, especially not Steve. If a reporter pushed too hard he would have them removed and after a few press conferences where he had simply walked out at a mention of Steve, people stopped asking about them. People stopped talking about 'The Rogues' altogether when Tony was around. It had a knock on effect, because Tony was doing  _ so much _ , all over, people slowly stopped talking about them all together. Only online were they still brought up often, and it was less than favourable. 

The longer time went on, the more she felt something alien to her. Fear. 

Tony was acting against his profile, he wasn't  _ spiraling, _ he was  _ flourishing, _ not just as Ironman, Tony Stark became a name associated with cleaning up the planet, saving communities, the amount of work he was doing was frankly ridiculous. It was like he was on some quest to raise the health of the planet but she couldn't for the life of her work out  _ why _ . Sure it got people in his favour and political capital, but it burnt bridges with many in politics who had the lionshare of the money. The oil industry for example currently despised him, she'd seen a number of contracts out on his life, they were picked up at first but then it was as if the community was refusing contracts on him. Only the desperate took them, and they didn't take any after. 

She also wanted to discover the source of Tony and now Rhodes apparently, change of appearance and healing. She needed to know if the connection to him and her Queen was a coincidence, although in her heart, she  _ knew _ . She didn't tell the others though. 

Even after a year she was unclear of Tony's motives and as much as she was looking forward to leaving Wakanda, she didn't like that she was going into an unknown situation. There was also the fact that thanks to the charges laid upon her. She was equally restrained to the compound as she'd been in Wakanda. 

The blonde that had been assigned to her, seemed unimpressed with their ragtag band. At least her one to one would be badly matched as everyone believed her to be unenhanced. As everyone split up, she made herself look as friendly as possible, Wakanda had not been kind to her and she definitely was not looking her best. That would need to be rectified soon. 

"So, Major Danvers was it? How are you finding being a part of something like the Avengers." 

"Oh it's great, it's nice having a team you know? Previously when I was operating planet to planet, saving people from this race of aliens guided by this central intelligence, I was mostly alone. I like working with a team when I'm planetside." 

She was actually thrown for a few seconds, she had no idea if this woman was lying or not, if she wasn't then she was certainly no ordinary human. 

"That sounds quite amazing, I suppose being set to guard me is a bit of an easy job."

"Tony thought it would be best." 

"Tony?" 

"Yeah, he knows I'm not one to blab and he said that you're pretty invested in appearing as a baseline human, so he thought I'd work as a good compromise. On our paperwork, I was the only one available to serve as your one to one. I originally was going to be with the ol' Captain, but Tony told me I couldn't punch him." 

Tony knew she was enhanced? For how long? Why had he told no one. Even now? When she had betrayed him and he had no reason to keep her secrets? 

"So, as you can see, the compound has changed quite a bit. Tony asked that I highlight the rules in your packet and suggested you follow them to the letter. I recommend that too, maybe apologise to him, don't hack FRIDAY and don't try and spy on him and you might just have a chance."

By the time she is returned to her room, alone, they had run into none of the others in such a way, that she can only assume it was preplanned. 

If Tony had known she was enhanced, he should have done something about it. His profile wouldn't have included keeping that secret for her. She was starting to wonder how much of her profile was masks after all and she didn't like the uncertainty that overcame her. 


	34. Bruce & Clint

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That evil migraine Fairy has been after me again.
> 
> On Saturday after I finished up Silver, I decided to get some sleep. So I could edit Frostbitten and more Deaths Merchant from at least partial sleep. 
> 
> Migraine Fairy snuck in, and because I was asleep I couldn't take my triptans. I'm slowly returning to the land of the living!

**Clint POV**

Clint was _angry. _

He didn't know _why,_ but more and more recently, anger had been just under the surface.

The anger was at To-.. No. Stark. Because of Stark, he wasn't with his family. Because of Stark he was in an underwater secret prison. Because of Stark he was trapped in Wakanda. Because of Stark he couldn't talk to his wife and children who were hurting for him to return. Because of Stark, his wife had sent divorce papers, from the compound. Stark had his wife and children. 

He was _retired. _

But then, he'd been starting to struggle with that. Hadn't he? He was starting to climb the walls, the anger bubbling just under the surface. He remembered just sitting at the window for hours. Waiting. Waiting for what exactly, he had no idea. He'd snapped at Laura and the kids but he couldn't remember why. Something was missing. He stared out of the window waiting for it, missing it like his heart had been torn away, he didn't know why he was waiting, but he remembered doing it and he jumped at the chance to rescue Wanda from Stark's devious machinations. He remembered thinking '_Finally_!'.

He hadn't expected to be fighting against his Nat. 

Then everything went to shit. Turned out Steve didn't burn the world for moral reasons against a corrupt government. Steve didn't even seem to understand what the UN is! It was to save his boyfriend who had murdered Stark's parents. Then, plot twist, Bucky turned out to not be what Steve had wanted and they'd entered a weird melodrama stage. Bucky wanted to be called James and this apparently was the worst thing to ever happen to Steve. Bucky however has some kind of grudge against Wanda and he can't have that. Wanda didn't do nothing to him! How dare he be cruel to her. 

The only thing that had kept him sane was Wanda. Without her he was lost. He needed her, he had to stay with her and protect her. Even though some days he had trouble seeing past the haze of anger more and more, and all he wanted to do was hurt and rip and rend and kill. 

Then there were the migraines, but Wanda always knew what he had one and she would put his head in her lap. A wet towel over his eyes and run her fingers through his hair just like when he got sick and Lau-

Wanda took away his pain, she gave him reasons to keep going. 

Finally, they got word that Stark was organising their pardons. He's not sure what took the man so damned long, what was more important that getting them back to America? 

They had a month of good behaviour before they'd be tagged like dogs. The gilded cage was set up and all they had to do was walk right into it, they had 6 months after the original month to choose if they wanted to sign the Accords properly. Steve was very against this idea, but it was that or retire. Wanda had helped him realise that retiring wasn't best for him, so it looked like they were heading for having the Accords signed. Wanda was pretty sure she could sort something out, as soon as she could get her hands on Stark. 

For now though, Bruce was here! That had been a shock, he had ran away shortly after Ultron for some reason. Probably because of Tony and his murder-bot. But then, Bruce had a bit of a habit of running away. It could have been anything. They'd been strolling around the compound that had changed insanely since he was here last. Stark had apparently been a busy little bastard whilst they'd been trapped in Wakanda. 

He knew there was something he'd been meaning to ask his one to one but it had slipped his mind and the thought was gone. When he saw the archery range the pain came back, same as the laser tag. The weirdest was when he saw this soft play thing for toddlers. He snarled to Bruce about why the hell does the Avengers facility even need something like that! They'd just got to their prison barracks when he decided to ask Bruce if he signed his soul away. 

"So, did you sign yourself into servitude?" 

"I'm assuming you mean the Vienna Accords? Yes I did. Tony and other prominent figures like Charles Xavier have done a lot of work on it you know. Plus 138 countries agreeing on something good, it is a sight to behold." 

"But Ross is a part of it? You just made it easier for Ross to get you. Now Ross can experiment on you and others!"

Bruce frowned at him, shooting another confused look before directing him to a chair in the common room. Tiny compared to the one in the actual Avengers building, they have access to it and it's quite nice to have their own- absolutely petty. Showing off their fancy amenities whilst they're stuck here! 

"Are you sure you're okay Clint? Ross has been in jail for months and the Accords protect me from people like him. Even if they didn't, you know Tony would." 

"Stark had us locked up on the raft Bruce." 

"Clint I think you need to do some reading, that was Ross. Tony was working to free you all before you broke out." 

"He was? But… why?" 

"He had everything set up, when he came to see you guys he was recording everything for human rights violation and the raft was illegal under the Accords. Ross even refused for the lawyers he hired for all of you, he'd was setting something up for you to call Laura when Steve pretty much killed him. She told me she called and got told you'd escaped half an hour before. "

"I… I'm not…" 

"Have you even read the Accords Clint? They wouldn't have even impacted you when you were retired.." 

"But we'd have to register and…" 

"No Clint, its voluntary, and it provides protection for families like SHIELD did before everyone got burned." 

"So Tony was trying to help me? Even after I said.." 

"Said what?" 

"I don't know but it was meant to hurt him.. I think." 

"But why would you say that, you two were great friends." 

"We were? But he looked down on me and.." 

"Clint, Tony never looked down on you, he told me you were one of his best friends, that he really trusted you, told me you and he were therapy buddies, talking to each other as neither of you trusted shrinks. Hiding in the vents together when you couldn't sleep.. " 

Bruce chuckled and Clint had absolutely no idea what the hell he was talking about but there was something, in his mind, the workshop, he even got Tony to join him in the vents where it was safe, he shared his safe space and Tony told him things, he told Tony about Loki and the Mind contr- and Tony took him gliding once- Tony built his improved implants so no one even saw the hearing aids--he taught Tony ASL and Tony taught him Italian - no none of that happened, it couldn't have, he barely spent anytime with Stark because he looked down on him for not being rich but… he brushed his hand over the small control panel hidden discreetly in his hair that allowed him to alter the strength, it meant he could raise the sensitivity and they doubled as listening devices through walls, heck, he could hear through most sound proofing, or he could shut them off if it became to much, Tony was the first person to ever give him that option, no one else ever considered it, but... who made them? He couldn't remember who designed it, they replaced the SHIELD ones after the battle of New York but-

He bent over double clutching his head, it felt like his skull was being split in two as he pushed the heel of his hand into his eyes but it didn't alleviate the pain. He felt sick, he needed to lie down, damned migraines. Plagued him his whole life… hadn't they? He was sure they had as a kid but he didn't have any memories of him having them. Another spike of pain sent him reeling. He had to lie down, he had to get help. Lau-

Wanda. 

He had to go to Wanda, she would help, she always helped She was the only one who really cared about him, the only person who liked him for _him_. The only person who understood him. Everyone else had motives or looked down on him, like Stark born with his silver bloodstained spoon and his perfect childhood... Wait… Wasn't it? Didn't Stark tell him about Howar- His dad who paid for everything he wanted, never had to work a day in his life, just sit back and slap his name on his employees inventions. But. SI had won awards from employee satisfaction, had high minimum wages... lies, all publicity and lies. 

"Sure, sure. I'm going to head to my room. I've got a killer migraine coming on." 

"Okay, but think of visiting the doctor Clint, that seemed really bad and they might be able to help with the pain." 

He glanced up at Bruce who was slightly blurry, but he looked concerned for some reason. It was just a migraine, painful but Bruce was looking at him like he was worried he was dying or something. He ran his hand across his face and it came back wet, he glanced at his hands in confusion to find blood. It didn't hurt that much. What the- Wanda. Need Wanda. Must get Wanda. Wait for Wanda. 

"Why, so Stark can use my migraines to cut me from the team? No thanks." 

With that he slammed into his apartment. How did he even get upstairs. Did Bruce help him? Na, no one helps him. Only Wanda. 

What happened to their floors? He has no idea, Stark probably repurposed them so he could have several floors for himself or some bullshit. The penthouse wasn't enough for him, living like a king at the top of the castle. They'd not even been allowed in after he moved out but Wanda had gotten around that. She was clever, much smarter than Stark. 

He checked out the accommodations and found a surprising amount of his stuff. Probably stuff he had left on his floor before he had retired. It was nice of To- well really it was the least Stark could do! 

When he'd just finished checking out the vents, there were welded grates in them for fucks sake. Was that really necessary? There had been a length of vent included a large section usually reserved for intersection before the grill. It was strange, like maybe someone had put it in so he had somewhere to retreat too, without breaking the rules of his contract? Which was odd why would he do that if he was screwing them over so badly. 

Before he can consider it further, there was a knock at his door. He was just going to ignore it and go to bed because now his head was really hurting after discovering that Stark had gone and intentionally locked him out of the vents. However he had a flash and decided to open the door anyway. 

Wanda was on the other side, he sagged in relief, the pain already felt less just from her being there. She knew he was hurting too and wordlessly came in, setting things up to take care of him in a way no one ever really had before, she never demanded anything in return, she just looked after him and he felt himself relaxing finally. Everything would be fine. 

Wanda was here. 


	35. Wade & James

**James POV**

Everyone's pair was scattering in different directions, which James thought was strange because he was pretty sure that a tour would have been a damned sight easier if everyone had gone at the same time. It would likely have taken considerably  _ less _ Avengers too. 

Deadpool antics were highly amusing to him however, he skipped as they walked and he pointed things out. He was enthusiastic about _everything_ and had already recruited him to a paintball team. He'd never played paintball before, but it sounded fun. When they were alone, none of the other rogues around, he finally let himself smile because this had Tony's fingers all over it. 

"So, how did Tony convince everyone to do these one on one tours?" 

"And what makes you think boss-man had anything to do with it?" 

"I might have mentioned last week that I was dreading telling Steve I'm not living in the same block as them."

This way he would likely get to visit his room and put his stuff away before the conversation even came up. It was only delaying it, but then Steve was bound to notice at some point. 

"Well, boss-man has a soft spot for ya, that's for sure." 

He didn't know about that, but he liked talking to Tony. He'd been a real friend to him in the following months since he'd come out of cryo. Some days had been bleak with memories stacking up and the only thing that had gotten him through minute to minute was Tony texting him about Goose or answering his endless questions from the diary. 

James had felt absolutely useless on more than one occasion, and yet, he  always texted him back. Even when James forgot to actually check the time in America before he texted him. Heck, he'd received real time texts from Tony when he'd been watching him on TV battling a giant squid monster. Likely assisted by FRIDAY. He had freaked and sent a text, asking if he was actually being eaten by said giant squid monster. It became mostly Tony complaining about tentacles which cut an odd image watching the Avengers battle the creature. 

He had ended up having to hold back laughter as he surreptitiously checked his messages whilst the other Rogues were watching the _very serious_ battle. Tony's very vivid commentary that slimy tentacles on his suit was very rude and not proper sea creature etiquette. Which had created a whole new slew of questions. 

He didn't know  _ why _ Tony seemed to always be there for him, it was strange. If James wanted to discuss memories from before the war or from his time at Hydra, Tony was equally as interested. If he wanted to ignore everything and talk about his new blanket purchase instead? Tony would somehow be just as interested. It was overwhelming sometimes, but not at the same time. It was easy, he didn't struggle to maintain the conversation. They'd talk and suddenly it was hours later. 

Deadpool jerked him out of his thoughts, they'd been swinging that way more recently, but then talking to someone everyday for the better part of a year would do that. That was the only reason. That and the rogues were driving him to distraction. He spent more than a few days hiding in Shuri's lab or T'Challa's office. 

At least Tony's side of the conversation had more variation, his was mostly the dramatisation of the house of out of work superheroes. 

Aka, living with the rogues. 

That and his quest for new hobbies. He'd even got Tony trying some, to give him the drive to stick to it if the both of them worked at it. He kept waiting for the man to get bored of him, but it hadn't happened yet. 

"It should be pretty obvious that you aren't living with them. That residential building is specifically for people on house arrest, or well compound arrest. You aren't on compound arrest." 

"I think Steve conveniently forgot I was cleared of all charges months and months ago." 

"Looking forward to having a break from them?" 

"Definitely, Wings and TicTac are cool. But the Archer is angry at everything, he rants about  _ everything _ and he's utterly whipped for the Ved'ma. She gives me the creeps, plus Tony told me she screws with people's _brains_. I don't trust her, even if Steve says her abilities are just telekinesis. I _know_ there is more to it. Steve takes personal offence to the fact I don't think she's utterly perfect and keeps trying to  _ fix _ the relationship, wants me to date her or something? Oh, and the three of them keep  _ 'forgetting' _ to call me James."

"Yiiikes that sounds  _ exhausting _ . I think you're gonna fit in well around here. There are a few of us that look after the Boss-man, when he forgets to you know, eat, or sleep. How a man that powerful forgets to eat and walks into walls when distracted is beyond even  _ me! _ Want in?"

He'd read enough of said doary to know that wasn't new behaviour and spoken to Rhodes enough to know he'd been managing Tony for years. Apparently adding Tony's new abilities, like Teleporting, had not made his job easier and he was no above recruiting Avengers into mission 'Keep Tony Stark Alive.' 

"Sure."

"Oh, and FRIDAY hooked me and Eddie up, we wanted to know why he had such an aversion to Wanda you see, more so than the dude that straight up  _ killed _ the man. I can send you the files to your new tablet in your room if you like."

That would be handy, he felt something off with that woman but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Something beyond the dream fuckery. It was like a shadow at the edge of your vision, it was there but every time he looked at it, it moved. 

" Right, do you want to see your room first or Boss-mans workshop? After the tour Cable wants me to deliver food and I can also deliver you!“

Well he wasn't about to pass up a chance to see Tony's workshop in person. 

“Um, I'll drop this off in my room, then workshop?“

“Okey-dokey! This way Jamesaroni." 

He smiled as Deadpool pulled him towards the gorgeous building with a huge A on the side with all the exuberance of a hyperactive kid. The ground floor was wall to floor glass and he could see all kinds of people lounging around in a huge common area. And it really was  _ huge, _ sure he'd seen it in pictures, but they had not done it justice. The rest of the building also seemed to be made of glass, but the other windows were tinted. 

"Boss-man said you liked being on the top floor? So you're opposite me! There are 4 other apartments on our floor, Eddie, Cable, Rhodey and Carol and finally Tony at the far end. Clearly the best floor." 

He nodded along as the lift shot up extremely fast. He hadn't expected to actually get a room on the top floor, but was happy he had, and the floor definitely had an interesting mixture of people. The room was also not a  _ room _ . It was an apartment and it was gorgeous. All open-plan and the sun lit the rooms up from the floor to ceiling windows, giving everything a hazy glow. The glass was clear from the inside, but no one could see in, it was a bit disconcerting at first. FRIDAY could change the windows too. You'd think coming from Wakanda he would be used to the tech level, but it was a very different type of tech that it was still throwing him. 

The kitchen was a good size considering he knew that the common room kitchen was used more often than not. There was a huge bedroom, office, two empty rooms that he could do 'whatever' with and a bathroom that was huge. He was pretty sure that the bath was more of a hot tub and the shower was huge and had a dozen or so heads. 

"I know, Boss-man really knows how to set us up doesn't he." 

He nodded, tossing his small bag onto the bed and glancing around the room. There was a whole walk in wardrobe and drawers and a dresser in the room. He was pretty sure his clothes would fit in a single drawer. Half of his bag was his actual blankets. He'd just not acquired much stuff when he was in Wakanda, he'd spent most of his time in the library. 

He found the tablet on the bedside table, he already had a phone, at least he didn't have to hide it now. There was also another device. 

"What's this?" 

"Hmm? Looks like an ereader to me? We have an actual library too on the compound. Boss-man laughed about reading paper books, I think he built it for the kids, you know? Although you can occasionally find him napping under the stained glass window on top of the bookcase" 

"So he's a cat?" 

"Surprisingly accurate description. I'm guessing I don't need to give you all the rules and shit?" 

"Na, I know everything." 

"Including don't go into the creepy forest?" 

"Huh? Tony said there was a forest surrounding the compound, I saw it coming up in the bus, and it looked really interesting. Tony said I could go in whenever I pleased." 

Rhodes had even invited him running, he hadn't realised the forest was creepy. Huh. 

"Did he now?! In-teeeer-esting! That's fun gossip to add to the group chat. Well, come on, let's get going, Cable has some food to pick up and we get to visit our glorious leader." 

"I thought Rhodey and Carol were heads of the Avengers?" 

"They are. When you're here for a week tops, you'll see what I mean. Did Boss-man make that arm?" 

"Yeah with Shuri, it's awesome, he even changed a little after installing it because it reminded me a bit too much of my old one. I like the black metal." 

"Noice!" 

They barely took a few steps out of his room before they bumped into someone carrying a box with different tupperware containers stacked inside. He had a very, no nonsense look about him and James was just amused that he wasn't the only metal armed person around. 

"Take this to Tony." 

"Awww, you not coming with us?" 

The shorter man just glared at Deadpool, barely glancing at himself before answering and walking away. 

"No." 

"He loves me really." 

"I do not." 

He didn't even turn as he called out, James tried to hold back his chuckle. 

"He totally does." 

"No I don't." 

James glanced between the two equally strange people and instead picked up the box that had various food stuff in containers. The trip to the workshop was more than a little confusing, not helped by Deadpool as his stories were confusing in general and he had no idea what he was talking about at least 40% of the time. If he thought Tony's nicknames were hard to track, he had nothing on Deadpool. However he was quite excitable so it was fun, even when he had no idea what was happening. It was quite a change from how everything had been in Wakanda. 

They entered the workshop and even though he had seen bits and pieces of it in pictures, it didn't prepare him for the overall effect. He could see why Tony and Shuri got along so well, there were holographic interfaces everywhere and Deadpool just walked through 3 of them whilst he tried to awkwardly side step them. 

It looked like Tony was in the middle of a hundred different things dotted around in various states. There was an odd, organised method to the madness, like if he let his eyes relax he could see patterns. The man himself was absent as he sped up, he'd lagged behind a bit when he'd seen a few different rifles in various states of assembly that drew his attention. 

The workshop seemed to shift around the halfway mark from futuristic techies wet dream to a mechanics wet dream. There were at least 3 cars in various states of disrepair and 2 bikes too if he was putting together the pieces correctly. There were a number of other vehicles stretching back behind the mechanics pit. Which was where they eventually found Tony. Well, Tony's legs. Deadpool grabbed him unceremoniously by the ankle to pull him out. The workshop was absolutely huge. 

"Wait wait wait! Just let me finish this one thing…" 

"Last time I fell for that, I was sat here for 4 hours." 

"It wasn't that long!" 

"Was too." 

"You're obviously exaggerating." 

"I wasted away!" 

He snickered listening to the pair bickering.

"Where do you want me to put this?" 

“James? "

The following clunk of Tony hitting his head on something made both men wince, a few seconds later Tony slid out from under the car. He was wearing an old faded shirt and shredded jeans. Completely different to the image he presented when they arrived from Wakanda. He was pretty much covered in grease too and he was pretty sure he could see a blue glow underneath his shirt that was more than a little interesting. 

"Charming! You never stop working that quick for me." 

Tony tapped him on the head, smiling and directed the two of them over to what could be described as a food and drink zone. He started scrubbing his hands in the sink. 

"I didn't know the tours were finished yet, I settled Shuri and T'Challa and decided to get some work done. You usually bring me work, can you blame me for hiding under cars?" 

"Ahuh, I'm sure it's got nothing to do with the fact that our newest arrivals don't have access to your workshops." 

"Shush you, unless you don't want the new blades I'm working on? How are you liking the compound James?" 

"It's awesome, I never really considered how much was here when you were telling me about it till I was actually here if that makes sense?" 

"Oh yeah, our fearless leader here literally builds everything he thinks of. Anywho, I have a different metal armed person to chase! Toodles!" 

"I'm not the leader! Aaaand he's gone." 

Tony finished drying his hands and leaned forward to take the box, however he froze when their hands brushed. 

"James, why are you in so much pain? Sit." 

"It's not that bad, my head is just a bit sore." 

He shrugged, the worst of the pain has faded now that he wasn't in the same room as the Ved'ma so it wasn't really that bad. Tony however had other ideas and he found himself sitting on the sofa. 

"That's not just a headache and the fact you think it is, is extremely concerning. Show me the mind protection ward." 

He shrugged off his jacket, rolling his sleeves up to reveal the woad design hidden on the inside of his arm. Looking at it, it had faded more than last time. He hadn't realised how much. 

"Shit, she's using fucking pain to pick apart my magic the little -" 

After that he had absolutely no idea what Tony was saying as he switched to a different language. He couldn't understand the words but he was pretty sure he wasn't saying pleasant things. It was oddly melodic and more than a little bit entrancing. After nearly a minute, he took a deep breath and it was like he could see Tony packing away the anger. When he turned back to him, he looked more serious and intent than he had when he was healing him. His eyes looked like shifting molten gold and he was faced with a bit of whiplash. 

"If you want, I can strengthen this. I'm still working on my other option, I'm waiting on a part from a friend, but I can bolster this." 

"Sure." 

"Okay, come on, we need my other workshop. I _knew_ that little witch was going to cause me problems." 

He waved his hand and an area that had previously been a solid wall that he was sure the other side was the hall. The hall they had walked down to get into the workshop, but he could see from here that the newly opened door didn't open out into the hall. 

There was another workshop from what he could see, a contrast with the workshop outside. In a way, it was similar. It was exactly the same size, like it had been mirrored, the desks were even laid out in the same pattern but wood instead of steel. The same chaos reigned, and although he had equally few ideas what the hell happened in here as outside, he could see patterns. The other workshop was firmly in the realm of science, whereas this one was blatantly magic orientated. There was a huge wall with a large number of different black bladed weapons that drew his attention and he'd been very close to touching one until Tony obliviously interrupted him. Directing James to a large, comfortable sofa. 

"Sit here, I just need to find… got it." 

He had barely sat before Tony's hand slid across the back of his neck and that was when he realised how bad the pain had been. It wasn't until he started removing it, leaving him a little dizzy. How had he not noticed _that! _When he realised how much pain there was and remembered how Tony removed pain, he went to move away, Tony just shook his head and gently but surely tugged him back. Holding a familiar jar of blue paste, that he now knew was woad, in his other hand. 

"Shit, I can't believe I didn't notice that!" 

"There, at least she didn't anchor it, okay I'm going to fix this up and add a little more to it." 

"I kept meaning to tell you, but it's like I kept forgetting. It heated up when she was near me." 

Tony practically growled as he dropped into the seat next to him. 

"The way she's going about this... This could have been dangerous. She doesn't know my magic, or how to pick apart even simplistic wards. This could have gone very badly and she recklessly did it anyway!" 

It looked almost like he was just painting with the woad on his skin, just as strange as the first time, but when dried it was as permanent as any tattoo. His skin tingled as he painted, a spreading warmth that was different to the heat that came from it when the Ved'ma pushed. 

The irritation slowly bled from Tony's features as he concentrated, gnawing on his lip in concentration, especially as his canines kind of looked more like cat-fangs. 

James had no clue about magic, but he was pretty sure it was more than just painting, somehow. He swapped brushes and added a ring of much smaller, very detailed symbols around the original one, he knew to expect the burst of black flames this time as he finished, so he didn't jump out of his skin like the first time. Earning him a lightning flash smile from Tony. 

"There, I can't believe the nerve on her! If I run into her.. I'm going to have to step up my investigations already. They've been here for 5 fucking minutes!" 

The frustration was back, he ran his hands through his birds nest of hair, pacing back and forth with blatant anger simmering around him, he swore he could feel it and he could see this going to an incredibly violent place. Very fast. He reached out to catch his arm, causing Tony to stop his pacing, even though he was pretty sure Tony's strength could outmatch his easily. 

"I'm fine, she didn't get in my head really." 

"James, she's been trying to torture your mind into breaking! Not my ward, your mind. Do you have any idea how many laws she's breaking? Not just in this realm, even some hell dimensions have laws against that tactic to ward breaking!" 

"You know if you go after her on the first day back it won't end well." 

A lot of the fight bled out of him and he dropped down in the chair next to him, with his head in his hands looking more lost than he would have attributed to the man. 

"She's in  _ my _ territory."

James wasn't sure why, but new Fae tended to be territorial over what they deemed as there's, land, possessions and people and had little tolerance for people who didn't respect that. 

"I know, you'll work out something." 

He'd witnessed the man's strength and power on a few occasions, he'd read fantastical stories spanning millennia, with events he could hardly fathom, so it was easy to sometimes forget he was a person under it, he might not be human, but the man was cursed with nightmares as he slept and the world on his shoulders. 

"Why don't we see what food the terrifying short man gave us and you can tell me what you're working on." 

Tony snorted but he straightened up from his previous position and waved his hand. The box they'd left in the workshop appeared at their feet. That would never get old. 

"If you're calling Nathan short, I'd love to hear what you call me." 

"Not sure you'd hear it all the way down there." 

He got a shove but the man was smiling as they started rummaging through the box for food. They dodged the light lunch that had been put on for them, giving excuses separately to the others via FRIDAY. 

They had the _wonderful_ dinner lately that the rogues had of course been invited to in the name of  _ cooperation _ . That was later, for now they had admittedly damned tasty food and conversation they picked up as easily in person than by text, stashed away in Tony's hidden mirror workshop. 

He knew that the anger towards Wanda was not gone, that Tony likely had several plans for what to do with the little Ved'ma. Tony had explained that their kind had a tendency to feel emotions more keenly, that it was much easier to get swept up in them, that anger could build to dangerous heights, it was easy to become lost in it. 


	36. Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually thought I'd posted this 😂
> 
> So, pretend it's Saturday folks.

**Tony POV**

"Boss Rhodey told me to remind you that the welcome dinner starts in half an hour. And no, you can't dodge it like you did the lunch." 

He glanced up from what he was working on the same time James glanced up from the book he was reading. He'd been devouring the history books he had stashed away since they'd finished their lunch with the help of another woad ward inked into James skin. He was now sitting on the rug in front of the bookcase with several books in front of him. Tony found it hilarious that he was that wrapped up he hadn't made it the 3 steps to the sofa. 

Both of them were not exactly looking forward to this dinner. Preferring the companionable environment of his hidden workshop. Occasionally talking about what they had been working on, Tony had been answering any questions James came up with. It was fun in a way, events that had happened thousands of years ago, that he often looked back and only noticed the bad, it was nice to be reminded of the good, and downright crazy, antics of his Reapers again. 

He stood, stretching, deciding to change into something more dinner presentable. Switching his workshop wear for one of his new suits that was an interesting melding of his traditional garb and the suits he wore as Tony Stark. Pepper had told him he was confusing people switching between them, although she likely had intended him to switch to the suits, she was pleased with the outcome. A little extra pulse removed any leftover grease as he combed his fingers through his hair. 

"I'm pretty sure magicing up clothes from nothing is cheating." 

"They're not  _ 'from nothing'. _ Practically everything I summon existed somewhere, I'm more.. Moving it around. Making something from nothing is very labour intensive and I'm quite lazy." 

"Well, you got any clothes for me because I don't have anything that fancy." 

"Actually FRIDAY did order you some things. She likes shopping for new people and might have gotten a bit carried away. After Carol barred her from buying any more after the slew of pink furry jumpers, she's happy to have a new victim." 

"That doesn't sound disconcerting. At all." 

He held out his hand, wiggling his fingers at him and James put his book down, albeit grudgingly, before crossing to him. 

"You going to make us vanish into fire? Because I've been dying to know what that would actually feel like." 

He chuckled as James took his hand, he gestured towards the books he was working through too, sending them to James room when the man was distracted contemplating his first Firewalk. With a secure grip on James hand, he pulled him along as he went. Sure, it might be a little (a lot) taxing to take people with him when he did this, and he didn't really do it with many people at that, but it was more than worth it when James was grinning widely as if it had been the best thing that had happened to him after they exited into the hall. He paused in the hall and James door opened to the handprint scanner on the handle. 

"That was awesome! Come on in. So where are these clothes?" 

"In the normal place one would find clothes." 

James rolled his eyes and flipped him off, causing Tony to chuckle as he led the way, opening up the walk in wardrobe. 

"Holy shit, when will I ever wear this many clothes!" 

"It's not that much, and you have a nice variety. Avoid FRIDAYs more questionable choices and you'll be awesome! Right, I'm going to head down now because if you enter with me, Steve will give you no end of drama." 

He turned to head off and chuckle as he swore he heard James saying that he'd like to see Steve try. 

  
  
  


He found T'Challa and Shuri pretty easily surrounded by several Avengers, none of the rogues had turned up yet and the atmosphere was easy-going enough that he let a little tension bleed out of him and let himself get pulled into a conversation with Shuri about his latest suit. T'Challa was still incredibly wary around him, realising that there was a lot more to him than he said. He wondered if he should mention to the man that he and Bast were actually quite good friends. Although that probably wouldn't help. 

The Egyptian pantheon could be a bit terrifying, but then his own wasn't exactly  _ innocent _ in that regard. Because of his connection to the fire, he travelled a lot more than his counterparts. Earth attracted pantheons like no other planet he'd ever visited, that they had staked out territory was one of the few things in a delicate balance that stopped all out warfare. The humans thought they knew what religious wars were like at their worst, but they had no idea what it could  _ really _ be if that balance was disturbed. 

"Do not think I didn't see how the plates of your suit shifted and melded together during your last fight white boy. I want to know how and if you answer me with magic one more time, I will stamp on your foot!" 

"Well you've left me with nothing to say." 

"Sister, I literally showed you the video of him arriving in Wakanda." 

"Ahuh, sure Tony Stark appeared out of a column of Black Fire. I'll believe that when I see it." 

"How about something less showy?" 

He snapped his fingers, summoning one of the small cakes she had been eyeing since they'd entered the room that were not available until after dinner, offering it over. 

"Are you serious right now? Actual Magic?" 

"Mmhmm." 

"Huh. Okay, I thought you just had weird friends. We are not done talking." 

"I didn't think we were." 

He grinned whilst Shuri swatted T'Challa away from her prize. He was chuckling when a quiet started to spread amongst those already gathered and that meant the rogues had arrived. He kept his back to the exit, as Rhodey was not that far away from him facing it. Rhodey's face tense for a second, but then Wades over exuberant chatter broke out, causing Rhodey to relax, smiling slightly. Wade was definitely getting a new set of weapons soon. 

So it had taken all of two seconds of entering the room before Steve decided to go after him? Why should he be surprised? Apparently the Avengers had a group chat specifically for keeping the rogues distracted before dinner, they'd formed up around Tony to divert them from their path. It wasn't necessary but it was damned hilarious to witness. Steve was more than a little frustrated given the amused smirk Rhodey was sporting. 

He was surprised none of his extended family had dropped in yet. One thing that the Rogues had been unaware of was that they were… protected in a way in Wakanda. Oh, he didn't doubt that some of them had likely found a way to cause a little harmless mischief, but Wakanda was not a territory you carelessly blustered into and started causing havoc. The few times he had popped over came with permission for example. On the ground and otherwise. 

However, there were currently multiple connections to underhill in this realm, even before he set down territory in the form of the compound. The pantheon of this land had been… most welcoming to his own. He had always liked this land, he had more than a few friends here too. 

"Man of Iron!" 

Oh. Yay. Tony was jerked out of his thoughts as Thor bound over. The man was doing better since Loki began his lessons, but Tony still saw this irritating dinner he had been strongarmed into hosting by the Accords Council as his damned fault. Having them in his territory was one thing, being forced to provide food and drink without obligation against his will? That the little witch had been attacking one of his was now eating his food? With his other people in attendance… It didn't put him in the best frame of mind. Thor was only just starting to understand the quirks of his people, that he might someday look back on this and realise was at least something. 

"Thor! How are you today, looking forward to dinner?" 

"Verily, I also would like to express how bad I feel given current events. My brother has been helping me understand things that had gone on in my absence, if I had known..." 

Loki had been teaching him to apologise without leveraging debt too, he was impressed that his lessons were taking.. 

"It's alright big guy. Speaking of Lokester, is he joining us today?" 

"Oh yes, I believe he is talking to Eddie?" 

Thor then kind of swapped with him, talking to T'Challa as he found Loki and Eddie in the corner looking like they were conspiring something that would give him a headache of some kind. After Loki got past his initial shock, he immediately started working out which Avengers would help or hinder him in his pranks. There had been a few moments since Loki had recognised what Venom was, multiple questions of his sanity, but now the three of them were as thick as thieves. 

"If you lot are planning on turning the lake green again, I'm going to bed." 

"Come now Anthony, do you really think I would do the same thing twice? Plus, Mr. Brock here was just telling me about his time with the little Captain." 

"I know you told me he was a dick, but it did not prepare me for the utter blind privilege on that man!" 

"How much did V want to say something?" 

"You don't want to know, the running commentary was a  _ headache _ ." 

"Well, tell him to give you a break." 

"He said he would consider it for you, you bring him the tastiest snacks."

"Did he feel anything?" 

"No, we both checked, but the hum you showed us? We could not hear it." 

He nodded, technically it didn't mean that Steve had no magic on him, Wanda might have masked it somehow. It could be subtle or it might not be active. But Venom was very sensitive to the different vibrations of magic, especially when they stood close to a person. Which had been fun to find out and completely accidental. Venom decided he liked this hum and as such Eddie found himself hanging around himself or Loki quite often because it was a good way to make Venom happy when he was being annoying. 

Tony and Loki weren't entirely sure when a human had basically turned them into magical pacifiers for a creature like Venom, but Eddie was smug about it. 

This was only the start of his investigations into Wanda, there were a number of things operating at the same time. Now he was waiting for her to attempt to pick at James ward again. He didn't know how long it would take, but he doubted she would wait long and he wanted eyes on Thor when it happened. The Accords Council had received a few reports from Steve about Tony potentially being 'unfair' to Wanda, Tony was not about to let Wanda's little plans of making him out to be the villain work, which was why he had Thor. Thor was not planning to go off world for a good 4 months. If she could go that long without doing something illegal and without permission, he would be grudgingly impressed. 

A verbal recounting from the man who fronted the call to bring them back carried a lot more weight than his own. That his magic was involved facilitating said link would be allowed as he wouldn't be able to trick a Norse God after all. Well, at least that's what they thought. Tony could set it up on a false reading, but on examination someone might pick up the tenor of his magic. Trickery came in more pathways and he planned on leading Wanda where he planned and the end result being that the case be water tight, so that the council would not pardon her again. 

He started to head to sit down, saying hello to a few others here and there. All of the Avengers who lived on the compound were attending, which was quite a lot of people alone. After it was known Tony was hosting a meal for the rogues, a few off site Avengers showed interest in attending too. He suspected that group chat he was not privy too was involved somehow. There were even several X-men dotted around. Sue had turned up which unfortunately meant so did Reed, Tony had been very tempted to invite Victor but Rhodey told him there was already enough drama having the rogues here. Victor and Reeds squabbles could get messy he had to admit. Either way, it was quite a large turn out. 

"Tony?" 

"Brucie-bear, how was Clint?" 

Bruce opened and closed his mouth a few times. Frowning before removing his glasses to clean them on his shirt. That told him enough.

"Something is definitely wrong, he was behaving erratically and his memories seem… wrong. However he is completely closed off. I can't see him agreeing to you or Stephen getting anywhere near him. I couldn't even get him to go to medical! Convinced that you would use it to kick him off the team." 

"I didn't think he would, we'll have to monitor the situation. Just tearing any magic from his mind without some cooperation could be more dangerous than leaving it." 

"We can't leave him like that Tony, something is very, very wrong." 

"We aren't leaving him like that, but we have to be delicate. If he's pushed into thinking against her the magic could slice his mind up. We'll keep him under watch for now. Stephen is trying to make Wanda think he is either fooled by her, or on her side, I'm not convinced about his acting abilities but she's smug enough to believe anything I suspect. He might be able to get closer to Clint that way."

"Can't you just go and fix it? I see why you used to hate magic so damned much."

"Not until I know more about what she has done and how. Just ripping into whatever magic she's laid down without at least getting his permission, his mind could fight me, she might have left traps. If Clint stays in his holding pattern he should be safe, when I know the tenor of her magic better I can clear away anything she has done without hurting birdbrain. If her magic has already caused conflicts, adding my own recklessly.." 

Tony shrugged, he hated it. He remembered Clint as a friend and now… after Thor had forced his hand he had spent a few nights combing over the Tony Stark memories, now, with his own knowledge thrown in, he could see something wasn't right and it started with the witch. At the time Tony had also been under her magic, he had explained Clint's changes away as his own fault, but now he could look over the memories from a different perspective and he had not liked what he'd seen. If he had the rogues trust he would simply visit each of them and see what he could do, but there was a lot of suspicion and resentment. Healing people's minds was delicate business normally and it required at the very least, active consent if not some trust to go well. Add in malicious magic and it upped the danger level, especially on baseline humans. 

Tony could heal a lot, but damage a person's mind, sanity and personality enough and even he would be stuck. Magic generally came with a price, smaller magic and the price was drawing from his energy, the larger and more complex things got, that price climbed exponentially. He had a lot of energy to burn, but it was not limitless. He didn't want to risk pushing Clint over that edge recklessly. 

"It's just hard… seeing him like that. Because of  _ her _ ."

"I know. That she is in my territory is barely tolerable."

He dropped down next to Loki who nodded, having worked out the discussion. They'd been discussing the best way to deal with Wanda off and on for a while. Loki was not the best pleased with even an echo of the mind stone being anywhere near him. He was still coming to terms with Vision. 

There were set places for food, because coraling this many supered people for dinner required a degree of organisation that 'just sit anywhere' simply couldn't convey. It made things easier for the kitchen too with people's unique dietary requirements. As he sat down however, he knew the name opposite him was not meant to say Steve, but it did now. He glanced over to where the rogues were meant to be grouped, seeing a stone faced Nathan sat, highly unimpressed with how things had turned out. They chose well he had to admit, anyone else would have simply tossed Steve's card at the nearest bin.

James entered then and he'd definitely cleaned up well. He hadn't gone for a suit, but he was wearing a deep red shirt that had a few buttons undone and black jeans with his hair pulled up quickly into a messy bun. Steve made a beeline for him, patented concerned face in place. Loki of course noticed his attention. 

"So, this is the fabled James you have not stopped talking about." 

"I haven't mentioned him that much. He's a potential Reaper." 

He shrugged as if that explained everything, to him it did. He did pay more attention to humans than his peers, in his own or other pantheons. His Reapers got a little more. Loki just snorted. 

"Sure, because you didn't notice him the second he walked in and you totally aren't checking him out. He does clean up well doesn't he." 

He managed to keep the growl down but the amusement sparking in Loki's eyes apparently meant he didn't do that well. Loki was enjoying this far, far too much. 

"Get your mind out the gutter, we're just friends." 

"Mmhmm." 

Anything else was interrupted by Wade flouncing down in his chair opposite Bruce to Tony's right, and sighing dramatically as he noticed Nathan was off somewhere else and realised what had happened. Eddie had taken up his spot opposite Loki, also giving Steve's card a look of irritation. His head tilted in a way that told Tony that V was talking. Wade huffed out in irritation. 

"Awww, Why am I next to Stebe?" 

"Looks like  _ someone _ moved the cards around." 

Wade and Eddie however snickered when they saw that Wilson was trying to make conversation with Nathan, who was sat straight backed, eyes forward and ignoring all attempts. His metal fingers drumming steadily on the table out of irritation. If it had been anyone literally else, they'd have tossed the card and sat where they were originally placed. Nathan was just the kind of man who followed the cards and wouldn't swap them back. He was sure a dinner without Wade stealing his food might be a potential lure too. Even if it did mean he was sat with the Rogues. Wade was a notorious food sneak and was not put off by a fork to the back of his hand. If anything that was his goal because then you were down a fork. 

All too soon people were sitting and he had Steve sat in front of him. 

He just hoped it didn't kill his appetite. Eddie had been holding him in conversation whilst a few others around him. Including Loki and Jess, spoke anytime Steve did. Rhodey and Stephanie were chatting off to his right, drawing him in anytime they sensed a lul. It was like protective Avengers Conversation, Tony found the whole thing quite amusing. 

He noticed that James ended up on the other side of Nathan and it looked like they were actually having a conversation. Loki of course saw him looking and raised his eyebrow, grinning mischievously. Tony rolled his eyes instead of replying. Which apparently gave Steve the lul in conversation he needed to force himself into it. 

"Tony!" 

"Yes Steve?" 

"I was just hoping we could have a moment to catch up, a lot seems to have happened whilst we were away." 

He just nodded and turned his attention to food as it arrived and he was pretty sure everyone around Steve mentally started a countdown in their minds. Watching for when Steve would glance to his side… and actually look at Eddie's plate. 

"Pretty much everything is available online Steve, transparency and all that is very important to the Avengers Initiative. Plus, I know you lot were kept apprised. Who do you think told T'Challa what was happening? So I don't really see any need to talk to me." 

"Well, I just thought that now we're back we could.." 

"I'm going to have to stop you there Steve, because you should know, I'm not the leader of the Avengers. I don't write your contracts, literally nothing to do with any of you, has anything to do with me. I'm just a member of the Avengers." 

"But who else could sort out Bucky's living situation! His room isn't with us."

"That's because he was cleared of all charges months ago. I thought that's what you wanted?" 

"I know, but-" 

"How about, if he wants to move his room, have  _ him _ go and talk to his UN advisor, or put a form in for moving lodgings. Getting clearance for someone to stay in that building who isn't serving out their community service would be extremely difficult however and again,  _ not my decision. _ The building is separate for a reason and I have no part in the decision making of where you sleep. Generally, I didn't think I could even get you guys pardons. Let alone how good the terms that were wrangled for you were." 

Tony smiled, true, he didn't choose where Steve slept exactly, as in which room, but the separation of living quarters had been all him, he had also cashed in a favour and got someone else to request it, so he was on paper as arguing about it. Because he was irritated that he had to build an entire new building for them. Nothing he has said was a lie. For example, he hadn't thought he could get them such good pardons, because he had zero interest in getting them pardons. Steve would of course read this as he had worked to gain them said pardons. Loki had a wide grin that he was hiding behind his drink, he did find it highly amusing when Tony lied by telling the complete truth. 

"But I'm sure if you tried.." 

"Steve, I'm dealing with tons of stuff daily, I can't go to the Council because you don't like the terms of the agreement you signed. Speak to your Accords Advisor and the UN official. It's  _ their _ job. I'm not the leader of the Avengers, I don't decide where people sleep. I'm literally dealing with global defense projects right now with the UN. You guys seem to think I can do anything, demand I do it and then scorn me behind my back for it when I'm done. I'm sick of it. We aren't friends Steve. So. Just  _ drop it _ . "

"But I just want us to get back to where we were. "

"I don't. I trusted you Steve. Even after Ultron I trusted you. Even after you ignored all my requests, I still trusted you. I thought you were one of my closest friends.."

"I am-"

He held a hand up which silenced Steve surprisingly well, calmly putting his drink down with a resounding thunk. He didn't raise his voice, didn't need to. If anything he was still trying to tone down humans natural reactions to his kind but some of it must be bleeding through or Steve wouldn't be behaving as well. He wanted this nipped in the bud, fast. If he had to deal with Steve repeatedly then blood would probably end up spilled. Especially if Steve kept thinking he was  _ owed _ Tony's time. 

Acting as if he had debt over him. It was one of the worst things you could do to one of his kind. A huge insult. He was also going about it in a sloppy way, which just added to it. 

"I  _ trusted _ you. You lied to my face for years. You used my money, my equipment, you just plain used me Steve. Even though it meant lying to the son of a man you claim was your friend. You left me to discover a horrible, painful truth in probably the worst possible situation. Then, you left me in a suit with no power, my collar bone broken, do you know how painful a broken collar bone is to a baseline human Steve?  _ Very _ ..."

Steve was frozen, pretty much everyone had paused to listen but Tony had hyperfocused, looking nowhere but right in Steve's eyes, forcing him to hear the consequences of his reckless actions.

"I was dying slowly for over  _ 22 hours _ until this dormant energy was released and healed me. 22 hours is quite a long time when all you feel is pain and ice. So. Tell me,  _ Steve _ .  _ Why _ should I trust  _ you _ again? The man that forgave you for everything died on the ice. Stop looking for him."

Steve just gaped, unable to formulate a response as he realised everyone around then was staring at Steve. With more than a little hostility. Eddie was gripping the table, even Wade was dead still on either side of him. Huh. Maybe he had spilled a little more than he had intended. Bruce was tinged green. He didn't know if Jess was holding him in check or if he was holding her. James looked sick and he did feel bad for that, he didn't really blame him for any of it, his head had been a mess of trauma and Hydra brainwashing. He registered a threat and fought for his life. 

He sent a pulse of raw magic through the dormant Black Fire. His magic jumped at the chance, which was a bit of a shock, his magic usually took a lot longer to get attached to people, even potential Reapers. Tony saw him blink rapidly a few times before hiding a smile behind his hand. 

At Steve's lack of answer, he turned and pointedly started his conversation up with Eddie again as he started his food, snapping the almost trance-like state everyone had been lulled into as he'd talked, he was usually more careful than that, sometimes he played a human so long that he forgot the effect his kind had on humans. Steve, not to be denied and filled with constant optimism, tried to muscle in on a conversation he actually didn't have any knowledge on, given it was on restoration efforts, and that might have finally drawn Steve's attention to the fact Eddie's food was nothing like anyone else's. 

"Oh my God, what is that?" 

"Food." 

Steve was slightly green and less talkative after that. Eddie was thrilled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
[Someone drew Tony, I am in awe](https://corvixa.tumblr.com/post/190691175111/oh-man-this-is-a-thing-of-beauty-i-love-it)  



	37. Worthy

**James POV **

FRIDAY had helped him work out what he should wear for the impending disaster that was dinner. He considered hiding out in his room, but knew if Steve didn't see him he'd think Tony had kidnapped him and locked him in a torture dungeon or something equally ridiculous. He left the pile of old books that had magically appeared on his nightstand with a forlorn look. Running his fingers over them as he forced himself out of the door. 

Why would he want to eat some awkward semi formal dinner with two very different sets of people who distinctly _ did not _ like each other, when he could be  _ reading. _

The room was large, which was handy because there were a lot of people in there and he very nearly backed out. Theoretically, Tony had told him who was coming to this, but seeing all those people had him less than comfortable. 

Tony was easy to spot even though he was surrounded by people. They were not so much clustered around him, but he was blocked off from approach by several people and he was starting to see what Deadpool had mentioned already, the masked man was currently keeping Steve from Tony. His entrance gave Deadpool a little break at least. 

"Bucky!" 

"Steve, you know I prefer it you'd call me James." 

"Ah, sorry, I was just so worried when you didn't come back from your tour."

"I went straight to my room, needed to wind down after all the excitement."

"I thought that might be it, but I couldn't find your room." 

"Well it's in the other residential unit, my charges were dropped months ago, so I wouldn't be in the same unit as you guys." 

He was not quite sure how to add it that he'd already signed his Accords contract whilst he was in Wakanda too, but figured ignoring that was a good go to plan for now. He was currently under emergency reserves, end of the world disasters only before he cleared medical and psych. He already had a therapist set up too. Tony had said he wanted his transition to be ready, which apparently meant the other man sorted out everything that he could possibly need, just asking him questions on what he would prefer. It was nice. Rhodes had told him it was normal Tony behaviour. It made the transition from Wakanda to America way smoother than he had thought possible. 

"I'm sure if we asked they might make an exception to house you with us. It's unfair to leave you somewhere alone." 

"I'm not alone punk, already met a few people I'm sharing a floor with. They're nice. Looks like I'm even sat by one of them. "

Which didn't look suspicious,  _ at all. _

He supposed that he could have swapped places with Deadpool or even Loki to have made it worse. The fact they'd already resorted to switching seats around to try and get some time out of Tony meant he was down on a bet. Idiot that he was, he thought Steve and the Rogues (worst band name ever) might at least wait a day before they resorted to things like this. 

"Steve, you're literally a building away, it's not like they set me up in Australia." 

With that he walked towards his seat, dropping down heavily with a sigh. The Ved'ma turned her attention to him immediately, which he ignored to strike up a conversation with their unimpressed guest. His arm warmed up pretty quickly, but this time there was no pain. Suddenly it abruptly cut off and he risked a glance at her without breaking his conversation. She was holding her head as if a migraine had just hit her, realising that Tony had made her attack bounce back made him smirk. If it was anything like the ones she'd been giving him, she was in for a lot of pain. 

He didn't know what started it, but slowly, it was like everyone's attention got pulled towards Steve and Tony. He was just talking to Steve, but there was a pull. His voice was low, obviously he was just talking to Steve, and yet it was almost impossible  _ not _ to listen, it spread throughout the room bit by bit. James was starting to see why people were seeing Tony as the leader no matter how many times he pointed out that he was not, just a natural trait of his kind maybe. They attracted humans, in the same way he'd read that they Fae we're sucked in by certain humans too, it was strange considering the groups were often opposed and cultural differences caused huge, runaway style problems. 

He'd read more than a few stories that ended with intensely angry Fae and confused humans, or confused Fae and very angry humans. 

For now however, he could see Steve paling by the second. He wasn't exactly faring better himself and was considering leaving when warmth pooled in his chest out of nowhere. Tony didn't seem to blame him for Siberia, which he found odd because he was pretty damned sure that he should be, but then maybe he was thinking too much like a human? 

The warmth was good though, slowly spreading to his limbs like molasses and damned that felt amazing, like he could curl up and doze in front of a fire. He had to cover his mouth from smiling like an idiot, Loki caught it and smirked at him, even though he wasn't sure why. Tony wasn't looking at him, he was talking to Eddie, but it was like he could feel his attention on him, like a physical weight that reassured him more than he thought it should. 

The rest of dinner was somewhat anticlimactic after that, the effect Tony had had on the other diners slowly peeled away, leaving Tony sat just like any normal human and left you thinking if the feeling had been real. He'd been training his brain to pay attention to their weird lately, with his current reading material, how could he not? So for him it sort of remained, like an after image around Tony. If he let his eyes relax he could see something similar over a few others too. Tony and Rhodes were the brightest to this vision, but other Avengers were pinging too. It didn't really tell him much. Other than they were likely not baseline. He wondered if he could improve this Sight any, if so it would be damned useful, figured it likely came from the inactive Black Flame. 

Everyone was sort of mingling around in easy groups, some people moving around from group to group. It looked fun, there were so many interesting people and yet Steve had dragged him over to Clint and the Ved'ma, they had separated themselves off in a corner and pretty much everyone was giving them a wide berth. Wonderful. Although Scott was making considerable inroads speaking with others he noticed, flitting from group to group with all the exuberance of a labrador puppy and a hundred tennis balls. Wilson had taken an easier target of Rhodes. Yet he was stuck, bored out of his mind listening to the archer fawn over the Ved'ma and her terrible  _ sudden migraine. _

Nat had separated herself too, but seemed to be picking at a dessert alone, she looked quite relaxed but he knew she was peoplewatching to gather information. Her eyes scanning over certain Avengers, never too long, never long enough to be seen as rude. After a while Carol approached her and even though his feelings around Natasha were complex, she saw him as a mentor, he felt awful about what he'd been forced to do, it warmed him that she seemed genuinely tentatively happy that the short blonde had approached her. Out of everyone on the Avengers, she was one of the brightest to his vision, with Tony, Loki and surprisingly, Eddie. There were a number of other bright spots, he figured he'd talk to Tony about it, he might understand it as now he had.. Unlocked? Yeah that felt right, now he'd unlocked it, it didn't seem to be Fading back. If anything it was getting more detailed. Loki's bright hum was more green in colour, Eddie's had darkened. He didn't know how black was still registering as bright, but this was magic crap wasn't it? Was it meant to make sense? Carol blazed. Tony's seemed to shift and change, it was gold but there was Black Fire there too, which made sense, blue too, which had him wondering. Tony occasionally spoke of the Blue Fire, usually in reverence would be the best way to describe it. 

James a was generally thinking that as well and good as this sight seemed to be, he was probably lacking information on how to use it? Although he was pretty confident thinking that the brighter a person glowed, the more powerful they were. Now, he expected it from Tony, given the man was a God even though he rarely referred to himself as such. Rhodes however, that was a shock. He knew Reapers were powerful, had been reading about their exploits, but reading and seeing the visceral, burning White Flame flickering around the other man… James had a feeling that Reapers as a group were more powerful than he had first suspected. It was daunting to think he was potentially in the same category, Rhodes made perfect sense. He was strong, he was  _ good.  _ Not for the first time, James wondered why Tony's Fire came to him.

Steve jerked him from his thoughts, asking him if he had any idea what could help poor Wanda's migraine. He had just shook his head and turned his attention back to the people in the room. Like Nat, he enjoyed people watching and this sight made it a lot more fun. Steve was not in the best of moods, he had returned from his  _ mission _ quite subdued and more than a little green for some reason. Tail firmly between his legs. 

He'd been considering abandoning them for a while, edging a step away here and there until he could maybe vanish into the large crowds. Steve was very concerned about Wanda and they'd tried to get him to join in. He didn't know why, why would one more person fawning over her help? Maybe they could be concerned enough they wouldn't miss him slipping away, there were a LOT of people here, he was certain more had arrived after dinner too. Maybe he could duck and find Shuri? If he was with Shuri or maybe Deadpool he wondered if he could actually meet some of these people. He wasn't the Bucky from before the war, but some of it stayed with him. Bucky had loved meeting new people, finding their stories and getting to know people from all kinds of backgrounds. 

In Wakanda he had made quite a name for himself amongst the Dora with his pesterings. Now there was a room filled with all kinds of extremely different people. God's and humans. Mutants, Aliens, People who had been altered against their will like him, people who chose it, there was just so much it was like he was itching to get out there. Bucky would have confidently marched up to people, but he felt held back in a way. Which was ridiculous because this group wouldn't care about his arm, Nathan proved that. Sometimes it doesn't matter how illogical the barrier is, it was still a barrier. He was at point A, dreaming of C but the bridge of B was elusive and slipped through his fingers like sand. 

Until a red and black rescue in the form of Deadpool sneaking up behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist and literally dragged him away, made him thank whatever God had been listening as suddenly everyone in the room didn't feel so far away. Deadpool dragged him through the crowds, not that he exactly put up a fight, he gleefully went wherever the masked man was taking him, mostly because it was away from the Ved'ma. One more comment about 'poor little Wanda' and he was going to slam his head into the wall. He couldn't help smiling, he had a feeling he was going to like Deadpool. 

"Boss-man thought you might need a rescue." 

"He was right, hearing two grown ass man fawn after the little Ved'ma was nauseating." 

"Speaking of vomit, FRIDAY might have made a gif of the moment Steve worked out what Eddie was eating." 

Deadpool showed him his phone, he had to admit it seriously amused him, watching Steve have no idea until suddenly, wham. However he was also really confused about what Eddie was eating, he recognised the chocolate and.. tater tots? But he was unsure about the rest, the video was more focused on Steve's face, but it seemed to be a mix of foods that he would not normally have put anywhere near each other. Whilst Tony told him a lot about the compound. He'd said that some secrets are for others to give up and that he didn't want to spoil James's fun of getting to know people. Tony suddenly appeared behind him and Deadpool skipped away to try and dance with Nathan by the looks of it, he managed to suppress the jump as Tony had actually had surprised him this time, that man was also quiet as a damned cat. The amusement shining in his eyes showed that he knew exactly what he'd done. 

"How was dinner?" 

"Not bad, I had a buffer for conversation and Steve was  _ suspiciously _ absent." 

"Hmm, I hate to say it, oh wait, no I don't. I told you so." 

"Yeah, yeah, my hopes for their ability to act like adults has been stomped into the dirt. I am sorry, by the way for Sib-" 

He didn't get any further as Tony covered his mouth with his hand, he smirked and stuck his tongue out this time. Making Tony genuinely laugh eased the guilt crushing his chest a little bit. 

"We've already covered that, we're good Snowflake." 

"Okay, fine, I'll try to stop apologising." 

"I saw you glancing at your arm, did she try something?"

It surprised him that he'd noticed something so small, but he shrugged it off, he didn't want to start an incident and from the way Tony was occasionally looking at the three who were tucked away in the corner, he was definitely pissed. When he'd left them, Clint and Steve were trying to convince her to go and lie down. Obviously concerned at the sudden appearance of the pain and she couldn't exactly explain where it had suddenly come from. 

"Yeah, but I felt nothing and she's now sporting a migraine." 

"Good. I only set it to reflect mental interference. There were some nastier things I was heavily tempted to add."

"That might have made a bit of a spectacle during dinner." 

Tony flashed him a smile that was more teeth and sharper than usual. He noticed that usually when Tony smiled, his cat fangs weren't on display, but if he was amused about something like this, or when he was just too caught up in what they were discussing, he'd catch a flash of fang. 

"Let's just say she is lucky I have a high level of control over myself. Although she should be careful, my control is not  _ endless _ ." 

He reached over, although he wasn't entirely sure  _ why _ he'd done it, but stress seemed to bleed out of Tony's shoulders when he made contact. A grateful smile seemed to back it up as a good idea, as did his leaning further into the contact. He didn't know whose actions surprised him more, his own or Tony's. Either way he wasn't moving, not when Tony practically melted under the contact. Tony was a warm solid presence under his hand which he slipped to his back instead of his arm, less obvious and more comfortable too. It likely looked like they were just standing a little close, with James slightly behind and Tony hummed in a pleased manner.

"I will be fine Snowflake, it takes a lot to snap my control. But this is grounding." 

"I'm glad I can help, I mean, you've done so much for me after all." 

"As long as you do not think you owe me back. You've kept me sane via text these last few months, so know you're always welcome in my workshops to raid my books." 

"I think I'd like that." 

Tony's attention wandered over in the direction of the rogues several times, he noticed that Tony looked confused? There was something drawing his attention over and over but he didn't seem to know why. He kept glancing at Thor too who was happily chatting to several people. Tony had told him that Thor was loud, James added this to the list of things he had underestimated, because wow was he loud. 

"What is it?" 

"I don't know. I'm not familiar enough with Wanda's magic to know if I'm picking up on something or if it's left over anger from earlier." 

"So why do you keep looking to Thor?" 

"Hm? Oh. It's his fault they're back, so I linked him with Wanda, the others too but my primary intention was Wanda. If she breaks the rules, Thor knows. My intention was to have a legal watch on Wanda who is seen as on their side. If I did it to myself the evidence wouldn't be accepted due to '_conflicts_' and Steve preempted me, saying I was  _ biased _ against her. Like he isn't. Wanda can do no wrong just as Tony Stark could do nothing right. Thor however is very well recorded now as being on their side, it carries a little extra weight if I have him report Wanda."

"Crafty."

"It technically doesn't stop her casting magic, if she has permission. Permission is a tricky thing though, especially if she's already been working on people. I didn't realise how much of a loophole that was until now when Thor didn't pick up on her casting magic on you. I don't like how that slipped by me."

Tony frowned, he was taking this a lot more seriously than James thought it warranted. She hadn't actually gotten into his mind or hurt him that bad. He was fine. He didn't want to cause Tony trouble with the Accords Council or the UN just over himself. 

"I'm not sure I even understand this properly, but I definitely didn't give her permission."

"Steve might be, and being on Steve's team as of right now, he's technically in control and she could be looking into strange magic for her team leader. The laws of humans haven't quite caught up with magical laws of intent yet. It's a loophole I didn't predict. I don't like it when that happens, tonight … I think I'm going to weave a Web."

"A web?"

"Like a magical net cast across the entire compound if that makes sense. Any magic she casts in the range of it, will ping and get caught in the Web. Like an after image of what she cast, the general shape of her workings and, if I cast it correctly, small chunks of her magic will get caught too. That way I can examine it properly. I would rather not have someone hurt irrevocably before I can have her permanently removed. I don't want them just pardoning her again, I want permission to rip her power from her."

"You planning on getting shot of her already?"

He'd known that Tony had not wanted her returning to his compound, any of the rogues really. But especially not Wanda, he had not realised how much Tony disliked her, he was definitely going to have to ask Wade about it. 

"She hurt you."

Tony said that like it was the most obvious thing in the world. If anything he looked baffled that James had asked about it. 

"I'm a patient hunter, she will trip up. That power of hers, it yearns to be used. She'll feel my Web, likely not thinking it is mine and she'll decide to lay low." 

"Won't that make it harder to catch her?" 

"At first, yes. The longer she lays low however, the more tempting it will be. She'll trip my trap and then I'll have evidence to get shot of her. If her magic is legal, I'll just use it to learn the tenor of her craft and I'm stuck waiting until she breaks a law. If I go to the council with anything other than 100% proof, ugh. It's just politics. I hate politics." 

"Devious. Can't believe you're doing all this for me though." 

"You're  _ my _ friend. You're  _ mine _ . She tried to tamper with your mind. On  _ my _ territory. If we were underhill I'd have rights to execute her for that alone. Instead, she is on my territory, risking people who are mine.." 

There was a low growl to Tony's words and the gold in his eyes seemed brighter, shifting as his eyes scanned over the scattered Avengers. There was a dangerous air around him, like the air was charged somehow. That afterimage sharpened. Some people even subconsciously edged away from them. He wondered what it said about him that he found the whole thing comforting?

  
  
  


The rest of the evening was quite pleasant and they stayed like that for quite a while, as Tony didn't seem to be concerned with moving, he didn't either. He didn't realise he was doing it at first but he'd started running his hand slightly up and down Tony's spine when he'd started to get overwhelmed with all the people, it made him feel better and he was amused seeing Tony try to keep up a conversation whilst he was doing it. It also helped distract Tony anytime his attention inevitably swung back to Wanda like a magnet. 

He got to meet a whole lot more people this way too. When he'd been standing with Steve and the others, there had been a wide berth. Wings and TicTac had broken away to meet people, but few would actually approach the other three. Stood by Tony however, he met all kinds of people. No one seemed scared of him, no one looked at his metal hand with thinly guised disgust. People willingly shook his hand. But then, again, he wasn't the only metal armed person around. 

Thor however, was a revelation in himself, he was like a giant dog in a cape. Super excitable. With an actual, flowing  _ Cape.  _

"Ah, you just be James!" 

"You have a cape." 

Okay, so that hadn't been the most eloquent thing he'd ever said. In his defence, it wasn't often he met Cape wearing space vikings. The Sorcerer he kind of expected the weird get up, his cloak also had a mind of its own and it was on his list of people he wanted to meet. Which, he was still finding it hilarious that one of the people he wanted to meet was sentient outwear as Sam called it. 

A dark haired man joined them, smiling at him whilst ruffling Thor's cape. From pictures he knew this was Loki, the bright green after image flitted around him, it was like he could feel it.. the  _ magic _ , in his teeth. He'd gotten quite accustomed to Tony's level of power, or maybe that was the Black Fire helping it along? Loki felt completely different. Which he supposed made sense, they came from completely different worlds and pantheons. Whereas Thor actually looked like a  _ space viking _ as Tony called him, Loki was dressed quite stylishly in a green shirt and ridiculously tight black jeans. 

"I do! It's lovely isn't it!" 

"Oh course it is Thor. You look wonderful." 

"Anthony,  _ please _ do not encourage him." 

"Oh come on Lokes, don't you miss your get up, can have a fancy green cape made up for you. It's a staple for off worlders you know, Thor set a trend." 

Thor seemed immensely happy that he had apparently set a trend. It made him think for a second though. 

"Does that mean you have a cloak?" 

Loki and Thor's peaked interest had Tony rolling his eyes. 

"Rarely. Definitely not during battle, they drag. Not fun to fight in. Even spelled. Then they get super opinionated about your eating and sleeping habits." 

Loki looked interested by the information where as Thor looked like he wanted to prove him wrong. Tony shot a glare over towards Stephen Strange, although he wasn't sure why. 

"You just have to learn to work with the cape!" 

"Says the man weilding a flying projectile that returns to him. Some of us actually have to move on a battlefield." 

"Don't you teleport?" 

"Dammit Snowflake, whose side are you on!" 

From this angle he also got to see how people seemed to form up around Tony, should any of the Rogues decide to approach he assumed. Tony seemed completely oblivious to what was going on around him. James wasn't sure if he actually  _ was _ oblivious or just made people think he was. Colonel Rhodes was the only one to take visible notice to how close they were standing, raising an eyebrow and smirking in his direction while Tony was saying something to Bruce about quantum something particles. 

He shrugged to the man, the two of them spoke occasionally, he being the only other human to carry the Black Fire inside him after all. Unlike him, he had taken up the mantle of The Reapers. He'd told him the process wasn't lengthy or large on ceremony. He didn't tell him exactly what it was, well, he told him Tony pretty much spoke some strange words and then the Fire inside him would become  _ active _ . That Tony would show him things in a  _ brain melting _ fashion, which didn't really tell him much, at all. That he'd need to breathe. As far as advice goes, breathing? James squinted heavily at it. 

He'd been thinking about it a lot, he didn't know if he was worthy of something like that. Colonel Rhodes was a proud man, who had fought well his entire life. A true protector when his hands…his hands were drenched with blood. 

He wanted to  _ prove _ that he was better than what Hydra made him. To himself as much as Tony and Colonel Rhodes. He wasn't sure how he was going to do it, but he had made it his new mission. Reading the tales of Reapers past and other history tomes that Tony had given him access to so far had amplified this. He wanted to protect, but first he had to become  _ worthy _ of it. 

After Bruce moved with Thor to meet T'Challa, he figured the lull in conversation was going to be the only one for a while before someone else turned up. 

"So, my vision is being… Weird." 

Tony tilted to face him, head cocked and was more looking around him than at him. 

"Weird how?" 

"It started during dinner, it's like some people were brighter somehow. At first it was just like this glow, but it's been sort of changing slowly."

"How is it changing?" 

"Well, Loki is green, has this green shifting glow around him? I don't know what it means." 

"That… should not be possible. I've never had a Reaper gain the sight before having their powers released. That is pretty amazing, mind if I check something?" 

"Sure." 

Tony shifted so that he was giving the room his back before summoning that familiar Black Fire to his hands, he felt the answering pull in his chest, like a pleasant hum. Instead of just holding it near him, this time he lightly pressed it to his sternum. James wondered if seeing literal Fire on your chest would ever not be extremely weird. 

"Still inactive, but you do have a lot, hmm, your Fire is nice." 

"It's different to yours and Rhodes?" 

"Every Reapers Fire feels different. Rhodeys is warm and very affectionate, run your fingers through it and it wraps around your arm up to your damned elbow. Yours.. Is like silk. It's impressive that you are already learning how to use your Fire. With the sight it's best not to force it. Just let your eyes unfocus and let the information come naturally. The more you use it, the better you'll get at understanding different readings."

He ran his fingers through the Fi re before it vanished back to where ever magical Fire goes when it isn't right in front of him. It was surprisingly cool compared to the soft warmth of Tony's. He liked it, even if it was still kind of weird. It was  _ his. _


	38. Weave a Web

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do so enjoy talking about magic in this fic xD

**Tony POV**

"Tony, why are we up at the ass crack of dawn?" 

"Because you said you'd help me with my Web." 

Rhodey glared at him, he was pointedly wrapped up in a dressing gown and big fluffy slippers in protest of being forced out at this time of the night/morning. After Tony had turned up, knocking the door, Carol had been highly unimpressed with being dragged out of bed. Carol however had promptly shoved Rhodey into the hall when she had realised that she was not actually required for this morning's venture. Just Rhodey. Rhodey had just stood in the hall, blinking and glaring as Tony had dragged him outside into the dark. Maybe when Tony had told Rhodey about the web he hadn't mentioned dawn being a requirement… 

Tony had already done a lot of the set up over the last few hours, his hands were completely stained blue as he was ready to get some sleep himself. As such he was kind of hyper, because that's generally what happened when he was overtired. There was also the hoarding energy and gearing himself up for a large casting. So he was bouncing on his toes slightly, he loved casting large workings on his Great Wards 

He'd set up all the points along the wall where his web was going to connect and threaded his warp. Or at least, the magical equivalent of warp, which was a set of rather inert threads of very thin magic. Strong but they would not interact with the active magic he'd eventually weave with. 

Tony couldn't single out the Rogues property of course, so this spanned the entire compound, otherwise that would be seen as _ unfair. _This way it was just part of his very legal, very accepted by the Accords, very not Wanda targeted, defences. Also it would give Wanda other places she could go on the compound to dodge his Web if he just cast it over their building. 

The magical specialists on the Accords Council still didn't quite know what to do with him, so it had been surprisingly easy to get permission for his Ward Web. He'd spent about 45 minutes talking to them about it with enough magical jargon to sink a ship, also with enough obscure jargon that the specialists couldn't tell if he was being truthful or making shit up.

Sometimes, it was good to be very old and very well travelled. He was pretty sure they had no idea what a Ward Web was, which made sense as Tony had invented the idea back when he started using Great Wards in general. Few people used magic like he did.

His compound was laid out for magical use, down to the very building placement and the pavements themselves. His walls were always set to become any number of things, which also included looms if required.

Weaving and looms were prime targets for working magic, Tony had just sized it up. He hadn't thought he'd be casting compound wide magic so soon however. 

Having the head of the Avengers oversee him setting it up had been a requirement of the Accords Council, even though Tony had no idea _ why. _

They were unaware of Rhodey's Reaper status and that was the only reason Rhodey would actually see anything he was going to be doing. Something about an unbiased judicature over magic caught in his Ward Web. 

Non magical beings on the base wouldn't even know this was in place. Wanda would probably sense the web setting into place, he wasn't sure. She wouldn't have felt the warp as it was inert, but the weft, that she could sense. Maybe. If not, he suspected that she would pick up on it eventually, but then Tony wasn't actually being secretive about it, he _wanted_ Wanda to know that people in his territory were protected. That drive, that instinct was hard coded the second he claimed these lands and having Reapers and kids had made it annoyingly strong, but at least this way it actually worked to his advantage. She would be less likely to cast large, damaging magic, but try to sneak through something that would likely still be illegal and not harm someone as much. Underestimating the strength of his Web. 

Wanda had had no real magical training and her abilities were frankly, all over the place. Even if she _did_ have training, his people's magic had been gone from the world for many, many generations, and Tony's flare complicated matters futher. 

Some easy stuff she was completely blind to, yet she was well versed in other things that people took centuries of learning. With zero concept of rules or the fundamental principles and Laws of Magic.

Because of this, predicting her was practically impossible, and that made her dangerous. Tony was sure that one on one, she wouldn't remotely stand a chance against him. Tony was powerful when he was young and he never stopped working on his craft. However, Wanda was _Hydra,_ even if she claimed to leave, even if she had left, _they_ were the ones to train her. 

Magically inclined individuals tended to imprint like ducklings onto their first tutors. Sure over the years they could spread out, pick up different styles, but fundamentally they stuck to a core thread, for him it was his mother which was why he usually came back to painted Wards even though he threw his own twist to it. Wanda was originally trained by Hydra, if not to their ideals, but their standard operating practices could easily permeate her magic. 

They didn't play by the rules and as such, she would seek ways to even the playing field somehow. Usually by harming innocents, people who lived on _ his _ territory.

People who were _ his. _

"I'm not sure I want to be connected to a thing that senses magic in the compound. You and Loki live in the compound. Do you know how much magic you and Loki do? Because it's more than Reed plays with portals." 

"Do not compare me to _Reed!_ Believe it or not, we are actually both being quite restrained when it comes to magic, given the inherent lack of it in this realm." 

"RESTRAINED?!"

Rhodey squeaked out, looking highly unimpressed. He supposed from an Earth perspective, he and Loki used a lot of magic. But from even just an Asgardian perspective? They were actually being quite reserved. Asgard had _nothing_ on Underhill, that place lived and breathed pure magic. It was entirely made of magic, will and intent. Where as the Firelands were fixed, Underhil was nebulous, shifting, breathing pure, unadulterated magic. 

"Yup, someday I'll take you to my lands Underhill. My house is really nice, and then you'll realise just how restrained I'm being. Lokester is the same." 

"But the two of you are _ always _ doing magic." 

"Then you'll be happy to know I set this up to ignore magic it recognises, and as its made of mine, it won't ping for me. Now we're waiting for Lokester." 

"So you drag me out of bed at ass crack of dawn yet you patiently wait for him?" 

Tony stepped into a flurry of fire, sitting up on the wall at the top of the last Ward, his Control Ward, leaving Rhodey blearily glancing around until he looked up. Scowling at him. 

"Hey, if you want to drag a Chaos God out of bed, be my guest." 

"You're a damned Chaos God is what you are. And don't pretend to be scared of Loki, I know you're older than him. You're damned ancient." 

Tony snorted, he was not _that_ old, there were some of his people who had been born in their original lands for example, and was _not_ a chaos God. It was this new date system the humans had been using over the last few millennia. Anything over 2000 was 'Ancient' these days and he was quite a bit older than that. The amount of films that had everything set at 2000 years ago was staggering, the kind of thing you didn't notice, until you _did_ and it was _everywhere. _

He brought his attention back to the job at hand, holding so much magic was making his thoughts jump around, luckily he had everything he needed, including his representation of the Ward loom, and now he just needed Loki and the dawn. 

"Are we really insulting my age? Is that where we are right now?" 

"Yes. Get Loki before I freeze to death." 

Tony felt the air charge a few seconds before a green flash left a well dressed Loki standing next to Rhodey. Even though it was still dark with dawn not far away. It just made Rhodey's get up look even more hilarious. 

Loki paid no attention to that and was more interested in the large Ward on the wall. 

"Give me some magic Lokes." 

"As long as you explain this web to me after." 

He held his hands out as Loki sent him a small green ribbon, it lightly coiled in his hand before he coaxed it into the Control Ward, a segment of it that he'd devoted to ignoring Loki's magical signature briefly flashed green before returning to the usual blue. He'd left a space for Stephen's magic next time he visited. 

He fished a folded up sheet of paper out of his pocket which had the general gist of what he was planning with this Ward, along with the new Ward he'd designed on the back that acted as the connection points. Tossing it over. He knew Loki would easily recognise it as a circular tapestry pattern, if he remembered correctly his mother weaved magic more often than not. It was something Tony occasionally dabbled in but in a different way. Bigger. 

"Here, that's a general idea. The Connection Ward is on the back, this is just the Control Ward." 

"Did you just design this?" 

"Hmm? Yeah, after dinner." 

Loki was squinting at him but he was paying more attention to the time. Waiting on the dawn, it was the best cheat when it came to static magic like this. Dawn eroded magic, like running water, the more water the quicker the magic runs down. The more dawns pass, the weaker the magic gets. It's why people liked to keep magically infused items in doors, away from the dawn. It meant they needed to be topped up less. 

Tony was always fiddling, and he'd had a good 6000 plus years to get fucking annoyed with Earth's dawns and their magic eroding properties. 

The Ward Web wouldn't be dawn proof, even his outer wall enchantments were not _ completely _ dawn proof, _nothing_ was. They were regularly supplied with his own magic and a few taps to the Blue Fire. Eventually dawn would win, but he was a master at delaying it. The building iterations kept the Outer Wards powered for longer, this Ward Web however was different. He couldn't activate each connection point separately, building up the power. Which was what made the outer Ward dawn resistant. 

The Web was very much weaving. Taking different wefts of magic to come together. 

Each connection point was a catch for the warp so to speak. Connecting it in a perfect straight line to the connection opposite. Like spokes on a wheel. Which was why he couldn't build up iterations, it would throw off the tension in his weave. In tapestry weaving, tension was _everything. _

Now he had his warp, he'd use the inherent magic of the dawn to weave a mix of blue and black flame towards the centre. Hopefully without passing out. Because that would be annoying and he suspected that Rhodey would let him fall off of the wall in recompense for the early wake up. 

Loki was looking at the image whilst trying not to be impressed and Rhodey was squinting at it as if it was written in Gaelic. (Which it wasn't, Rhodey had a thing with Gaelic after he'd heard Tony speaking it. Called it a language of terrifying ghost whispers. Welsh apparently was freakishly musical for a language that had its vowels looted in the night. He had a few other Brythonic and Goidelic languages to expose Rhodey to eventually.)

"I can't believe you dragged me out of bed to do magical arts and crafts." 

"That's actually a good description of this, and you get to take home the finished product." 

"Yay." 

Rhodey did not look even remotely enthused as Loki ported and came through sitting next to him up on the wall. Whilst Rhodey couldn't see his warp, Loki could and he ran his fingers across the thread. Pinging it slightly which brought it briefly into the visual spectrum for Rhodey, the silvery thin thread briefly flashing before slowly Fading away. Tony swatted Loki from pinging any more of his threads. 

"This is entirely not fair." 

"I can get you a ladder?" 

Rhodey glared at Tony and Loki, who were both doing their interpretation of 'perfectly innocent.' 

"Ahuh, fine get me a damned ladder." 

Tony waved his hand, pulling one of the ladders from maintenance so Rhodey could climb up and sat on his other side. 

"Where did this come from from anyway?" 

"Maintenance." 

"Well, make sure you actually put it back." 

"Hey! I put things back… Mostly." 

"Uhuh. Carol still wants her mirror back by the way. It vanished in Black Flame months ago when she was getting dressed." 

"Ah fuck! I knew I left something in Wakanda!" 

Rhodey just gave him the look whilst Loki was trying not to laugh. The automatic counter in his head for dawn finally ran down. 

"OK, shush, yell at me about mirrors later." 

"Arts and crafts time?" 

"Yes." 

As he was weaving with actual thread on an actual loom, that was the best description. With a 7 inch silver tapestry needle. Luckily this wasn't the first time he'd done this, although it was the biggest one and channeling blue fire through all of it was going to be a little painful. He couldn't afford to look up from his loom but he knew Loki and Rhodey would be watching the larger version play out in front of them. 

"OK, this was kind of worth being woken up for."

"It is quite beautiful." 

Tony hummed, he had an idea of what it looked like but being the one actually doing the casting, he couldn't spare the focus to look.

As he did a simple weave, no fancy patterns required, it was the thread that was important. Black thread enchanted with Black Fire, a deep blue for the Blue Fire and grey for the dawn. A simple pattern, but the repetitive nature would layer the magic and enhance its strength. 

When he hit the centre he sagged slightly. Huffing at the exertion as the weft settled in place over the compound. The Blue and Black wound with a shimmering, glittering, silver thread of dawn that threw of a refracted rainbow of colour would slowly fade until even he could not see it. When it completely vanished from his visual senses he grabbed Rhodey's arm, flipping it palm side up. 

"Um, what are you doing?" 

He could feel his Web automatically as it had been constructed of his own magic, Loki would be able to feel it too. Might even feel it when it catches some magic as he'd put the mages magic into his Control Ward. Rhodey however did not do magic. He was of magic, not a wielder. 

"How else are you going to know when the Web picks up on something?" 

He pressed the loom into Rhodey's palm and in a bright blue flash, it completely vanished. Leaving a blue, circular weaved pattern on his palm. Rhodey looked at it critically. 

"How many tattoos are you planning on giving me?!" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random information - The descriptions of Irish and Welsh amusingly are from real life people. An Irish friend came up with the description of Welsh and my Welsh husband is where Rhodey's description of Gaelic came from.


	39. Contracts

**Tony POV**

Tony dropped his forehead on the breakfast table and his friends were mean enough that they just carried on eating breakfast over him. Ignoring his very real plight and pain. 

James and Rhodey were trying not to laugh, Loki was just acting as if he wasn't complaining. Calmly spreading an incredibly thin layer of honey onto the sweet bread, both of which his mother had brought from Underhill and as such tasted vastly different to that found on earth. James had already been gifted a jar from his mother. In thanks of what, he was unsure but James had not stopped grinning. 

His mother, of course, was endlessly amused by his complaining. 

"But why is he coming here? I have enough annoying people in my territory I'm being forced to deal with under human-legal means. I don't want  _ more."  _

"Fury is coming  _ because _ of the other irritations, you knew your preliminary report of the Witch would likely bring him sniffing. The Accords Council was bound to send it to him and Stephen. Who else  _ could _ they send it to?" 

Tony turned to glare at Rhodey because this was not a time for logic. Not a time for sense. This was Fury. Entering his territory and sticking his nose in Tony's plans. Most importantly, setting foot in his territory. 

The possessive nature of Fae, for land they hold, people that dwell upon it and people under his protection was something his friends were only just starting to understand. Which was good, because he worried that they may dislike being referred to as  _ his.  _ It wasn't that he believed that he owned them, nor that they were property, it was a subject tricky to explain to those that were not Fae. They were simply…  _ His. His _ to protect,  _ his _ to home,  _ his _ to provide for. Simply,  ** _his_ ** _ .  _ It was a word with obvious meanings in English, but in magic it was a beautifully layered, territorial word of protection and power. It was more important than  _ debt.  _

Rhodey had just rolled his eyes and proclaimed Tony to be  _ his.  _ Which was something that made him happy inside, he had never belonged to another in such a way, he enjoyed the bond. Loki had taken it as a research point. Now endlessly interested in all things Underhill, almost as much as James. Who had surprised Tony the most with such a calm acceptance of it. Humans usually took at least  _ some _ explaining over the concept, even Rhodey did. But Tony had slipped, being distracted with the Witch and told James that he was  _ his  _ before he had a chance to  _ explain _ it. After Tony had realised his slip, he has been concerned, but James had just smiled and was happy about it. That was baffling Tony, he wasn't just going along with it as a weird Fae thing, he was happy. Tony was as such, confused, James didn't react like any other human he had ever met. 

"Cer is planning on arriving after breakfast." 

That jarred him out of thoughts but his mother's proclamation did perk him up a little, making him actually sit up and consider having another waffle. She had likely seen that he was getting lost in his thoughts again. He had discussed this with her for a few hours, for 4 nights in a row and Tony was nowhere closer to understanding James reaction. 

This and his investigation into the little Witch had almost taken over everything. Only iron control over himself had him still dedicating time to other projects other than his plans for Wanda. He'd spent 8 hours last night combing through magic the witch had used since his web had fallen into place and mostly it had been telekinesis. Not that he would allow repetition to let him go lax. He would investigate the 500th use of telekinesis at the same level as the 3rd incase this was her way of subverting his Web. 

Personally Tony had been considering just disappearing her again, but had been reminded that that would negatively impact him with suspicion and Steve would go yelling to the Accords, potentially screwing up the very delicate balance of things required to take down the Titan. Rhodey and James had taken to reminding him of this multiple times a day. It was a shame, he could just port her to the mists, dooming her to wander for hundreds of years. Technically he wouldn't be killing her, was it his fault if humans couldn't navigate the mists? 

The only magic she had cast on Clint had been a sloppy, extremely basic, pain lessening charm on 4 occasions. Which, in a way, great that she wasn't pushing Clint further, at the same time there was nothing he could use. Clint was highly unlikely to consent to be checked out by himself, Loki or Stephen, which meant there was no proof that he was being manipulated. The Accords had already pardoned her from crimes that should have had her on the way to supermax, Captain America carried some sway still and him talking her up as an innocent child? It worked. 

The Magic department of the Accords was still struggling to get off its feet, whilst occasionally useful for him, it was made up primarily of people under 100 years old. His overtures to Kamar Taj to take a more active role were going at the usual speed of ancient magic institutions. _Slow._ His report had recommended that Wanda be relocated to Kamar Taj immediately for 'training'. It had nothing to do with him wanting her to be conveniently locked in an institution that understood the Laws of Magic.

The Accords were getting there, but it was a young document that simply could not compare to the Laws of Magic. To the Accords, a team member investigating strange magic under authorisation of the team leader?  _ Technically _ legal and therefore, Thor saw nothing. Under the Laws of Magic, using pain to pick apart a Ward you have never seen? The Book will be smacking you in the face before you could think up an excuse. If anything, Wanda with her Hydra training was highlighting weaknesses in the Accords he had to work on. It also had surprised him just how competent she could be under her Hydra training when she wasn't acting the spoilt brat, it was easy for even him to forget she was a trained Hydra operative. He'd also forgotten how annoying it was to act entirely under legal means in the open when your opponent had no such qualms.

James nudged him and he realised his thoughts were trailing again. He pushed the thoughts of the Witch back for now, maybe there was a way he could use Fury to his advantage. Hmm, that was an idea. 

"Big C? Awesome, FRIDAY send a message to all the compound kids. They love it when he visits."

"Already done Boss." 

James and Loki having no idea who they were talking about were interested. Both of them were heavily interested in Underhill and its occupants. Big C was a good person for them to meet too. He enjoyed the company of travellers and humans alike, and was of a kind as himself and his mother, favouring survivors. 

"You know, your thing with the nicknames doesn't make things complicated at all." 

"Anthony can't help it, it's a trait of his race to form nicknames, it avoids the uncomfortable mess of truenaming. Which is the  _ only _ reason I tolerate being called 'Lokester'. Anyone else was to try it and they'd find themselves in the lake." 

"Hey, I've been any combination of Platypus, Gumdrop, Rhodey-bear and about 500 others since he was in university." 

"My nicknames are awesome and you all love them or you have to meet Fury in my stead."

He glanced around the table and there were no takers. Shockingly. Sighing, he had been waiting for Fury to find an excuse to visit his compound since he'd ported directly into his office. That didn't mean he had to be happy about it. 

"How should I do this thing with Fury? Nice, or terrifying?"

"You mean you have other settings?" 

Tony tossed his toast at James for that, who just caught it and tore a chunk off to eat. Not even remotely repentant, much to Rhodey's absolute delight. 

"Why did I invite you all to breakfast to be mean to me again?" 

"You didn't dear, I did when you were asleep." 

"That sounds about right, hey, maybe I could introduce Fury to Big C?" 

Rhodey looked heavily amused with the idea. 

"Suddenly, I find I am available." 

"Oh no, you told me you had drills." 

"Oh look, my calendar just opened up!" 

"I'll remember this, next time you pull the C-Card, I'm actually going to check with her." 

"No you won't." 

"I will." 

If he had to get FRIDAY to sodding remind him, he would do it. 

  
  
  


He felt his gate scan a new vehicle, registering 3 humans. He assumed that it was Fury, no one else was due today. He shrugged his shoulders and shifted his outfit to something more 'outside' as Rhodey and James grumbled about him cheating. 

Which just amused him, tilting his head as an idea occurred to him. 

He made sure to brush his hand across both of them in some way, shifting their clothing with a quick glamour. 

"Better?" 

“Huh, what the?!"

Rhodey blurted out whilst James looked surprised, before running the material through his fingers. His glamours for clothes, that whilst they might look like Earth clothing, we're of fabric found in Underhill. It was what he was used to working with. It took a little extra boost of magic to add the  _ feel _ of the fabric into the the glamour, but he knew that James had a thing for few textures. Especially soft things and the fabric was softer than any human silk garment. 

"Now the two of you know I can do that, just think about all the options I  _ could _ have gone for?" 

He'd shifted their clothes to just a smart version of what they were already wearing, this time. James seemed amused and happy with the change, Rhodey however had known him long enough to be amused and moderately horrified of the implications. 

"Right, I'm going to meet the pirate, send Big C my way when he arrives."

He flicked through the CCTV and found Fury stood in the Carpark, with Coulson and a random "Totally not a Shield agent". He stepped into fire and came out behind Fury. 

"Boo." 

"Motherfucker, how did you..?" 

He firewalked to the other side of him, grinning as Fury span and glared at him. 

"Very easily Nicky-boy." 

"Huh, I was sure Fury was pulling one over when he said you could teleport. What's your range?"

"Why? Fancy visiting Wakanda or something?" 

Coulson just blinked at that, obviously expecting his range to be limited, where there was blue fire, he could reach on earth. His range Underhill was a complex thing. But then distance itself in Underhill was usually too complex for humans to understand. The Firelands, Earth were fixed. A metre was a metre. A mile was a mile. Underhill wasn't fixed, fundamentally humanity struggled with this concept as much as his people struggled with the fixed nature of Earth. As usual he was caught between them. 

"So, welcome to my compound. I would let you wander, but that requires a degree of trust I can't hand over yet. Did you read your contracts? If you both sign I will allow you a degree of freedom." 

"Yes. Both of us have, haven't we Director?" 

Fury had an unimpressed but cautious look on his face, interesting. 

"Good! So, there are rules to entering the compound, as you've read. Have you signed?" 

Coulson handed over a contract, his neat script in the margins. Tony touched the contract and sorted through any changes the man wanted, shifting parts he agreed with and red lining others. It took around 5 seconds. 

"That more acceptable?" 

"What?" 

Tony gestured to the contract, and Rhodey's snort as Coulson's eyebrows shot up made him smile. He glanced over as Rhodey, James and Loki made themselves comfortable on a bench to watch the proceedings. Coulson was paging through, seeing his notes that Tony had accepted now typed and added to the document. 

"How did you..?" 

"Contracts are a specialty of my kind." 

"And what is 'your kind'? Howard Stark was human." 

If Fury thought the glaring was going to work on him this was going to be boring, stilted conversation peppered with glaring that he just smiled blithely at. 

"Tony Stark was too." 

Whilst Fury glared Coulson handed over his signed contract, happy with the changes. Tony tripled it, locking it, sending a copy to the Compound vault, one to his pocket dimension and handing one back to Coulson who was looking at it in confusion, as all his notes had now vanished. 

"Nicky?" 

There was a lot of grumbling as he handed over his own contract that had a good 30 extra pages stapled to it. Tony held it for 10 seconds before passing it back. 

"If you thought you'd tie me up for weeks, you miscalculated." 

Loki and Rhodey snorted at that. James was at least trying to not look like this was a strange audience event as Fury flicked through the newly changed document, his usual glare replaced with something he had not expected. There was a degree of uncertainty by the time he reached the end. Tony had even included profiles, but not names he could easily google, on who the debt would pass too if he died and Tony's mother was not a fan of Fury. They went back and forth a few more times until Fury had little choice but to sign or leave. Grudgingly the pirate signed handing it over, watching as Tony did exactly what he'd done to Coulson's. 

"Right! Now, wasn't that easy?" 

"So what are you?" 

Fury had actually put that in his contract and capitulated on several things for it too. 

"I'm many things, and no I'm not dodging, I just don't know your understanding of different pantheons of Earth." 

"I know enough." 

"Helpful. Hmm, then I am the Celtic God of The Balance." 

Fury just blinked at him and Tony grinned. 

"Hey, I gave you the chance to have an answer that meant something to you. Now you have your answer, so, you read my report?" 

"Now hang on a minute.." 

"Director, might I suggest not making out you have been cheated on a contract. His kind don't take well to it." 

Tony just raised his eyebrow as Fury glanced between him and Loki. Trying to work out if he could push this before sighing and rubbing his hand across his face. 

"Fine. So you think the witch is fucking with the old teams minds? Do you have any evidence? Because Rogers has laid the groundwork for you being biased towards her, if you push too fast too soon… "

"I prove him right and my evidence will be looked upon less favourably. I know. I can't exactly examine them myself, hey, now you're here, you could talk to them! Aren't I coming up with great ideas today!" 

He wasn't sure if Fury was glaring more at him or at the peanut gallery. Even Coulson looked like he was trying to hide a smile. Nameless agent had been hiding in the car since he had ported in. Tony must have scared the poor dear considering he had locked the doors. 

"Speak to Clint, try to get him to agree to be assessed by someone with decent magical training. But, if he starts behaving too erratically, back off, you could create conflicts that could damage his mind. I want authorisation under the Accords to shut her down, I'd rather the hunt be slow than you sacrifice Clint."

Before Fury could respond to his idea, his uncle spotted them and immediately made his way over. 

Now, Big C, was big, he easily tapped a good 7 or 8 feet. He was under a glamour so the antlers that usually added a good 2 or 3 feet were hidden. He was built like a forester, broad and heavily muscled. Sporting a black beard that was ever so slightly tinted green, his long, loose hair was the same. His eyes were an 'utterly never going to be mistaken for human' vibrant, shifting green and like his own eyes, there seemed to be simply.. more colour. Wearing a silver torc around his neck, each end had a silver leaf beneath a sizeable emerald. Big C had glamours that he could pass in much better, but he never bothered using them at the compound. The kids would hang off him even if he was a friendly giant. 

"There's my Nephew! Your mother had me stepping through brambles to find you! What have I forgotten about now?" 

"You were meant to have that cloak finished a season ago." 

"I knew I was forgetting something. Introduce me to your friends?" 

"The giggling trio back there are my friends, You know my Platypus and That is Lokester of Asgard, finally my Snowflake. The angry pirate is one Nicholas Fury and his Right hand man, Phill Coulson." 

He smirked at the discomfort that flashed on Fury's face at the use of his name, Coulson as ever just looked mildly intrigued. As Fury generally looked angry, Phill always looked bland. Fury was _the _spy but Phill was perfectly forgettable in nearly every way. From his hair cut to the very tenor of his voice. To Tony, the near perfect level of that had always made him unforgettable in a way, even when Tony was human. He stood out because he was perfectly sculpted not to. Fury was trying not to get a crick in his neck and looking up and up and failing miserably. 

"You always surround yourself with the most interesting Fragile Creatures." 

"As do you, how many do you have marked of the Green?" 

"As many as are needed. The Firelands have not fared well in my absence." 

"Things are improving, that is what's important, you aren't going to go and blow up anymore Nuclear power stations are you?" 

"It was being decommissioned was it not? I was merely offering a helping hand." 

Tony snorted at that, sure, turning up in the middle of the most irradiated room and turning it into a forest spanning 10 miles in every direction. He had deposited the humans at the edge of the forest though. Fury was now looking at Big C with more interest. It had been in the news for weeks, no one could explain it. 

"Fury, Coulson, this is my uncle. He's a tad over protective." 

The laughter from the peanut gallery was not remotely contained this time. 

"I wondered where you got that from Tones." 

"Hmm, yes, I remember this man now. Your mother does not like him. Beware Fragile Creature, because there are few places in the Firelands that blind eyes don't see, and anywhere there is Green, you will find me." 

Big C was more than a little menacing for a good 10 seconds before he turned back to Tony. Jovial as ever. 

"I am taking the little ones raspberry picking, don't waste too much time or they will eat everything before you catch up with us." 

Rhodey, James AND Loki then abandoned him. 

Which, to be honest, if he had a choice between Fury and running around with the kids in the forest, he knows what he would choose. 

"So, this way to the Rogue House." 

He turned and walked, expecting to be followed. It took a few seconds before the two men caught up with him. Both of them looking at everything and anything in the compound. Tony could almost feel the Hypervigilance coming off of the pair as he summoned up to maps and handed them over.

"What's your evidence?" 

"Clint is acting erratically, Bruce said his memories are wrong, I don't mean, oops I forgot what I ate last week. I mean events entirely rewritten and expressed confusion in his own actions. He's _always_ with the Witch. So far the only magic she has cast has been telekinesis and a pain soothing spell that was just a mess to pick through. I'm keeping an eye on her. The problem is that magic laid down before she entered my territory can remain active without her active participation."

"And in English?" 

"The magic would be in effect, grandfathered in. Until she adds more, reinforces or does something The Accords decreed illegal, I have no proof. I have legally removed James from Rogers team to my own, so Roger's cannot authorise any more magic cast on him."

"And Steve?"

"No idea, Venom couldn't feel anything, but that's not concrete. Unfortunately none of the rogues will trust me to check their minds. Maybe Sam and Scott someday? But right now they are tied too much to Steve to be able to trust me."

"Motherfucker, you die for 5 minutes…" 

"And Captain America invites an Ex-Hydra, Mind Stone warped Witch to stay who spent years laying magical groundwork to potentially subvert their will?"

Fury grunted as they arrived at the building, Tony collected a few new red strings from his Web as Fury watched him with no small degree of caution. At a cursory look, it was more telekinesis, but he would assess each one. 

"What about Natasha, Scott or Sam?" 

"As yet, she has not cast any magic on their person, but that doesn't mean.." 

"That she didn't do it in the months they spent in Wakanda or the years before. I expected you'd have sorted this already." 

Tony glared at him, enough irritation bleeding through that the spy froze. 

"What everyone, including the Accords Council is forgetting is that not only is she a highly trained Hydra operative that has had  _ years _ to work on the Rogue Avengers, is  _ how _ she obtained that power. The Mind Stone is one of 6 universal constants that survived the destruction of the previous multiverse and the big bang.  _ You _ know how powerful Carol is. Don't underestimate her because she looks like an innocent waif, she  _ is _ of a power level of Carol, in a way, higher. Her magical skill is middling at best. Even then, she's had mere  _ years  _ of study _ , _ without a true teacher, and yet she has skills that many take centuries to gain. Ever wonder how? The Mind Stone has shown a degree of sentience that the others do not, we believe Vision purified the Mind Stone alone, but what if he didn't? What if part of that malignant sentience transferred to Wanda with her powers. It could be teaching her, not just with disregard of mortal or magical laws, but how to bypass them."

Fury paused at the door before he was about to enter. 

"You're using me as bait." 

"Now, would I do such a thing? I will assess you both before you leave. Remember Nicky, this was all your idea." 

"I'm starting to doubt that more and more." 

"I didn't even want the witch in my territory, it was heavily implied if I did not concede my careful plans to stop the multiverse disaster level event would be put at risk. I have a duty that must come first and as such, I'm being forced to house a security threat against my will. This has not placed me in the best of moods, do you expect me just to allow it? That's not how I work. If she puts my people at risk, you will find that I do have other avenues at my disposal should the Accords fail, and I will utilise them if pushed.

"Have fun, FRIDAY is always watching and I can port to you in a second anywhere on my base. Your contracts were very strict about fucking with my compound and I don't advise testing me. Call out 'Tangerine' if Wanda threatens you and I'll arrive on site. Enjoy." 

Tony stepped backwards into fire, following the pull of Rhodey's and James fire to step out behind them. Even the older kids came out when Big C visited so Harley and Peter grabbed him almost the second his feet hit dirt and he was immediately dragged into whatever competition was set up. Much nicer. Also he was keeping James and Rhodey's schedules as busy as he could to reduce chances of coming into contact with Wanda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Saturday once again, annoyingly it's fallen on patch day. One of my meds comes in the form of 72 hour patches, and relies on heat for distribution. One of my conditions means my body is bad at regulating heat, so the patches burn out faster than they should. So on patch change day, I'm effectively useless depending on how badly I've burned the patch out, I started noticing this last night. So I'm a bit sore. 
> 
> Especially for Frostbitten, the giant chapters require more brain power so there's chances I might be a little late over there. These chapters are easier to wrangle and I wanted to give you guys something to read :)


	40. Tony Wrangling

**Tony POV**

Tony was frowning down at the files he had from Fury, the angry pirate writing up what he'd seen in the rogue house and at the end, stating that he would make more visits. Joy. Tony was going to have to give the man an access card at this rate. He highly doubted the pirate was going to focus 100% of his attention on the rogues either, not Fury. The man was incapable of it. At least he had an ally when it came to his rogue problems. Even if it was Fury. 

The little Witch didn't rise to the bait, not even to peak in his mind and Tony had been pretty damned sure she would. Wanda was not a pinnacle of restraint and yet… the only magic she seemed to have cast was that single attempt to break through James' Ward and then, a lot of low level, perfectly legal, crap. 

He had so many samples of her telekinesis now it was fairly ridiculous. 

These pain soothing spells however, Tony wasn't satisfied with what he knew about them so far. 

Sure, they looked sloppy. The kind of thing an apprentice comes out with in their first year and it's seen as quite good for the level. Wanda was above this level, even if she was all over the place, she definitely should be above this. If anything repetition should have improved this weave alone as she'd cast it multiple times on Clint. The archers active consent was worked into each one as well. As if there was a big sign screaming 'I am a legal spell.' which had him instantly paranoid. 

Tony had to constantly keep reminding himself that he wasn't just up against Wanda, but likely the sentience of the mind stone too. Even if it was just whispering to her, it could tell her a lot. 

He was several thousand years old and his magical database was highly impressive. The mind stone had had billions and billions of years to change hands. Flowing from culture to culture, traversing the galaxy, gathering, learning, manipulating its way through the worst of people. 

Fury had spoken to her and decided she had a 'creepy vibe'. She acted the spoilt brat but he got a completely different feel from her that sent his spy senses all over the place. He hadn't even had a chance to speak to Clint, apparently he had food poisoning. Which Tony found highly unlikely if he'd been eating food from his compound thank you very much. Although he supposed they do make their own food, it was possible and as he refused to go to medical, citing Tony's nefarious plots, they didn't know for sure. 

His evil, nefarious plots to make sure he was healthy and not being mind fucked into oblivion. 

Steve had basically cornered Fury and spoked for nearly an hour about how everything had changed without his input, and how he was very angry about it. A good rant about how poor Bucky had been isolated cruelly from his family too. When Tony had checked them out at the car, with the baby SHIELD agent still hiding inside, Fury looked like he had a migraine of his own building. 

If he didn't have to comb through all this junk magic, that might have been enough to cheer him up. 

Tony wasn't sure if she was trying to overload his net, distract him or even convince him that this is what her magic looked like, masking something else entirely. 

He'd tried to meet up with Clint, but the man resisted all attempts and the situation was too delicate for Tony to just teleport to him and start poking around. Stephen was trying to make friendly overtures… 

Stephen should never, ever be sent on undercover work. 

Ever. 

If anything, the footage made great clips for movie night. Watching Stephen trying to look friendly and open, smiling at the Witch. It was more of a grimace. 

Tony was pretty sure he'd get further under a glamour to make him look like Stephen, but the mind stone might see the edge of a glamour. 

He pulled apart more of the string pinned, sighing with Irritation. Even sorting it out was a mess, it was tangled and muddied. Usually if he pulled apart someone's magic in this piece of equipment, it came apart like a rope. Different pieces twisted together to make the thread. Different parts for the will, intent, the core magic. At least 7 parts, occasionally more to blend into the workings. 

Wanda's was just strange, for one there were 16 parts. A strange number and far too many for the strength of the spell. Some parts were muddied and knotted and it just was awful to separate. Put 5 pairs of headphones in a pocket for a year and that was like this crap. 

  
  
  
  


**James POV**

Tony had sighed for about the hundredth time when James figured that he needed a break or he was going to break something. Catching the witch out was all well and good, but James didn't want to see his friend go crazy over it. He needed to remember to have breaks occasionally. However getting Tony to take breaks was actually harder than getting him to eat an adequate amount of food. 

James however had managed to get quite sneaky at both of these things. Rhodes had even commended his skill at 'Tony Wrangling.'

"So, Rhodey tells me you have a giant Scythe." 

Tony chuckled, bent over his desk with complicated looking equipment set out, a piece of Wanda's red magic had been teased apart and pinned so Tony could sort through her will and intentions. Not that he understood half the things Tony had been muttering to himself. He got the feeling that Tony was at least slightly offended at the mess that was Wanda's magic. 

"I do." 

"How do you, you know, fight with it?" 

None of the books he'd read so far focused on battles, he had a few on the to read pile. Which, if he was honest, his to read pile was Tony's bookcase.

Cases.

He might have a problem. 

A Scythe was pretty huge, and, not actually a weapon. Well, many things can be a weapon, but it was not originally a weapon. 

"I worked out a few styles over the years, really it all came about from me getting annoyed with carrying staff and blade when I needed to cast battle wide magic and fight at the same time. What is a Scythe but a blade and a staff?" 

"Huh, I never thought about it like that." 

Tony dropped a lid over the skewered magic, silvery magic lashing it to the table as Tony straightened up, wiping his hands on a cloth before sliding back from his desk. Success! Now, if he could find a way to get Tony talking about something. He'd stay out for longer. Fae love telling stories, it's just a fundamental part of their character. Plus, James was always after more information. 

"Hmm, this will be easier to show you outside. Plus, I need a break from Wanda's magic and Fury's bullshit before I actually go insane." 

He offered his hand and James carefully closed the book he had been reading. Tony said they were spelled to not degrade but his mind couldn't get past the fact a book that is 5000 years old isn't delicate. 

In a step they were in the forest, James recognised the scents of the forest around the compound immediately, having visited it several times by now. It was by far his favourite place to run. Blinking in the sun, he quickly realised that he'd never been here though. It was bright out, but definitely cool, the heat of the summer was now fading away. It was warmer than it should be here though, the air was in that perfect state of warm but not too hot, with a breeze that was not too cold. It was such a degree of perfect in fact, that James was pretty sure that magic was involved somewhere. He'd also ran a good amount of the forest now. At least he was pretty sure he had, and he'd never seen any Groves. 

James had also worked out that the forest was a damned sight bigger that it looked from the outside. Probably from above too. Tony had told him that forests had an inherent magic all to themselves. Dark Forests had just that little bit more, Tony spoke of it like it has a personality and whilst once upon a time, he would have laughed at such a motion. These days, it was pretty cool actually, that the forest might have a personality, that he could get to know it. James had readily accepted that his new normal was just utterly bonkers. 

The clearing was like a Grove, but also like a training ground. He'd not actually visited any Groves in person, but he had read about them. It was very different to the training grounds in the compound. They were tech, really cool tech that you could program practically anything into. Tony had pulled him down for 'Reaper Training' the other day, and James was pretty sure it was not actual 'Reaper Training'. More that they'd spent the night watching Zombie films and Tony and Rhodes obvious reaction was to stay up all night programming a post apocalyptic zombie world. Not that he was complaining. The program was awesome and as far as he knew. Virtually everyone had either given it a go, or was on the list to try it out. Everyone loved killing zombies apparently. 

He felt the rush of Fire that had Tony summoning his weapon which brought him back to the present, and James decided that it was more impressive than Rhodes had alluded to. Very much so as he looked at the sleek black blade. The staff was actually straight, which he found odd, most Scythes had strangely shaped handles, but then they were gardening equipment. This was as far away from gardening equipment as could be. It was the kind of weapon that gives you an extra dose of fear before it's even in use. 

"I'll add a little Fire, and you'll see the Wards." 

Tony brought the Scythe down into the dirt and Blue Fire slowly worked its way up from the base to the blade, alighting thousands of tiny, interlocking Wards. His eyes could barely track one Ward from another. When the Fire reached the blade, it whooshed to the tip, Fire licking across the black metal as different Wards lit up. James had seen a lot of Tony's Wards by now and even though he hadn't looked at every single one individually, he had recognised the ones being lit up. If not exactly the meaning, he recognised the style. 

The blade was a completely different thing. Just above the blade was a long line of Wards, but they were different to the rest. Made up of 3 lines each in different configurations. Then along the flat of the blade were more Wards that were completely different again. But there was a large symbol on each side that he did vaguely recognise but couldn't name. 5 interlocking circles on one side, the other was 3 dots with the lines beneath them. They felt different from the Wards, he wouldn't call them decoration, but that their purpose was not to be activated like the Wards. 

"Force waves, fields and such are very magically intensive, but I worked a cheat because I like using them. Remember when I told you that creating something from nothing is labour intensive? Well standing and sending a blast of force from nothing is going to require a good portion of energy to do so. But, by building up kinetic energy…" 

Tony started spinning the Scythe deftly with one hand, which was pretty impressive on its own and he imagined in a fight, would likely put some people off. If he was fighting a person who could spin a huge, scary looking Scythe with such ease and familiarity? Yeah that would definitely have him off of his game. Plus, he didn't even know how you would combat a Scythe in a battle, not that he knew how to use swords yet. If he did, he suspected that combating such a strange weapon would be tricky. Which he suspected was part of the point. It was also very recognisable and Rhodes told him Tony had quite a reputation with it. 

Tony somehow sped up spinning the Scythe, single handedly, until all he saw was practically a black and blue blur. James couldn't even work out _ how _ Tony was doing that, let alone if he was physically fighting with it. 

"Pick a target."

James pointed to one at random, Tony turned to face it, keeping up the spinning and James was now starting to get why he'd picked this weapon. Figuring it was more than just convenience of having a blade and staff combo. James imagined that the challenge of mastering such a peculiar weapon would appeal to Tony as well. 

Suddenly he stopped spinning and slammed the base into the ground again, it crashed into the dirt with a loud bang that was far, far louder than it should have been. The sound reverberated around the Grove and even though the weapon was pointed away from him, he felt a gust fly backwards at the same time as an invisible wave of force flooded out, spreading out in a triangular shape. The point at the staff and spreading out and forward, completely obliterating 9 of the 10 targets. Wood and metal groaning as shards shattered in all directions. The one on the end that was spared the bulk of the hit, sort of weakly fell over. 

He couldn't help himself. 

"You missed one." 

Tony rolled his eyes, he switched the Scythe to a two handing grip, not held vertically, but at an angle. As if he were to bring it down. He thought he was going to use the blade, but Tony shifted his hands over the Wards. The Blue Fire lit Wards suddenly shifted, some darkened, whilst others suddenly burned brighter as he sent out what James assumed was a thin spike of force. Shattering the remaining target into actual dust particles.

Wow.

"Better? I can channel a lot through this too. Force is easy. Earth magic has always been something I've had a knack with and the staff amplifies that. Water too. A staff in the hands of a magic user is a very, very dangerous thing, but people look at this and see a bladed weapon. Not a staff. I don't usually light up the Wards like this you see. As such, people underestimate me and don't expect the Battle Wards I can deal with it until it's too late." 

"In my head I was trying to work out how you'd fight with a Scythe, I kind of forgot the magic thing." 

"Oh, I do use it that way too, I just blend the two together. It gives me an advantage as most people don't know how to combat my fighting styles and fighting with a staff/sword combo is awkward like I said. So many just don't. Leaves magic users open to me. Most Reapers give it a go when I start blade training, to see what it's like. Rhodey actually threw his at a tree in frustration because it was '_too_ _unwieldy_'. This, coming from the man practically wielding two bastard swords."

"I wish I could have seen that, so is this your Reaper Blade then? Like Rhodes swords?" 

"Yes and no. When you first unlock your Fire, you will likely already favour a blade type as I'm starting early on your training. Rhodes started after I'd removed his bind. I'll make your Reaper Blade to that specification, but it will unlikely be a perfect fit for every battle. So, as you progress, I will make more weapons to build your arsenal. Only you can use the blades I make for you, and Rhodey can use his and so on. It's coded to your magic, but I have a number of, let's call them blanks."

"Blanks?"

"Blades I've created that are not coded to anyone. So you can use them, try them out. If a battle requires a certain weapon that isn't in your arsenal, I'll summon the blank. It won't be as powerful as your blades, but they're good in a pinch. You can also use mine."

"How come? If they're individual?"

"Your Fire comes from me, so you can use one's from my arsenal if I hand them to you. There are a few you won't be able to wield. The older the blade, the bigger the personality."

"Does magic give everything personalities?!" 

"Huh, kind of actually. I never thought of it like that." 

"So, which one is your main weapon?" 

"The Scythe is my second, this is my first." 

Tony's waved away the Black Scythe and summoned a sword to his hand. It was different to every other Reaper blade he had seen so far. For one, it wasn't entirely black. It was long, starting pretty thick before tapering off. Straight too with a long hilt that could be used for a two handed grip even though Tony easily held it single handedly. The hilt was leather wrapped, but that didn't do it justice. He'd say the leather had been stitched with what looked like silver coloured thread that glinted in the light. The cross guard was smooth, black metal facing Tony but made of intricately carved feathers and the pommel was an incredibly detailed wolf head made of the same black metal, with gems that looked as if they were golden fire, and shifted like Tony's eyes. He assumed all of that was the metal that usually made up the Reaper's blades. 

The blade however was where it got weird. Reaper blades were solid black. Even the edge was black. This looked like it had been twisted with a shining, silver metal and been beaten flat. He could also feel the strength and presence coming off of it in his bones. 

"I've never seen a Reaper blade with silver in it before." 

"Hmm, that's because they don't, this is the only one. I have some reaper blades edged with iron, for when we're fighting my kin or others that are sensitive to the bane. But this is the only blade of its kind. Bane twisted and it has more of a reputation Underhill than that Scythe does in the fixed lands."

Tony moved fluidly with the sword, even more so than with the Scythe. As if it was part of him. He was going to ask about what reputation, but the dark, far away look on his face made him pause. Tony occasionally had a far away look on his face, but then he'd been alive for actual thousands of years. James didn't know the exact number, but from what he'd read, it was somewhere between 6500 and 7500. He wasn't entirely sure, Tony just did that enigmatic smile any time he asked him his actual age. 

"What is on the hilt? “

Tony jerked slightly, blinking as he came back to himself. Coming to stand very close to him. Laying the sword across his palms so James could see it properly. 

"Mother made the binding for it, stitched silver into and made it smooth so the metal doesn't irritate my hands. The Wards are some of her best work and the leather is actually a construct. Not from an animal, but of woad." 

"Wait, silver, as in metal?" 

"Yeah, it's a speciality of hers. I can do the same with bane. I'm pretty good with silver, but mother is far, far better." 

"You Fae are always being weird. Stitching with metal."

Tony chuckled at that, but didn't argue the point because he was sure he was right. 

"Well, this sword has a complicated history, how its parts came together, want to know?" 

"That answer is never going to be no."

"Well, it wasn't my first Reaper blade, but I needed one that had... More to it. It all started with my mother after she made the leather as my departure gift when I became nomadic. 

"The Feathers actually come from Brãn. The Genius Loci, which is the land. Each court rests on living land in Underhill. We call them Loci. They bond with the ruler of that court, the Foci. The Court of Blackened Fate was the court I was originally born to before I struck out. When I left, Brãn gifted me some Feathers of his bird form. He's usually a Blackwood Tree atop a mountain but he likes to fly occasionally. 

"Then, Arawn for whom I was working for at the time and still occasionally do. It's why I needed a new blade actually. He is the King of The Court of Sundered Song. He carved the Wolf's head out of Marwolaeth Daear. Which can only be found at the very heart of his court, from his Loci, Asgwrn. Then it was covered with a thin layer of the metal I use to construct the Reaper blades. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to physically hold it without dying. He styled it after myself. 

"The eyes are gems of Sgrechiwr Tân from The Warden of the Court of Obsidian Dreams. Which, as you might be seeing a pattern, came from his Loci. Cysgod. They're Gold fire gems. Direct translation would be 'Fire Screamer'.

"The hilt doesn't come from a Loci, but it was gifted or rather won when I led The Wild Hunt for the first time and is Asgwrn Gwyn. Very powerful stuff on its own really. That's the Court of Reign and Fury's contribution." 

James blinked, looking at the sword in a completely new light. 

"That's.. Uh. That's a lot. That's a lot of courts."

"Hmm. I mined the bane myself, constructed the Reaper Blake purely of my core and bound them. The Sheath is equally as complicated and has material from. A number of courts. The idea is a little something from every court of Underhill. Although I rejected the material from certain courts that I will never work for. But of the 15 Lower courts, there is something from 13. The High Seelie Courts finished the Sheath and Iron, Bane, the Antithesis of the Courts is what it's bound in. It's my Dienyddiwr's Blade."

"I didn't know you could make a sword so complicated." 

Although it made sense in a way. It didn't feel like anything he'd ever been near and he'd seen quite a few powerful artifacts by now. Hanging out in Tony's workshop as often as he did. Tony Scythe hummed with power, Rhodes swords had this presence to them. This was something else entirely. 

"I can feel it, it's different from the other Reaper Blades." 

"That's because it is. When I wield this, I become the Dienyddiwr of Underhill. The title and position carries a magic to itself like with the Scythe, I'm the Patron of Reapers. I'm these things all the time, but it's like a doctor is always a doctor, but when they wear the uniform they are an authority. My different blades are my authority, when I act as the balance, it will be one of these two blades I wield. Likened maybe, to the Crowns of Underhill. When a Loci bonds with someone, it gifts the Foci a Crown. Very, very powerful artifacts that fundamentally change the wearer from the second it is worn. It's the difference between you now and when you choose, you after I remove the bind. But more, much, much more. When I first wielded this blade my power changed. Make sense?"

"Kind off. As much as plots of lands giving gifts can make sense to me." 

"You're picking this up much faster than most, give yourself some credit. Rhodey still gets stuck on the concept of Locis." 

"Well, land being alive is quite weird, but then Underhill is quite weird. I'm guessing none of the Reaper blades are this complicated?" 

"No, that would require you to ingratiate yourself with 13 Lower Courts of Underhill, the Seelie Courts and mind metal by hand from Bane Mountain. And nick my job." 

Tony grinned at that. 

"Yeah. I don't think that is happening anytime soon." 

"There have been some Reapers who have been gifted artifacts, from the Courts, or from different lands all together that I can work into the blade for you. If you want it in your blade, there is a high chance I can get it in there somewhere. Nothing will be as complicated as this."

Tony waved the blade away and James felt it's absence, he didn't understand Tony's title, what with it obviously not being in English, but he had a feeling that whatever it was, it was very important but not something Tony was proud of as such. The sword was like having another Fae standing next to them, a very lethal Fae, and he was pretty sure that Tony's power level fluctuated when he was holding it to. But he didn't know if that was because the sword changed it. Or if more strength bled through, because he knew Tony kept a lot of his power tucked back normally out of politeness. 

"You'll start with one of these though, nice and simple." 

Tony summoned two swords, they weren't made of the black metal, instead a silvered metal with a blue, shifting sheen to it. They were quite thin and ever so lightly curved. 

Now James had used a lot of Weapons in his time as being a weapon. A sword was not one of them, as such, he took it awkwardly. Strangely, his hands seemed to know where to go to hold it. Which was interesting, because he had no idea how they knew that. 

"Hmm, close, your Fire is helping you, that doesn't usually happen until I remove the bind. Try switching to this grip, your muscles will be killing you after, but trust me, it's worth it." 

Tony then put his hand over his own, the blue of the blade fluctuated, a small Ward turning up on the blade next to the hilt and the weight of the blade changed too. Then took a few steps back as he studied the blade. 

"After?" 

Tony grinned, holding his own blade in a loose grip. Before suddenly moving towards him. James wasn't even sure how he knew how to block but he went with it. 

"Good, most people fight the influence from their Fire at first, loosen your grip or you'll injure your wrist. That is now your first training blade, it's weighted to not strain but to push. You have the serum so I went a little extra." 

James wasn't sure how him getting Tony out of the lab meant a lesson with a sword, but he wasn't exactly complaining. Every now and then he got distracted just looking at the weapon in his hands. 

He had a _ sword _. 

A few times Tony corrected his stance, kicking his feet into the correct locations and James was trying to keep up and wondering how he'd gotten here again. Mostly there was a lot of repetition until Tony was satisfied he could react correctly and then he moved on to the next. Drilling him harder than Carol did on her drills. 

"Keep an eye on distance, you have reach but that's wasted if you walk yourself onto my blade." 

Tony made a point of that by a hit to his ribs, the spelled blades not cutting but he was definitely going to be a walking bruise for a good hour after this. 

James had no idea how much sword fighting was to do with footwork. Frankly, it was ridiculous. Tony also interspersed a lot of stretching and lots of repetition. So much repetition. And if number 100 was not as perfect as number 1, he found himself back starting at 1 again. The people on the base that said Carol was the hardest task master for drills had obviously never been in this grove with Tony. 

"Thoughts are too slow, even a Reapers as you'll be fighting creatures with faster thought processes. So we do this until it becomes instinctive. If you have to think about a move you've likely lost the opening." 

He nodded before trying to keep everything straight in his head. He'd had a few training sessions so far. With Natalia and a few people since arriving at the compound. The serum always gives him an advantage, and it took more and more to get him sweating these days. Tony however, seemed to have made adjustments for his serum _and_ his Fire, as such he felt like he'd had a _ serious _ work out. With more muscles feeling a not so familiar burn than he would have expected. It brought back memories of when he first arrived in the army or back during those arduous hours he did in training when boxing was everything to him. 

He had been looking forward to sparring with the man, a non sword version in the Avengers Training facility. They had a day set aside, but after this impromptu sword lesson, he was now expecting to get royally trounced and still be made to work hard for it. He was kind of expecting the first part anyway, he had not expected the latter. 

"Aw, you guys fighting without me?" 

Tony danced back, not looking even remotely tired as James, grinning at Rhodes. James was quite happy for the interruption so he could go and collapse by a tree for a year. He was used to being smug whilst the person he was sparring with collapsed on the bench. It was very strange being on the other side. 

"James was wondering how I fight with the Scythe, fancy showing him?" 

Tony waved his hand in James's direction, in a burst of Black Fire a bottle with some kind of purple drink appeared and James honestly didn't care what was in it as he downed half of it. The second sip he actually tasted it, it was nothing he recognised, possibly close to blackberries, but it had something else to it that made him wonder. That and he felt hydrated and a burst of energy from just a small amount. He looked at the bottle critically as Rhodes came over to join them. 

"Nu-uh am I fighting you and that damned Scythe again. Your fighting style is too weird to combat." 

"That's kind of the point, but fine, fine. Give James an idea of what it's like after you've unlocked the Fire? Plus, you're due for training anyway."

Tony willed away his blue sword, summoning two black blades to match Rhodes as he rolled his shoulders. 

James wasn't sure where to look. He could see the basics Tony had been teaching him. Alternating between looking at their feet, watching the basic moves Tony had been teaching him. But faster, so, so much faster. The fact they were also both duel wielding didn't help matters either. James still had a feeling that they were slowing down for him too, so he could analyse their moves. 

Every ten minutes exactly, Tony shifted his style from what James could tell. Pushing Rhodes to change and adapt. Rhodes grumbling every time he did it was usually swiftly followed by Tony's laughter. He wondered just how many fighting styles and weapons was Tony familiar with exactly. 

He wasn't entirely sure how he'd ended up in a sword fighting lesson and he could already tell he was going to be feeling this for a damned while, but it was definitely fun. 

Things might not be perfect, the Witch obviously was not far from Tony's mind, but he decided he liked life at the compound. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Welsh Pronunciation Guide ](https://www.go4awalk.com/fell-facts/welsh-language-pronunciation.php)


	41. Distractions

**James POV**

It had been nearly 2 months since they'd arrived back in America, James spent quite a lot of his time in one of Tony's workshops. Whether he was playing fetch with the bots or sitting on a plush rug reading books, he loved it. He also spent quite a lot of time with others around the compound. It was so much more livelier than the corner of the Palace they'd inhabited for so long. Peter introduced him to lazer tag and then he discovered that Tony, Wade and Nathan take paintball extremely seriously… ridiculously so in fact. Harley had even started to warm up to him and they went to the little cinema once a week, dragging Tony and Peter when they were free. He had  _ friends.  _ Absolutely strange and weird friends, but friends. He was still kind of nervous of Loki, but they'd recently started talking about past experiences and they'd been getting along with each other. There was even a support group for victims of mind control and brainwashing, which really said something. 

He even loved the training drills designed by Carol that everyone else complained about. After Tony's drills,  _ anything _ seemed like a break. No matter what it was Tony had them doing, he and Rhodes usually ended up on the floor. 

Carols drills were highly specialised and he spent a solid week doing tests until she came up with his first drill and he loved it, it was so much fun. 

Tony just randomly appeared occasionally. There didn't actually seem to be a pattern to it and Rhodes had told him he was sure Tony did it on purpose so neither of them could plan in advance and forced them to do any 'homework' quickly, as they never knew when it would be 'due'. No last minute work. It didn't seem to matter that it was in the middle or dinner or 3am. He and Rhodes couldn't work out if there was a schedule in Tony's brain or if he just went with it whenever the idea to train them in X or Y occurred to him. 

Between Tony and Carol, in such a short period of time he already felt stronger, faster and his Sight was still fluctuating after the initial burst. Sometimes he would see nothing for days, then he'd catch someone like Carol out of the corner of his eye. Standing proud with light around her and huge wings. Sometimes it was just vague lights, other times it was random insights. Occasionally it was stuff that he had no idea how to even verbalise, let alone explain. 

Most of The Rogues hadn't even set up their drills with Carol yet, and currently we're not training at all as they seemed to be dodging the assessments. Honestly he had no idea what they were doing. He just knew they weren't happy with the current set up and hiding away whilst complaining to Fury seemed to be their long term plan. It was irritating Tony to no end that he was stuck waiting but everyone was trying to distract him from hyperfocusing. He had promised Tony to stay within FRIDAYs range if he went anywhere near the Ved'ma which had helped, James had also been utilising FRIDAY to entirely avoid her, FRIDAY was very happy to help. There hadn't even been a flicker of warmth on the ward but Tony regularly checked up on it whilst he was waiting on parts to forge something better. 

The Rogues had been awarded their tracking bands but he didn't think that they had actually gone out yet, hilariously after all that moaning about being contained. Tony had an alert on the Ved'mas band, so he could track her outside of his web. So far she hadn't taken a single step out of the compound. 

Steve of course didn't like that he was spending  _ so much  _ time with  _ so many _ other people. It was like talking to a brick wall. Steve seemed to have this idea that if James spent more time with them, he wouldn't  _ have _ to spend time with the New Avengers. Not understanding that James was actually enjoying himself. The compound was full of really interesting, different people from all walks of life including different planets and dimensions. 

The fact Steve expected him to be Bucky again didn't help matters. Even if he hadn't been experimented on, turned into a super soldier and spent 7 decades as the asset, the war changed him. 

Getting captured the  _ first _ time changed him, hell, getting  _ drafted  _ had changed him. Bucky getting drafted had changed a lot between them, Steve desperately wanting to get shipped off and Bucky actually wanting to live his life. He'd made a good go of it, at least from what he remembered, he'd been good at it, but that didn't mean he hadn't been dreaming of home. Of his bed. Events like that… it changes you. No matter how many platitudes and 'friends for life' you throw around, life generally has its own ideas. Clinging to the past just wasn't something he was interested in and Steve didn't seem to want to get to know who he was now. James liked his life now. 

Despite the rocky, jagged, pit strewn road he'd taken to get there, James was happy with who he was now. Even if it meant being dragged out of bed at 3am by a hyperactive Fae creature for sword fighting lessons in a magical forest. 

James liked who he was becoming, but Steve was only interested in having his best friend back. Every time their conversation strayed down that line, all James heard was "You aren't good enough." So was it really a surprise that he went to places where there were no expectations? To safe places when he needed them. He had several. The Gun range with Deadpool and Cable. Hanging out in the library with Eddie. Tony's workshops, which was a whole different can of worms. Steve seemed to take  _ serious _ exception to him spending time with Tony. 

Tony apparently was  _ tricking _ him into a false sense of security to kill him, because Steve apparently didn't know enough about Tony's powers to realise how utterly ridiculous that was. Even though Tony was pretty open using magic around the compound. If he spoke to practically anyone this notion would likely elicit much laughter. 

There was a simple thing that had started to make him pull away from Steve. After the dinner, he had informed Steve, point blank, that he didn't want to eat at the same table as  _ her _ . Steve had immediately accused Tony of lying to him. 

Today he had been about to explain to Steve that he had felt her in his mind, not far from the truth, really, but he knew mentioning Tony's name would derail the conversation and they'd get nowhere on the Ved'ma front. Today had been rendition 43 of "Wanda is innocent and perfect, stop being mean to her." He'd stuck to his guns though, he hadn't eaten a single meal or attended any team bonding event with the Ved'ma present since arriving in America. 

Today however, went a little different and a single sentence that snapped something inside him. 

Steve said something that stopped that conversation, and started another… 

"She's not Hydra anymore Buck, she switched sides to fight against a murder bot with us, that Tony  _ created _ . It's her second chance Buck. She's just a kid and she deserves better than Tony poisoning you against her." 

Anymore. 

Not Hydra. 

_ Anymore.  _

"What the fuck did you just say?" 

"Wait, didn't Tony…" 

"Are you telling me, that the fucking Ved'ma, is  _ Hydra _ ?" 

A Hydra agent had been trying to access his mind. 

"Come on now Bucky, it's not like that, she was just a kid and Hyd-" 

"I can't believe you'd do this to me, what the hell Steve? How could you hide that from me?" 

"What's going on out here?" 

"It's okay Nat, I'm sorry we disturbed you, we're just having a misunderstanding here, isn't that right Bucky." 

Steve did possibly the worst thing, he stepped closer, using a placating tone as if  _ he _ was being the unreasonable one and tried to grip his arm. James was faster than he'd ever been before, in the last year since waking up he'd actually been eating regularly and although it hadn't been long, they'd only been in America for 8 weeks now, but Carol's and Tony's training was getter better, and he'd already been better trained than Steve. He was sure the fire inside him gave him an edge to, even if it wasn't active. He grabbed Steve's arm and had it twisted around his back so he could yell at him. 

"Steve here, fucking lied to me, about  _ Hydra _ . I  _ deserved _ to know!" 

He shoved Steve away from him with all the force he could manage, not wanting to be near him right now. 

"I didn't lie Buck, and it was Wanda's story to tell. It wasn't up to me and she didn't want to make you uncomfortable." 

"Oh Steve. No, tell me you didn't…" 

"I. Deserved. To. Know. You forced me to eat with Hydra. You forced me to live with Hydra!" 

"She's not-" 

"I don't care what you think!" 

"Buck, you need to calm down, I think you're slipping into the Winter Soldier." 

"Just because I'm angry at you doesn't mean I'm turning into The Soldier. Trust me, you'd know if I was. I wouldn't be shouting and you wouldn't be standing. And for the hundredth time, stop calling me Bucky!" 

"He's got a point Steve."

"I'm not sure Nat, Bucky would never have shouted at me like this, he's been acting strange for weeks. He hated being called James. I think Tony-" 

"Fuck you Steve. I'm allowed to choose who I spend time with. It will  _ never _ be Hydra. I'm leaving now, and Steve, at least until you understand what you did. Don't contact me." 

He turned to storm on and Steve grabbed his arm, James froze but didn't turn around. 

"If you do not remove your hand, I will break it. Then, I will never speak to you again. Do you understand me Steve?"

Steve jumped back as if burned. His therapist told him that breaks in situations like that were good, distance. He needed that right now or he was going to punch someone. 

"What you did was fucked up. After  _ everything _ I've been through. I deserved to know. Two weeks. You leave me alone for two weeks. If you still think you are right after that, make it four."

With that he stormed off without looking back. The anger was still there, simmering under the surface but he was also not quite feeling right. 

"James, maybe you should visit Boss."

"I'm fine FRIDAY." 

He was pretty sure he was fine, he just needed to not be anywhere near Steve. 

"I was about to tell you that we have code blue, before Mr Roger's ambushed you. I think it would be good for both of you not to be alone." 

FRIDAY's ability to sound so put out at Steve ambushing his lightened things actually before he actually processed what she said. This was good actually. Well, not good, code blue was bad, but this was something to focus on. Focus was definitely good. Anything to not think about her trying to get into his mind. He pushed that brutally to the side. Focus now, freak out later. 

"How long has he been in the workshop this time?" 

"He hasn't left since Monday." 

James was starting to realise that Deadpools and Rhodey's comments abouts Tony's occasional inability to look after himself were much more realistic that he had originally considered. That was quite long even for Tony, he hadn't popped up for training for the last few days and he had assumed Tony was busy, but this was definitely odd. 

"That was 4 days ago! Is he at least sleeping?" 

"A little bit… No one else has managed to get him out of his workshop.. I thought you might have more luck." 

Which was FRIDAY code for, yes, but he's had a nightmare and I'm not allowed to tell you that. It hadn't taken long for them to work out a code regarding Tony. 

When he got there he knew something was seriously up, more than usual of Tony forgetting to occasionally come up for ait. There was usually chaos in the Workshop, but it usually had some degree of order. Now it was just pure chaos, there were things in pieces on the ground because there was no space left. There was no Tony to be found, here or in the mechanics area. He went to the section of wall that he knew formed the door to Tony's mirror workshop. 

He had a new black corded bracelet with a small grey, blue speckled stone attached, so he could access the mirror workshop and Tony's separate library. Running it down the wall caused the wall to ripple like water. Something that he would never get bored of seeing, because damn. The doorway formed and he stepped through and was faced with more chaos and confusion which was where he found Tony, sat on the floor with a ton of books around him, open scrolls, weird devices. His hands were stained almost entirely blue with woad, it was also smudged across his face. His hair curled and unstyled, flopping into his face, the auburn was streaked with the woad paste. If he didn't look so stressed it would be adorable. 

"Tony, when was the last time you left the workshop? You need to actually get out of here occasionally." 

Tony glanced up at him, blinking golden eyes in confusion. Yeah, he definitely needed out. He jumped to his feet deftly and started pacing, practically vibrating with frenetic energy. 

"I can't, I have too much to do. I need to contact an envoy of the Seelie court about heading up the problem in Brazil. I need to get back to Mab about the ice caps, if she freezes sections I have more time to lower the ocean temperatures to heal the fire under the sea. I have to contact the UN, organise safe passage for several teams in different countries, I have the gear to fix, I have… there's other things too, I have to do them now."

He stopped Tony's pacing, causing him to rock in place, he'd never seen him this bad before, he had no idea what happened to trigger this but he didn't like it.

"Tony, do all of these things need to be done right now, by you?"

"Uhhh yes?" 

"OK, FRIDAY, do you know who to delegate these tasks to?" 

"Of course I do. As I have told Boss, 26 times." 

"Right, we're getting you in the shower." 

"Okay.. Okay. But then I have to get back to work." 

"Of course, lets just get you feeling more alive first." 

Tony wavered when he let go, so he kept his arm wrapped around his shoulders as he took the man up to his apartment and sort of aimed him in the direction of the shower. He'd work out how to keep Tony out of the workshop after. 

"Are you.." 

"I'm not going anywhere Tony, I'll be right here." 

With that he stumbled into the shower and he knew FRIDAY would make sure he didn't collapse or anything. It was probably a sign that he'd been around strange things long enough now, that a huge crow flying through the wall didn't even startle him. When it landed next to him on the chair, he was quite surprised though, he recognised that crow. He'd seen it in Wakanda, watching over him. When it transfigured into a woman he was pretty sure it was a sign that his life was officially off the rails. He had not known Tony's mother could do that. 

"Hi." 

"Hello James, Thank you for caring for my son. We're at an… uncomfortable anniversary for him. It would be good if he was not alone." 

He found himself nodding, because he was more than a little intimidated, he had an idea about some of Tony's powers and this was a strong reminder that the kind motherly woman that made him pancakes was a  _ power  _ to be reckoned with, he had read enough about Tony's mother to be extremely intimidated and he also wondered if Tony could turn into a bird that could fly through walls… he knew Tony could shape shift, but that he preferred a wolf shift, there had been a few sketched pictures in one of the books he was pretty sure his wolf form was taller than his usual one. He knew Rhodey had 2 other forms, it was one aspect of being a Reaper someday that he was quite hyped on. His brain was all over the place today, he distinctly blamed Steve. 

"Yeah, of course. I wasn't planning on going anywhere. Maybe convince him to eat or sleep." 

"He likely won't sleep. Maybe not for another 2 or 3 days." 

"And he'll be okay? Not sleeping for that long I mean? What happened? 

"We can last longer than a human without sleep, but he will work himself to the bone if left alone. Last year he tricked Rhodey into taking a trip so he could throw himself into his work. I can't tell you what happened, it's his story to share."

"Has he ever told anyone?"

She shook her head before standing up. The shower shut off at the same time. 

"No, but he  _ talks  _ to you. The only few who actually  _ know _ were there at the time and it was a very, very long time ago, back when he was a child. I still remind him of it too much around this time you see, so all I can do is watch and wait. I'm hoping that you could make this year different... Ask him about the Blue Fire." 

A beat of wings and she was gone, leaving him with way more questions than answers. He didn't know exactly how old Tony was, but his age was described in  _ millenia _ in some of the books he'd read and they were old, so for something from his childhood to still be haunting him, it must be serious. Plus there was the Blue Fire connection, Tony spoke highly of it. Not as if it was connected to something bad? Also he didn't think Tony spoke to him more than others, usually that was just him bugging Tony for stories. 

Tony stumbled out of the shower, he glanced over and his brain stuttered to a stop. 

Tony had a pair of low slung jeans on, bare feet and was in the process of putting a t-shirt on. Which left his chest on display and James finally had confirmation that under those suits and baggy shirts, Tony was built like a runner. He also had none of his glamours up to hide the woad tattoos that he'd seen on his hands and forearms, so he could now see that they completely covered his chest and continued around his sides. At least half of it he could see, the other half was obscured by the t-shirt he was struggling with that painted a strange image to look at really. 

Modern low slung jeans, the body and designs of an ancient celtic warrior and struggling to put a shirt on. He even saw a brief flash of bright blue, the light that lay at his sternum that he wanted to know more about but didn't have the guts to ask. 

He was still struggling, so James crossed the room to help, intentionally walking heavy footed as to not sneak up on him. He stopped struggling when James stilled his arms, it didn't take long to fix the problem, that he was still damp and severely sleep deprived had not helped matters. He tugged the shirt into place and startled. It had been a surprise seeing the designs carry onto his chest, but now he could see them come up his neck too. A thick woad band crossed his eyes, which made the gold of his eyes even more startling. Up from that, the design got more delicate and it looked like complicated knot work… or roots of a tree, stretching to meet the seven pointed star at his forehead. 

"Ah shit, I forgot to put the glamour back up, didn't I..? Running water.." 

"It's OK, I mean, you don't have to. Only if you want to."

"Really? I don't mind, I'm used to it.."

"Not at all. It's part of you. Now, do you want to get food coming to us or go to food? Or do you want me to cook?" 

"I'm not sure, I should probably get back to work…" 

James figured he needed to change tactics, getting him to look after himself wouldn't work, rarely did but he always tried, but maybe he can do something else. 

"You can do that later, for now, we eat and then you were going to tell me about the Blue Fire." 

Tony perked up slightly at that which made that a good choice, smiling which moved the designs on his face in interesting ways. It was weird, he'd seen Tony's face a lot but with this addition, it had taken on a whole different quality somehow. 

"Okay, I can do that. I didn't know you were that interested..?" 

"Tony, I've read 86 of the books from your mirror workshop already, I always want to know more, The Blue Fire is at the top of my list, so you sit down here, I'll throw together a late breakfast and I finally get to understand this fire better. No cliff notes version either."

Tony chuckled and sat down at the breakfast bar and he grabbed everything he needed to give things a larger breakfast. Quickly preparing and getting it in front of Tony so he didn't get distracted and vanish back to the workshop. Trying to corral a person who can teleport is harder than it seems and mostly included distracting Tony so he completely forgets that he had meant to go back to the workshop in the first place. 

James metabolism was increased because of the serum, Tony seemed to be able to subsist on very little if left to his own devices, but if he was, for lack of a better word… managed by Rhodes, his mother, countless others and apparently, himself, his caloric intake was on par with his own and others at the compound with abilities. 

Tony seemed to contemplate something as he ate before coming to a decision. 

"If you really want to know some more about the fire, we should probably take a field trip. Visit my old stomping grounds, this land is great and I'm developing a better connection. I can connect with the fire anywhere on this planet, but I know all the ins and outs over there. Some places that maybe I should actually visit again."

Well that's definitely better than his vanishing back to work and it got both of them away from the compound for a bit too. 

"Does this mean we get to Firewalk?"

He grinned, because he really liked it when Tony took him with him as he Firewalked. That place inside him where the fire rested hummed in contentment when he did, it sent his skin tingling and he felt invigorated, like he'd just run under a waterfall. So he was pretty much hooked on it and if Tony recommended going virtually anywhere by means of the fire, he'd jump at it. 

"Yup, it's much faster, and a challenge too, I've never Firewalked that far with a person before, it should be fun." 

"I'm unsurprisingly, very cool with this." 

"You know. Normal people would say 'Tony, shouldn't you try shorter hops first' instead of encouraging me." 

"Well it's more fun this way, I'm sure other people you have done this with felt the same." 

Tony finished his food, flicking his fingers and the plate appeared in the sink, smiling before heading to his bedroom, likely for more clothes. Seeming more awake and less scattered now. 

"Not really Firewalked with many people, there was one time during a battle, one of my Reapers was injured and I got him to the healing tent, that was about it, he threw up, I nearly passed out but I was only a couple of hundred years old. If you want to get changed, I recommend something that would work in a forest. "

With that he vanished into his bedroom, James was wearing combat trousers and a comfortable t-shirt, he was sure he'd left a jacket here last time he was over, he started looking for it whilst wondering why others hadn't joined him in Firewalking. He guessed it might look slightly disconcerting to walk into fire, but it didn't burn so that would be a pretty crap reason. If anything the flames were warm, like the softest of furs, with a humming buzz that left him slightly dizzy. 

"Tony, is my black jacket in there?" 

"You mean my jacket? I'm sure it's mine, I mean, it's in my wardrobe, but I'm sure I could lend it to you?" 

He came out of the bedroom, smirking and holding his missing jacket, dressed not to dissimilar to himself with a black jacket of his own. 

"I'm pretty sure you'd drown in this, so it must be mine." 

"That's what makes it so comfortable. Come on then, I'll try not to drop us in the ocean." 

He held out his hand out wiggling his fingers, grinning mischievously as James slipped his hand in, fingers entwined with no hesitation. 

Which considering Tony had just mentioned dropping them in the ocean accidentally probably said a lot about his impulsive streak and flare for danger. The fact it actually made Tony smile brightly to flash his cat-fangs despitewwhat had been bothering him obviously had nothing to do with it at all. His denial was on top form today too it seemed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic -  
Decides that for this story the chapters will be 2k
> 
> Writes lots of 2k chapters. 
> 
> Continuously pokes, edits, cuts, merges and adds additional chapters all over the board.
> 
> So, I'm officially giving up any kind of hope of keeping the chapters similar when it comes to word counts. So it's like chapter lottery of somewhere between 2k and 6k 😂.
> 
> Also, sorry how the low grade Wanda-Anxiety, it is aimed at Tony but the bleed over is apparently real xD
> 
> [Welsh Pronunciation Guide ](https://www.go4awalk.com/fell-facts/welsh-language-pronunciation.php)


	42. The Grove

**James POV **

From a step out of the apartment, the familiar feeling flooded his skin and senses, setting them alight in a way that always made him giddy, the Fire inside him spread and hummed in contentment. Usually, it was over all too fast in a single step, this time however, his hand stayed linked with Tony's as they actually walked. Huh, he guessed this was why Tony called it Firewalking. He had always wondered about that when it felt more like steps before, this time they walked. Tony went slow, and he had a feeling it was for his benefit as he gawked at everything. 

In his defence, this place allowed him to actually _ see _ the world they were traversing for a change. Black and occasional Blue Flames flickered around them. Leaving him feeling warm, safe and content in a strange way. James wasn't sure when his mind had connected the Fire with a slew of good, happy and _ home _feelings, but it made sense. 

If he strained and looked out into the distance, through the Black Fire in the low, flickering lights. He could actually _ see _ places beyond the Flames. Not that he recognised any of them, just enough to know it wasn't New York. Nothing jumped out to him as familiar in the slightest. 

'Found one. This is the fun part, just remember to breathe Fy Sidan, okay?' 

His attention was pulled back to Tony as he spoke, and he blinked a little in confusion as he nodded, he only had a fraction of a second to take in what he was seeing before his senses were flooded with Blue Fire and the feeling of sliding very fast, but Tony had looked _ different. _ His short hair was very long, curling down to his back, partially braided in what looked like a very complicated manner, some braids had even glinted with silver in the low Firelight.

His golden eyes were pure gold now, shifting and moving like molten gold. Maybe it was just the lighting, but in the seconds before his senses were blown apart and overtaken with Blue Fire, it was Tony's eyes that had held his attention. Tony's eyes had always seemed interesting to him, not human, full of colour, life and things that James just simply couldn't interpret, couldn't put words to. Now that feeling was multiplied a hundred fold. There was no white around the edges at all and James swore the pupil was more catlike than human. Slitted vertically and slightly widened from the low light. His skin still looked as if it was brushed with gold, just with more of a glow behind it, the woad designs seemed more vibrant somehow. 

That was all he got to register until they were going _ fast. _He couldn't help the laugh that came from him, he liked fast and this was quicker than the fastest of Tony's cars. He heard Tony's chuckle as he enjoyed himself, feeling lighter than ever. 

Another step and they suddenly were back in the Black Fire world, his head spinning as Tony tugged him along and he followed. James tried not to stare, because if James guess was correct, this was Tony's true form. Tony with no glamours up and he knew that for some reason, Tony was sensitive about it. He avoided most conversations about his glamours and Rhodes had told him it had been a challenge to get him to even keep his arms uncovered. That he kept falling back into the pattern of covering up without seemingly realising what he was doing. 

James was actually surprised that Tony had kept the glamours obscuring the rest of his woad down. It was very clear to James that Tony was very proud of his woad, but it sounded like he hid them for other people's comfort. James thought that it was a good thing he had not put them back up after, he seemed quietly happy about it. Smiling in a way James didn't often see. Plus, James really liked Tony's woad, it did interesting things to his face. 

He wasn't sure. Maybe James was just looking at it from a human perspective? Glamours were pretty normal to his kind, as normal as wearing different jackets are to humans. So maybe he was thinking about it as too much of a human when he thought it was good that Tony was using glamours less. That he was being _himself_ more? 

There were definite differences in Tony now, but at the same time, somehow, he didn't actually look that different. The beard remained, he was the same height and his facial structure was very similar, maybe a little more defined, delicate and near perfect. The light didn't actually help matters, casting shadows, but James could recognise Tony. He wondered if that was intentional. When he went human, his human form was intentionally close to his actual form? 

The big difference was the eyes. He would never mistake Tony's eyes for human on a normal day, but now they were miles apart. They were very much '_other',_ the thick blue woad that went temple to temple, a good 2 inches thick made the gold stand out even more. Everytime his eyes were drawn back, the gold has shifted and looked a little different, again it was so hard to put it into words. James never thought he'd be one of those people to wax lyrical about someone else's body part, but he also knew he'd never forget how the gold shifted and shined in the Black Fire. 

As they took a few more steps, the Fireworld folded away around him, his feet depositing him onto vibrant green grass. He found himself hoping to actually see Tony's eyes in better lighting some day. 

The smell of the forest hit him right away, much different to the one around the compound. It had been about midday when they'd left, now the sun was nearing the horizon, throwing off golden streams through the thick trees and hanging vegetation, giving everything that fuzzy, golden look. The trees were big, old and the forest had a heavy feel to it. 

"Wooo! No dropping in the ocean!" 

Tony was obviously happy with his feat and James wondered if that actually had been a possibility. He noticed immediately that Tony looked more like he was used to again, eyes human, well, the colour still wasn't, but everything else was. His hair was shorter again, skin closer to olive tinged gold than shining gold. James was very happy to see that he had left the glamour covering all the woad designs down however. He decided to keep his observations in the Fireworld to himself. If Tony wanted to show himself with no glamours, he could wait. James was quite a patient person. 

Which generally made Tony's impatience all the more hilarious given the disparity in their ages. James would have thought a man of Tony's age would be quite patient, and although he claimed to be, he was definitely not being patient when it came to the Rogues. He and Rhodes had taken to reminding him often that 2 months is not that long and the fact is they were keeping their heads down, abiding by the rules, only bitching at Fury was a good thing. 

"That was much different than usual, awesome though, really awesome. Usually it's all over in a single step, but now I see why you call it Firewalking!" 

"Well it's a longer trip, so I took a shortcut through one of the veins of Blue Fire, just had to find one going in the right direction and slipped us into the current and let it pull us here." 

Tony shrugged, as if that was a completely normal, not awesome and mind blowing thing. He hadn't known you could travel in the Blue Fire. 

"So others can travel in the Fire too?" 

"Some people can, but unless you know the current, the directional flow, whether that vein is healthy, damaged or even hemorrhaging, it can be dangerous. I can read the Fire better than most, just touching a vein I can feel and see everything and it's connections because of my link to it. We have a little ways to walk, I try to avoid Firewalking too close to larger convergence like this. You don't want to get sucked in and scatter."

"What is a convergence?" 

"It's where multiple lines of Fire cross, we have a 3 point one at the compound. I haven't visited this one in a long time, but I think it's time I did. It's a very, very rare, seven point convergence. There are veins all over the planet, it is a living organism and the Fire flows in certain directions. Over the years, especially with how the Firelands have been treated, the Fire has suffered in places. Convergence however usually remains powerful because they're fed from many sources, the more lines meeting in one place, the stronger it is. 7 in one place is very rare." 

His eyes instantly flicked to the seven pointed star on his forehead and figured that must be related somehow. If not it was quite the coincidence. Tony had that look on his face again, like he was remembering something from long ago, he'd learnt to pinpoint that look by now, but then when your age was described in literal Millenia's, that was an occupational hazard. It was the first time he'd seen him rubbing the spot on his chest where the blue glow was at the same time though, and he wondered if this had something to do with the anniversary he'd been warned about?

"Make sure you don't stray from the path, no matter what you see, this is an old forest." 

Which of course had him looking around instantly. His eyes kept flicking around him as he tried to force them back to the path. Tony rolled his eyes and dropped back to walk beside him instead of in front. Looping his arm around his elbow as if to physically hold him to the path. 

"Where are we?" 

"This is Cwm Byddog in Wales. When I was younger I used to sneak across the mists to see the Fire every chance I got. This place was one of my favourites because the Fire was so busy here, even if I couldn't reach it very well back then. I was born on this side you see, so I was drawn to the Fire, even then. That and then later… this." 

Tony tapped his chest a few times, the place he'd seen flashes of where the blue light comes from. He had wondered if the blue light in his chest was Blue Fire.. 

"So, I formed a close connection with the Fire, and humans as a result. As a species with relatively little access to magic, all humans are keyed into the Blue Fire, the life blood of Earth. It's why we call this world 'The Firelands'. Some of my people didn't like it, most pantheons don't actually."

He had a feeling that there was a lot more to that story, but he didn't want to push what was obviously a painful subject. 

"Sounds like jealousy to me."

"You're not far off. Ever wonder why earth has so many pantheons? There are worlds out there with trillions of beings and they barely have a fraction of what earth has attracted. Beings that would normally never come across each other, became neighbours in some lands. The Fire draws them in from many different worlds and realms, this world doesn't just sit, it glows like a bright, burning beacon through space and the black of the void. Shines so brightly that dimensions seek out its warmth."

"Wow, I never really considered that before. Earth has so many cultures, different pantheons sort of made sense. Thor turning up definitely posed questions, now your pantheon. Are all the Gods aliens?"

"Depends what you mean by aliens. Some are from different planets in space. Asgard isn't actually a planet anymore. A great catastrophe rocked their world long ago, and now that's all that remains, so it's flat. With an edge. Some come from other dimensions, some Pantheons are potentially humans raised up. I have travelled a lot, but I don't know all of the myriad of beings attracted to this world. I don't know if I count as an alien? I was born on the land we are currently walking in but I'm obviously not of it. My mother and father are of Underhill."

"Huh, that seems extremely complicated and I guess calling everyone aliens is humanist."

Tony grinned at that.

"Well, humanities worship is backed by the Fire which adds to their power. It's addictive in a way. It's why many Gods like to make a point of mortals being pathetic you see, some hate that mortals, that live such short lives are closer to the Blue Fire than they could ever dream off. My people are not immune to that jealousy just because we can feel the Fire. For some it may be worse in a way. They can feel but never touch."

"But your people could control it? The Fire?"

"Not so much, we are closer to this realm than most pantheons, our current realm was attracted by the Blue Fire, and attached itself to it. I'm a special case." 

Current? James put a pin in that because that sounded interesting on its own. 

"Underhill presses close here and there, places like the mists. A few of us got closer to the Fire, but it meant we were, of course, closer to humanity. The closer you are to the Fire, the closer you are to humanity. The more static our personalities became, humans defined us and we changed. Some found this horrifying, some of my people don't even have a physical form, the idea of possibly being forced into a single aspect? Horrifying."

"Not you though?" 

"Nope, I have spent more of my life on this side of the mists, I like humans. My magic was one of the first to become seeded in humanity just like the Fire is, that's where The Reapers come from. It's why I've spent so many years in the cycles, trying to help humanity. Some of my people find it admirable, others… not so much. I can't retreat to Underhill permanently like they can though, I need to be near the Fire. I'm of both worlds but also from neither, straddling the divide. Too _human_ for my people, too _ other _for humans."

"I don't think you're too human or too Fae, I think you've got a nice balance. The best of both worlds." 

They continued in silence for a little bit but that had made Tony smile. James hadn't realised Tony had felt that way about himself. He was always so sure of himself and confident. 

He chewed on what he'd said about other races, not surprised, but saddened really that politics and discrimination seemed to be a thing that spanned Realms, dimensions, worlds and species. No matter how long lived or evolved they claimed to be. 

Eventually, they came a strange clearing, strange in that it was _ perfectly _ circular, ringed by trees with thick trunks that looked incredibly old. He didn't know enough about trees to recognise them, but it looked like some kind of oak. 

It was a Grove, like the one back at the compound, but it had a completely different feel to it. _ Older. _ It definitely didn't look like the kind of formation that would grow naturally. In the centre of the open space, set into the earth was a stone that was familiar to him. From a glance he was sure that it was the same as the one he had on his wrist, the one that opened Tony's mirror workshop. Bluestone. It was a long slab, a good six feet long at a guess and at least 3 feet across, about a third down there was a gap that looked scorched, almost melted through Tony sat on the top side, ignoring the scorched gap as James sat opposite him. 

"So, why this place in particular?" 

"Like I said, it is a seven point convergence, they're very rare. The Fire here pool's from many places, it's also where I bonded with the Fire." 

Before he can work out how to ask any questions about that, because even though Tony tends to talk about the Fire with reverence and that he's happy to carry it, his face doesn't give him the impression that that was a _ good _ experience. The fact James could hazard a guess meant that it must be absolutely awful. That he can even read it on Tony's face this easily told him something. He was getting better at reading Tony, but it was not usually so clear. 

Tony swiped his hand back and forth to the side of them, fingers trailing through the grass. After a few passes in the grass, a trail of Blue lights up where his hand passed. The Blue under his shirt increased in strength too, enough that it was suddenly clearly visible through his t-shirt. Tony glanced up to him to check he was watching, before smiling, trailing his fingers onto the stone, the stripe of Flames following his hand before he slammed his hand down onto the stone. Blue Fire suddenly shot out around them along seven different paths. Brightly lighting up the forest and the circle they were sat in, it was stunning. He tried to watch it all, turning to see the lines crash into the barrier of the Grove. 

"Whoa!"

Tony grinned before repeating the motion, his fingers running through the grass again. The Fire came much faster this time, as if eager to jump into his hand now it had been woken up. It was tailing up his fingers and wrapping around his wrist, flickering happily? He got the feeling it was like an old friend? Not sure where that idea came from. Sometimes his sight did that, just gave him information that he had no idea what to do with. 

"Good, I was hoping you would be able to see it on your own. Your Fire is very strong so I thought you would, it takes some Reapers years to develop the ability. With how your sight is developing however, I'm not surprised. Even with your Fire still bound, it's quite amazing. Here, give me your hand." 

Tony laid James hand flat on the stone and sort of… poured the Blue Fire into his hand. Which was completely strange and he was sure that his mind should be telling him 'do not touch the Fire', if anything he was excited. 

It felt completely different to the Black Fire, either his own or Tony's. This was all electric and tingly, invigorating. After a few seconds of it pooling in his palm, it seemed to rock back and forth a few times before it slowly, tentatively moved towards his fingers. He watched, slightly amazed as the Fire seemingly gained confidence in the fact he wasn't shaking it away from him. Slowly it began skating up his wrist, small flames remained wrapped around his fingers. 

As if it was investigating him, when he remained still the Fire increased suddenly. Wrapping around his hand with more confidence and then, all of a sudden it was like his senses seemed to extend out. Almost exploding out as he could feel _ everything _ connected to the Fire in the Grove. Everything, from every blade grass, the Bluestone they were sat on, the veins travelling out to the border of the circle. It didn't stop there as more and more complicated things flooded his mind, from the animals, to the ancient trees and finally, to the Fire wrapped around Tony's heart, deep in his chest, that was somehow keeping him alive. He knew that with the same surety that there was a sleeping owl in one of the trees and a myriad of different creatures.

"That feels amazing. There is so much.." 

"Impressive, the Fire must like you to show you that. This world is special to be able to hold the Fire of the fabulous beasts. They first breathed it into the world long ago and this world thrives because of it. I've not found another like it. It feeds the world in a way, so everything that comes from the earth and returns to it carries a portion of the Blue Fire. The circle is closed so it's keeping your awareness locked in, but if it opened, and only if the Fire allowed, you could feel everything that carries it." 

The Fire then shot out along the seven pathways, lighting up the circle again as if it was showing him the boundary. Small flames remained on his hand, some shifting between his fingers and others wrapped comfortably around his wrist. The connected feeling lingered but slowly toned down to be less overwhelming as Tony turned to lie down. James pulled him into his lap just as Tony had with him on more than once, usually after he half collapsed after a training session. Tony didn't put up a fight, he looked completely exhausted as he finally settled down.

He wondered if this was what Tony felt all the time? That connection. But not contained by the circle. Even in this small space it felt like a lot. He was just a shade under being overwhelmed by the knowledge alone. Or if he could control it, reach for it when required. It made a few things make sense, how sometimes Tony just seemed to know things, or had this look on his face that was hard to decipher. Feeling that connection, it helped him understand. 

"So, is your magic Black Fire because you are linked to the Blue Fire?" 

"Mmhm, my magic manifested very early, and it was more like Lokester's originally. These pitch, velvet black ribbons and wisps instead of Lokes green. It was envied by many. After I merged with the Fire, it became this. I actually prefer it like this, but then I only had it the other way for a handful of years." 

Tony summoned the Fire to his hands which instantly pulled on the Fire inside him. He didn't know if it was the location or maybe the lingering Blue Fire of his hands, but his Fire answered faster and larger than usual. Tony skimmed his fingers through it. Not for the first time either, any time Tony called forth his Fire for whatever reason, he always ran his fingers through it a few times. It always made Tony smile for some reason. James liked his Fire, even if it was still bound, he was hoping to work up to agreeing to Tony releasing it one day. He felt he had a way to go before he _ deserved _ the title, but it was something he was looking forward to. To one day join Rhodes as a Reaper, he already called him his brother. 

"So, why haven't you come back here in so long? It feels like the Fire missed you. Which is one of the strangest things I've felt so far, but it seems happy that you're here." 

Because talking about Fire that missed people was something that happened in his life now. The Fire curled around his wrist definitely did give him the impression it was happy. As if to confirm what he said, the lingering Blue Fire at his wrist expanded and flickered more insistently. As if it was agreeing with him, or thanking him. 

Everytime he found out more, he waited for his mind to go 'no, too far!' Instead… it was like another piece of a puzzle he was putting together. 

"Bad memories." 

James ran his fingers through Tony's hair, hoping to help in some way. That he was lying down, resting and with his eyes actually shut seemed an improvement. So he stayed quiet and waited. 

"It wasn't my choice, to bond with the Fire when I was younger you know. It's… hard to kill my kind, but it's not _ impossible, _ and I was on the edge. My magic and life essence was bleeding out. My people, we have enemies you see. Whilst Underhill was not our original home, it is now and everything in Underhill is in balance even if it might not be obvious at first. A place of _ Magic, Will _ and _ Intent _ needs a place to balance it out. An absence of these things. A place that seeps magic from the world, a place of bindings where conscious choice and decisions simply cannot be. A fixed void where nothing can change, no matter how much you intend it. A howling void of cold, dark _ absence _. 

"The black void is where they spill from, they are born in the cold, dark land and hate creatures born of free will, hate warmth, they simply _ hate _ and desire only to spread, cause suffering and death in their wake. They're called many things, but many know them as the Fomóire. I didn't know that Molaich, who was a general in the Great Army of _ Him, _ that he had started to watch the mists, watching for when I'd cross over you see. Usually alone, young and vulnerable. It was my own fault. Recognisable patterns are dangerous, but I just wanted to see the Firelands, I wanted to speak to the Fire, to talk to the Fragile Creatures, humans." 

James could already see the bad angle this was going. That Tony has suffered at the hands of this creepy General bloke and somehow blamed himself for it. 

"You were a kid, feeling drawn to something. It's not your fault if some bad guys used that against you. That's on them for being bad guys, and these guys sound like seriously awful, very obvious bad guys." 

"That's not what many of my people thought, they didn't have me long anyway. Enough people wouldn't stop looking for me that it started to cause them problems. So eventually I was left here, with Molaich's blade through my chest, skewering me to the earth. He couldn't sense the Fire, it was an utter fluke really, or fate maybe. It attracted a fabulous beast as my magic was draining into the convergence. She wanted to know what the disturbance was at such an important convergence. I'm happy to have the Fire with me… it's just… "

He has a feeling there was a lot more to the story, that he doubted their enemy would have been kind to a child and for how long he was in their care… he'd worked out that Tony's version of 'not long' differed wildly from his a while ago. He figured that that wasn't the only painful part of the story too. But James wasn't about to push too hard. Not when he had an inkling this was the most he'd ever really spoken on the subject before. This was a story that he was willing to wait on, for Tony to tell when he was ready. 

"Just because a good thing came from something awful, it doesn't eliminate the pain or awful things that happened Tony. You're still allowed to be hurt and sad over the awful thing. Even if you love the Blue Fire, even if without it you would have died. Being upset or hurt doesn't mean you love it or care for it any less."

Tony seemed to think on that for a little while, as if the thought had never even occurred to him before. As if he had to completely ignore his own feelings of pain. Which sounded like Tony, he suspected he had been bottling this event down for a very, very long time. James was pretty happy to wait for the rest of this story should Tony want to tell him. Give him time to allow himself to feel it instead of just trying to ignore it. 

Despite the fact they were in Wales in Winter, it was oddly warm in this circle. Like it was out of time somehow and the late afternoon sun gave everything a golden hue. 

"Thank you James, I think I needed to hear that. Know that for this, you are always welcome in this circle. This is why I found myself drawn to humanity, you see things in different ways, the way you speak, the intention, clarity and meaning." 

He felt the usual zing down his spine when Tony used his name, but this time it came with a little extra this time. Spreading out to his fingertips like a warm, tingling feeling that caused the Blue Fire as his wrist to actually ripple. So that was why Tony got him to not thank him for everything. It was like he could feel it, like he was holding the intention of thanks in his hand as if it were an object. Not for the first time, he had to marvel at magic and the bizarre rules it followed. 

He noticed that Tony seemed to be loosening up, his eyes were already closed and he could practically see the exhaustion around him. That was an improvement however, he'd lost the almost manic edge to his energy. 

"Do you think you could sleep now?" 

"Maybe? I don't know. I might just close my eyes for a bit? We're completely safe in this circle, no one can enter it unless they're with me anymore. Except for you." 

"Then I think I'll join you." 

He shuffled himself down to be lying next to him and resumed his duties as a pillow, using his jacket as his own pillow. Tony did something, dipping his hand in the Blue Fire, summoning his own Black Fire with his other hand, mixing them together and then casting it over them like a blanket or a net.

It wasn't a solid blanket, but it made him warm and comfortable. It was humming with the electric Blue and soft, warm, soft furs of Tony's Black Fire that soaked into his skin slowly. Leaving him pleasantly fuzzy and a shimmer of Blue and Black around them. The Blue Fire was still coiled around his wrist and he definitely got a feeling that it was happy somehow. 

James kept himself awake, but breathing slowly and evenly until Tony's breathing seemed to slow down and even out. Until he finally tipped over into sleep, his limbs finally relaxing. That he was finally sleeping, after so many days of stress and pain? James was happy that he had managed to do this one thing before he slipped to sleep himself, feeling better than he thought possible after how his day had started. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony using Italian terms of endearment for people in fics is officially one of my favourite things. It's soft and adorable and so sweet, I love it. I, in no way kind of create this fic just so I could put Welsh terms of endearments that I love in instead xD. It wasn't a huge motivation, but it was definitely one of my favourite things.
> 
> Fy Sidan is pronounced Vi See-dan
> 
> Also, I love Tony's reactor, I like him having the blue light which is where this came from. Because I love our Tony, but I do so have a habit of being mean to the poor dear.
> 
> Oh and as usual when I use locations, they're real. The Grove however is not, but as its hidden from everyone but Tony, I can imagine it's still there in those woods. It's a nature reserve in a wooded valley with very ancient trees, including oak pollards, and the remains of a motte and bailey castle.
> 
> [Welsh Pronunciation Guide ](https://www.go4awalk.com/fell-facts/welsh-language-pronunciation.php)


	43. Realisations

**Nat POV**

She was happy to be back in America, but she had an awfully hard task on her hands. She had only just managed to convince everyone to do the bare minimum to get the tracking bracelets under the Accords recommendations. Hoping that with the idea of freedom, everyone would be easier to manage and yet everyone seemed… stuck. Like they were in a holding pattern that she can't explain. It made sense when they were in Wakanda, but now… if still felt like they were  _ waiting _ for something. Every step forward was taking so much more effort and she could not quite put her finger on  _ why.  _

Steve had decided that practically everything wrong was Tony's fault, even when actual evidence was to the contrary. 

She had evidence of which Councillor's wanted the Rogue Avengers, and didn't Steve just hate that name, in a separate building. The minutes of the meeting actually included Tony arguing about having to build another building for them. The building was set to only house Avengers on Probation or doing community service. It was a strict rule set by Councillor Featherstone, the British member of the Select Committee. 

Yet, Steve believed it was simply a plot to separate him from Yasha for  _ nefarious _ means. That they were arguing,  _ only _ because of Tony. Despite the very real reason that Yasha had to be mad. Because Wanda was now  _ good,  _ as far as Steve could see, there was no reason for Yasha to have a problem with her. Unless Tony twisted him into it, of course. 

Steve still didn't believe that Tony's changes were the result of what happened in Siberia. Even though Natasha had gotten hold of an original video, that didn't cut off when Steve and Yasha left. She had sat through 22 hours of watching Tony, trapped and alone as he froze to death. When he started coughing up blood and could hardly turn his mouth to not drown in it even her steadfast composure cracked. 

At 22:47, Tony suddenly looked nervous, as if he could hear something but was unable to move to see or run. That was where things got strange, there was a fault in the tape. A smudge of some kind that he was looking at as it moved towards him, it looked like Tony was talking to someone. The video then completely scrambled, a few minutes later, Tony was standing in the place of the armour, which had utterly vanished and there was a blur on the tape next to him. It really seemed like he was talking to someone, but the blur made it impossible to tell who and there was no sound. The video wasn't exactly the best quality, but he was clearly younger, healthier, dressed in a strange manner with peculiar patterns on his arms. He walked out of the bunker. 

Steve was convinced it was a fake. 

Nat was starting to see that if it didn't fit his narrative, it was wrong. Take Yasha for instance, given what the man had been through, two stints as a POW, one he became a super soldier, the other he was taken, half frozen to death, missing an arm. Where he spent decades resisting programming but was eventually turned into the fist of Hydra. Tortured, wiped, forced to do all manner of things he would never have conceived. She didn't know how many memories he had recovered, yet she both wanted him to remember the Red Room, to remember her. At the same time. She knew what some of those memories could do to a  _ good _ man like James. 

She found that she was not selfish enough to wish such pain on the man so that he might remember his star pupil. 

Yasha was doing great, he looked healthy, she saw him smiling quite often, he had a wealth of friends. People he spoke to, did activities with. He was active and had hobbies. Considering what that man had gone through, these things were frankly amazing. He spent less and less time with Steve the more he pushed, but given the way he discovered Steve was hiding Wanda's Hydra connection, that was not surprising. Since that argument, Steve had not seen him once. Steve refused to believe he was at fault, it  _ must  _ be Tony's fault. 

Steve knew for sure that they had spent some time together, on one single afternoon and it had been enough to send him down conspiracy avenue. Which was why she tried to avoid Steve seeing just how much time Yasha and Tony actually spent with each other. They were close friends from what she'd seen. Yasha was the one who got Tony to leave his workshop more often than not, and Yasha had gone straight to Tony after the argument with Steve. 

She knew Wanda was fueling all of this, but didn't know  _ how _ to combat it. Wanda was talking about getting the 'Real Bucky' back and then he'd feel bad for ignoring Steve. This potential 'Real Bucky' returning seemed to be a get out of the jail free card for all the quite bad things Steve was doing. She was sure they were bad, she spoke about it often with her queen. 

She ran better interference now, making sure  _ none _ of the rogues knew when Yasha was with Tony. She didn't know how close the pair were, she would not spy. She was helping Yasha and helping Tony. Spying would only help herself. It was hard, but at the end of each day, she felt better than she had in a long time. 

Tony and Yasha both deserved friends. That they found this in each other was something she felt should be protected. She hadn't spoken to Tony yet, she hadn't quite gotten the nerve up, so she had decided to help from afar. She completed her assessment with Carol and she had actually not held back, it was quite… liberating, to be  _ seen _ as strong as she was. Carol would not be keeping her back from combat, she could tell. She had even struck up a friendship with the blonde. 

It wasn't the same as what she had once had with Clint, that she felt the absence of like a hole in her chest, still bleeding. 

It wasn't the same as what she had once had with Tony, that was like a constant ache and feeling of being left in the cold. 

But it was something that left her feeling less alone. She told Carol everything about her interferences and made sure the blonde knew that it was not an exchange of information. Even though she had a constant itch in her mind to find out exactly what these changes meant for Tony. 

She had a few conclusions. 

His similarity to her queen could not be ignored. They both shared unnatural coloured eyes, their iris were also slightly larger than a humans. Giving the appearance of added colour. Tony's molten gold could not be mistaken for human, it shifted and shimmered like her queen's moved with her moods. She hadn't seen it up close, or face to face, but she had seen enough to make this observation. She imagines if she did see it face to face, the eye colour would stand out more for her than it would for most people thanks to her training. 

As well as the unnatural eye colour, their skin was similar to. Tony's olive complexion had been traded for a brushed gold. Not as striking as her queen, Tony's could still possibly be mistaken for human. 

Occasionally he drew attention, seemingly not noticing the effect he was having on the humans around him. Humans just naturally gravitated towards him, like they  _ had _ to look. There was also that feeling she got in the back of her mind, very different to what she felt around the most dangerous of humans, it was more like an ancient memory of predators. It was much closer to when she had once been faced by a puma concolor than anything she had felt from a human. Her queen elicited the same feeling. 

The forest that bracketed the compound was no ordinary forest. She had not entered, of course. They had been warned away from that immediately and informed anything that happened in there was at their own risk. The only reason it was taken seriously was because of her and Wanda. They both knew that what happened on Halloween had been real, they also had grown up in lands that knew of dark forests, of what lay inside of them. Nat was waiting for those who had taunted them to turn up again. Her queen had never left her, but she wondered about the two that had terrified Steve. Time moved differently Underhill, but there was a mounting anxiety the longer they were left alone. 

It all added up to something she was  _ not quite _ willing to believe. That Tony was one of the Sidhe. 

Her current running theory was that he was a favoured human. There were all kinds of stories like that, a human attracting the attention of the Sidhe. They always went for the brightest humans. Intelligence, skill, beauty, passion. Humans that were set apart attracted them like catnip and most of the kind of people who ended up in their line of work fit the bill. They were taken, changed, gifted… not always voluntarily. Time moves differently between worlds, Tony could have been gone for hundreds of years in that scrambled minute. 

Even if she was going to tell Steve about her observations, which she was not. The man would never believe her. When Thor had literally fallen in their laps one of the first things he'd said was 'There is only 1 God'. The further complication that was just the idea of the Sidhe, the wide range that it could include. She had no idea what was real and what was fable. It would be a lot for him to handle. The only reason he really got around Thor was because he had marked him in the Alien box. 

She knew of the Otherlands, Summerlands, of Underhill and Beyond the Mists. They were not of earth, but it wasn't a different planet, her queen had described it as an ever changing world with different rules in different places. A place moulded by thought and intent. It had attached itself to Earth long ago, drawn by the fire humans held in their hearts than ran through the veins of this world. She hadn't quite understood, but to her it sounded more like a dimension of a sort that had attached itself to earth. Her head just hurt considering trying to explain it to Steve. She'd kind of hoped his Irish heritage might have come with some of the old stories being passed down, yet he was all too quick to assign halloween to Wanda alone. 

She was sticking close to them still, so she'd know about any plans that could affect people living at the compound. She'd even convinced Sam and Scott to finally complete their assessments via Carol. She never quite got a valid reason out of them for why it had taken so long. Clint was currently too sick to go through his, his Migraines were acting up and Wanda was taking care of him. It burned that it wasn't her doing it. Steve had screwed up his assessment four times now and she wasn't sure how much more crap Carol would take before she showed the man just how powered she was. Despite being there for a good while now, Steve knew next to nothing about  _ anyone _ at the compound. 

Sam had tried to impart something about Tony but had given up. Tony using magic to build buildings? Clearly a lie. Tony healing Colonel Rhodes who was paralysed? Again, a lie. Designed to make Sam feel guilty from his injury when he was clearly fine. Sam gave up. Scott didn't even try. Wanda only really had interest in Dr Strange now, something about a magic net, Clint only had interest in Wanda and mostly Steve only had interest in Bucky with a side of blaming everything on Tony. She was worried that he and Wanda had been planning something, but she'd struggled to get any information out of the pair. 

Steve had his eggs in the basket of Bucky getting all his memories back, coming back and apologising for all the pain he'd put Steve through. Which included no longer spending any time with the new Avengers because he won't  _ need  _ to. They only needed their  _ family. _ Which was quickly becoming Steve, Wanda and Clint only. Sam and Scott were slowly making friends outside of the  _ family.  _ She was seen as being friendly with Carol who Steve clashed with often, for a man who loves the military, she couldn't help noticing he clashed with people from it often. Probably because he did a week of basic, jumped on a grenade and signed up for human experimentation and figured that made him the leader of every single situation. Rhodes and Danvers worked for years. Carol spent years in space fighting an evil alien race! 

She dropped onto the bench. Watching the sun set, lately she'd noticed that the compound looked really gorgeous at dawn or dusk, the light creating patterns that she could not quite explain but she came to watch daily. She used to love this, missions, information gathering, even protecting. More and more, she just wanted to go for dinner with Carol. She'd been introducing her to the others too, Eddie, Deadpool and Cable had invited her to their poker group. She had a lot to make up for however, and making sure Tony was not excessively affected by their presence was the least she could do. 

"Hey Nat." 

The only reason she didn't jump was years and years of training as she looked up, seeing Tony casually leaning on a tree, right in front of her. Too close, a step and she was in arms reach, and the only reason she knew he was there was because he  _ spoke.  _ Finally face to face, she wondered if she'll be able to pick up something, but for a few seconds he's blank, a void of human mannerisms, then suddenly he's the Tony she knew before Germany. Leaving her blinking. His golden eyes shifting and changing in the golden light of the last few hours before dark. 

Part of her brain railed that she wasn't ready to have this conversation but another part was confused. Why wouldn't she be? Things weren't exactly changing, just hovering outside of his sphere seemed pointless yet she felt stuck in a way. 

"Hi Tony, I've been meaning to see you.." 

"I know, I was waiting until you were ready, but I just saw you and…" 

"And? "

"If you feel weird, like a strange impulse, that's out of place? Like a feeling burning up inside you that you need to get out. Tell me. I'll be able to help"

It was a clear order, if the instruction doesn't make much sense to her. It's easy to agree as it's Tony, if there was one person she could trust that he wanted to help, it was Tony. 

"Okay. I will."

"Good, come and see me when you're ready." 

Tony stepped forward, studying her, raising his hand until it was a bare centimetre from touching her face, looking thoughtful and that was when she noticed something in his eyes. Something no camera had picked up on, something she wondered if anyone else had seen. How they  _ couldn't  _ see it.  _ Age. _ Time stretching and stretching, back and back until she was absolutely dizzy with it and still on it went. Then he vanished in a burst of warm black fire that flickered across her skin and sent her nerves singing. 

What was that? 

  
  


**Tony POV **

He wasn't sure exactly when it happened or if it was a gradual process over time, but he was sitting in his lab testing out a few different reactions with materials he'd just got in after his chat with Nat. Which had been interesting in itself, seeing her aura had changed and he was interested in what it could be. He really hoped that she got past whatever block was holding her back soon. Maybe he could work out why they were all acting strange. Even if people kept telling him it was good that the Rogues were keeping their heads down… Tony did not like it. Not one bit, even with no proof Wanda had been using her magic, he had a base level anxiety that wouldn't go away. Which was why he was trying to distract himself with this project which had opened up an entirely new can of worms. 

The exact thing isn't what was important, it was when he managed to do the thing he'd been considering, his impulse was to go to James whilst still excited and shocked by it before anyone else. 

When he realised that, he couldn't unsee it. 

Everytime he did a 'thing', his first instinct, before he even registered what he was doing was - go to James. 

Heck, they still texted each other good morning when they lived on the same floor! Thanks Rhodey for pointing that out! A few mornings they even had breakfast in his apartment, sometimes as a group or just the two of them. Drest had adopted him as one of her favourite humans. Cara, who liked his Reapers well enough, fought beside them, assisted them, but Tony had never seen the spectral hound crawl into someone else's lap! At least with James, the beast looked slightly less ridiculous than when he did it with him. 

Cara was  _ big, _ even for the hounds of the hunt where he originally came from. He'd been badly injured on a hunt he had been on. Tony had decided to heal him, and he had been slipping. But he'd been loyal to him during several hunts and Tony is not good at letting go, he'd tapped into the Blue Fire. He looked different to the other hounds now, so Cara adopted him, and they became three. He was linked to the fire like he was. Now, he made a great dane look dinky. He came up to James waist but still thought he was a pup. Cara liked his mother, would sit with her, but it was different with James. 

He always knew James was at the door because he'd bounce around the apartment like a pup. Much to Drest's abject horror of course. Then, there was his magic. It had a tendency to reach out to the man now, on its own volition. 

He had no idea what to do about all of this. They were still visiting restaurants often all over America, he wasn't sure if James just liked the excuse to go Firewalking. There was a corner in both of his Workshop's that was James's. He was even a main player in their paintball team. 

Tony isn't even sure when all this happened. But now he's seen it, he can't unsee it. It also isn't helped by Rhodey, Loki and Stephanie giving him pointed looks. Apparently this had been obvious to them for a long time, but no one had told him that! 

He's pretty sure he's too old for this. People his age don't get crushes. Or if they do, he bets they had an idea about what to do about it because Tony hasn't a sodding clue. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is so one of my favourites, so I apologise if this is a little filler ish, I think the interesting stuff that happens next will make up for it!
> 
> Then there is quite a bit of action in the future in a few chapters. I wrote this one scene in one go as mixed POV and I've since added and changed it. I couldn't work out a way of doing it as single POVs, I don't know if I've just read them to much, but I hope they're liked as it happens onlve several chapters. I might try to upload them daily depending on proofing.


	44. Dead People Are Cryptic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also. I included a link that has pictures and even information about the stones used in today's chapter!

**James POV **

"Is Tony in his Workshops Fry?" 

"Sure is, he's stressing himself out so he could probably do with some company if you're still trying to avoid Steve." 

"I'm not avoiding him, he hasn't apologised yet. If he thinks that he can wait me out, he's going to be waiting a long time." 

He slipped on a jacket, even though the cold didn't really affect him too badly, he still didn't exactly like it and it was mid November, the nights were starting to get colder. He managed to cross the compound with minimal distraction, which was good because it was gray and drizzly out. He stuck his head into the workshop but knew the chances were that he was in the other workshop. 

There was still a considerable amount of time on the Titan Counter, but Tony seemed to be taking every single day as a personal failure at the moment, even though he was ahead of schedule of the planetary defence satellites and the Blue Fire was stronger every day. The looming threat of climate change was becoming a thing of the past although there were still holdouts of people who didn't like this fancy green energy push Tony was practically single handedly forcing around the globe, although there were a few others involved now and he had an idea they were as human as Tony.

There were even less assassination attempts after he was out with Eddie and himself and one came after him. The Rogues were partially at fault, them being well behaved apparently had Tony on edge, Tony had explained it was his instincts telling him something bad was going to happen so he had to do _ something. _

He opened up the second workshop and wasn't surprised to find Tony at his desk, practically buried in books. He was supposed to be on a magic break, after he spent 5 solid days creating new battle wards and he then passed out for 8 hours. Although Tony's idea of a magic break didn't actually seem to include resting, or not doing magic. 

"Afternoon Snowflake." 

"Aren't you meant to be resting?" 

"I am resting, look, I'm sat down and everything. Although I might need to make a trip, I need information." 

"Information? This isn't to do with the Rogues is it? I'm pretty sure it's a good thing that they're keeping their heads down, abiding by the rules, you know?" 

"Mmm, I've been considering visiting the  
Gruagaich. About the titan, and I'm not being paranoid about the Rogues." 

"Ahuh, so, who are they? I thought even Thor couldn't find out anything more concrete about the Titans schedule." 

"The Gruagaich? They cross over from the Grimlands." 

"Grimlands, that's a realm of the dead, isn't it? How could they help?" 

"In the spirit world, all vistas are open. Time, space, dimensions, it's all at the same in a way. It also makes them super cryptic and usually grumpy about being woken up." 

James isn't entirely sure when talking to dead people about the impending alien invasion became something he nodded at as if it made sense. 

"Do you want some company?"

"Only if you want, they can be a bit creepy."

"They're dead people Tony. I didn't expect them to be sunshine and daisies." 

"True, you got any of that fancy mead left? The red one Loki brought." 

"Yeah, why?" 

"It's always good to bring an offering. We can head out in an hour, dress for Scotland in winter." 

"I'm going to put like 5 coats on then.." 

"Oh, wait, I finished the leather coat I was working on for you. Like Rhodey's." 

"I'm pretty sure that that included magic." 

"Magic break is for creating new battle wards, everything I put into this I'd already created." 

Tony hopped up from his main desk and moved deeper into the workshop before returning with the coat. James held up the jacket, it had a serious weight to it, but then he was tall and this was a full length leather jacket. The material was softer than he had expected, it wouldn't need breaking in which was good. 

At first it looked pretty normal until he ran his fingers over the surface. The wards were worked into the leather with a tattoo gun, and, from what Rhodey told him, could stand up to blasts that _ Carol _ could put out. Leather not being alive meant they needed topping up occasionally, more often Tony grumbled if they kept testing them on Carol. The inside had intricate stitched wards too although he had no idea what half of them did. 

He could recognise some, but Tony had a habit of blending his wards in confusing ways, he'd heard Stephen complaining about it vociferously. Whilst he was copying them so he could learn them at the same time. 

"That sounds like your way of getting around the rules, I'll go and get changed, at least pretend to rest before we go?" 

"Sure, sure. Want to hitchhike to our floor?" 

He grabbed Tony's hand and a step later he was outside of his door as Tony jogged off to his room. It didn't take James long to dress for what he assumed Scotland would be like in winter. Cold. 

Firewalking longer distances was officially one of James, all time favourite things. 

It was strange seeing places whisk by in the Fireworld, lit by the low light cast from the Black Flames, occasional Blue Flames flickering in between. If they were going further and there was a vein of Blue Fire? Then they'd be pulled along in the stream, going _ fast _whilst everything fell electric and set his skin humming with it. It was a mashup of visual and sensory information that was just awesome. 

There was also the fact that Tony looked different in this place, he still didn't know if Tony actually _knew_ this or not because it wasn't often they travelled so far away that the Fireworld was more than a flash, barely a second or two. Although after the trip to Wales, further destinations had been popping up more. He also hadn't worked out how to bring it up or ask if that's what Tony looked like beneath his glamour. 

His features were sharper, but not actually that much different from what he normally looked like. At least James could see familiar aspects. The biggest changes were his eyes that were cat-like and much, much longer hair, this time he actually got a better look than usual, walking for longer before Tony pulled them to the side. Then they were in the Blue Stream. After a few seconds, Tony pulled him quickly to the left and they slipped into a different pathway. Tony repeated that two more times before the Black Fire took over again. By the time he set foot into Scotland, he was a little dizzy but exhilarated like he'd just been on a roller-coaster. 

"That was different. Good different though, like a roller-coaster." 

"Hmm, this area has had standing stones for a very long time, it can make approaching them a little tricky through the Blue Fire." 

"Stones?" 

"[Clach na Gruagaich - The Maiden's Stone and Clach na Fala - the Blood Stone.](http://gangrildays.blogspot.com/2016/05/offto-western-isles-for-our-annual-trip.html?m=1) We are after the Maiden's stone today, hence the liquid offerings. Milk was the common offering back in the day, but whisky was quite common in the depression. I figure if we cover alcohol and milk, maybe, just maybe we won't leave with a headache. "

It was still quite a hike to get to where Tony was leading them, he seemed to know exactly where he was going without even pausing. Tony hadn't so much dressed for the weather, he had thrown a jacket on but James had a feeling that maybe it was habit. He looked not dissimilar to what he'd been wearing back when it had been a little warmer back at the compound. The cold, brutal wind seemed to not bother him in the slightest. 

The new coat started to warm up steadily on the inside as the temperature dropped, which was awesome. The terrain was surprisingly flat, after Wales he had expected more hills but definitely was not complaining. The grass was short and ready for winter, and the terrain meant he could see quite well, it had a different quality to Wales but was also beautiful. Like the forest in Wales, it had a strange.. untouched feel. Like the modern world had been unable to encroach everywhere. Pockets of untouched land. 

The wind whipped over the flat terrain quite brutally, from how Tony walked through it, he had a feeling he was more used to this than the weather back home. Even with the coat, James was starting to wish he'd brought a hat too. The hills actually gave them breaks from the wind, even if they were exhausting to keep climbing up and down, the flat nature of this area left them with little cover. 

The sun wasn't quite set, but the sky was definitely darkening when Tony slowed. He wasn't sure exactly what he was expecting. Ancient stones used for generations to give Offerings didn't give him much of an idea considering he now knew that Britain was practically littered with them. Stonehenge came to mind but that was miles south and he knew that Britain was home to _many_ other henges that were less well known. Tony didn't explain the purpose of the other stone, but with a name like 'The Blood Stone', well he suspected it didn't have a fluffy past. The stones they stopped at where lying in the grass. If Tony hadn't stopped, he likely would not have known that they had any significance over other stones they had passed. 

"They're recumbent now." 

Tony answered the question before he had a chance to voice it. He wondered how well known these stones were to the modern day people. 

"That one is where Offerings are set." 

There were four stones, two smaller, then two larger. The one he indicated for Offerings had a small hollowed out section. 

"People leaving Offerings thought they were for the daoine-sith in this land, for those of the Otherworld. But this was much closer to home. 'The first among the old tribes, The people who took up the mantle. Those who placed these stones.' Put these in the gap and now we get to sit and freeze our arses off."

Tony also handed him a few sprigs of a plant with small yellow petals on it to add to the drinks. 

"So who is it for? I recognise this from somewhere?" 

He indicated to the flowers as he added them to the little collection. Although for the life of him, he had no idea where from. For some reason though, he recognised it. 

"Direct translation is the long haired ones. The Celts. The First Reapers were amongst those who laid the stones. That is Woad, all my Reapers carry my magic and Woad so with an offering of both, we'll see who we get."

He'd thought Tony had been joking about the freezing their arses off. 

He wasn't. 

They placed what they'd brought and then sat on the freezing cold floor and watched as the sun dipped lower and lower in the sky. Even with his coat warming up, the cold felt like it was seeping from the ground into his bones. The open nature of the land offered zero protection from the wind. 

The sun dipped lower, scattering gorgeous colours of reds and purples that split the sky and slowly faded to a darkest blue. The sky steadily lit up with stars in a way he wasn't accustomed to anymore, as they sat close to conserve what warmth they could. When the last of the sun vanished, by some cue in Tony's mind he summoned his fire to both of his hands before pressing his hands to the earth. 

James could see tiny flickers of Blue Fire over the stones. Any time he tried to focus on it, he couldn't see it, but if he let his eyes unfocus he could see them out of the corner of his eye. 

He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but it was at least a little taxing on Tony he thought, his eyes remained closed as if deep in concentration, breathing hard. With Tony's eyes shut, his Hypervigilance seemed to automatically step up a notch as he constantly kept a look out around them. 

At first, he thought it was flickers of moonlight, but then the very air of the area seemed to change in some way that he could not quite put his finger on. Nothing visually changed from one instance to the next, but it was _ different. _ The lighting was the same, the stones the same, nothing James could point to and say, that, that changed. There was nothing like that, but something had _ changed. _

The moon shadows that he had been watching flickering over the rolling terrain, suddenly seemed to become more… insistent. Shadows started suddenly moving faster, sharper. The hairs of the back of his neck picked up and he found himself almost holding his breath. Waiting. 

The blurred edges of the shadows seemed to be _ hardening _ in front of him when he realised Tony was actually speaking quietly. 

"From the powers

Of Earth, Sea and Sky

Of Man, Beast and Sidhe 

And Shades of the night

Hear the call of our ancestors

Of blood and bone

Of womb and tomb

And standing stone." 

The shadows were pulling together faster now and he was the first to admit this was extremely creepy. 

He felt a shiver down his spine as steadily human-like shapes formed from the flickering black shadows. Again it was a difference of one second to the next but it didn't stand out. Not a moment he could pinpoint the actual change too.

The shadows steadily darkened, suddenly splitting into more and more flickering shadows, and out of practically nowhere, there were suddenly a lot of them spreading out in front of them. James eyes jumping from one point to another, as to keep them all in his field of vision. 

As James was glancing around, he steadily realised they were already drastically outnumbered by the people taking form. The more they split apart, the more details seemed to form from the flickering black. He started noticing more and more individuals now. 

Clothing slowly formed out of shadows, he noticed long dark hair, some curlier than others, pale skin visible in flashes under stripes of blue or black. Some furs and hides for warmth at a guess, James wasn't about to devote too much attention to the dead peoples fashion choices. Not when tension was thrumming across his skin the closer and more solid they got. 

Their approach was eerily silent, but not uniform, as some moved faster than others. Some were walking whilst some moved at a faster lope. All of their attention however was completely and utterly focused on him and Tony. It wasn't like a group where a few people would be looking off in different directions, focus split. The focus was so sharp he could feel it skittering across his nerves. 

Wind still buffeted himself and Tony, he could feel and see his own hair and clothes caught up in it the powerful wind as it snapped around them, but the figures were still as if it didn't touch them. It added an entirely new level of creepy somehow, that they crossed the land, untouched by nature. James wasn't sure why that point, over all of the other very creepy things to have happened already was the one that edged him closer to Tony. 

They came to a stop at the exact same time Tony suddenly sat up, both Tony and the collected group of Gruagaich acting upon a signal that he was obviously not able to discern. 

Tony pulled his hands from the ground as if they'd actually become stuck, with a grimace of pain that he quickly wiped from his face. Tony stood slowly, offering a hand for him for which he was grateful for as his legs felt like frozen stone. He stayed slightly behind Tony, watching carefully. 

'Why have you summoned us from the Grim Lands, Guardian, Lord of Reapers.' 

He glanced around for the speaker, there was a man closer to them even though James hadn't seen him move. They had all been one group a second ago, now this one was standing closer, out in front. James hadn't seen or heard him move. That was more than a little disconcerting. His skin covered in black stripes as if camouflaged somehow. Not like Woad, there were large stripes of smooth black. 

The thing James was actively trying to ignore, but could not, was that his, and all of the others eyes were black and completely shadowed in a fashion that made James really not want to see what lay behind those shadows. His mouth hadn't moved, and it didn't feel like the sound reached his ears, but was rather spoken directly onto his mind. It was strange and hard to explain. 

The night felt alive brimming with anxiety and danger, in a way that James was not really familiar with. Whatever, and whoever these Gruagaich once were, now they were not passive creature's, that's for sure. It was as if the wrong word being spoken, or a movement at of order… and they'd be on them. 

There was a base level hostility. A constant hum or beat of silent music that was a constant pressure across James senses. Had the hairs of the back of his neck and his arms standing. Had adrenaline pounding through his veins. Everything felt just on that shade of ready for… something.

"I seek insight for the coming battle against the Titan, for the sake of the balance." 

Nothing happened for a solid minute, and it was potentially the longest damned minute of James life. He had to force himself to breathe and not hold his breath. That was when he realised one of the things that was setting off alarm bells in his mind. He and Tony were standing still, but they breathed, the moved, just hundreds of tiny actions that everyone does that you barely register. None of the Gruagaich moved. Not a single one, no one shuffled their weight to a different foot, no one moved their head, no one _ breathed. _ It was like a void to his senses, there was no one there, but there _ was. _

'Birth, Life and Death; Past, Present, and Future; Earth, Sea, and Sky.' 

Now he understood why Tony was complaining about cryptic messages. 

At least that didn't tell _ him _ anything, Tony's clenched jaw made him think he heard something in that. He would look to Tony in question, but that would require him to take his eyes off the Gruagaich and that was not happening anytime soon. 

Another figure separated from the group, coming close enough to put his foot up on the stone they had left the Offerings in, leaning on his leg casually. For a dead person, he had much more… life to him. The wind still didn't affect him, but there was just something that again, James couldn't point to. He just knew. 

This man was as covered in Woad as Tony was, with long, curly, dark hair, and loose looking trousers. He guessed being dead protected you from the freezing temperatures as the man was shirtless. He noticed that he was carrying a black, strange looking short blade in a loose, left handed grip. 

He was also smiling which was somehow creepier than the expressionless ones. Especially when his shadowed eyes turned and locked onto him. He spoke too, unlike the words feeling like they appeared in his mind. His voice again has a little more too it, but it was still missing something. 

"This one has the feel of a Bone Inspector, your fire always did choose the interesting ones, Black Scythe." 

What was a Bone Inspector and why did he feel like one? Oh he would definitely be questioning Tony about this later. 

"You would know Morcant, do you have anything to add?" 

"All of our time and legends lore, 

Through the mists that invade our shore. 

Ripped clean from the nightmare, 

Out from Balor's rotting, blood soaked lair. 

Tearing right through realities seams, 

Hunt, but flee before the banshee screams." 

Tony paled further as he went on and if that didn't concern him he didn't know what could, and he had a feeling that it had absolutely nothing to do with the Titan. 

"Fuck." 

"Good luck, Black Scythe." 

He blinked and they were suddenly alone. The oppressive air was gone in a flash and if felt like he could actually breathe even though he hadn't noticed it pressing in on him until it lifted. He felt nearly dizzy with it. That's when he noticed what they'd left on the stones had vanished too. 

"Right, just hang there for a quick second. Guard him."

Tony jogged off and he was confused about the last part until a wet nose nudged his hand. He blinked down at Cara, wondering where he had just come from. He also had no idea how Tony moved so fast after that, his legs felt like lead as he leaned on Cara. Not long later Tony reappeared and Cara bound over to greet him. It was full dark now too, which had been a surprise. He wondered just how long they had been sat or stood there, it felt like barely 5 minutes the shades were speaking but his body and the sky said otherwise. He felt locked up as he slowly stretched his muscles out whilst he had waited on Tony. 

"Come on Snowflake, let's get home where it's warm." 

They hiked away from the stones for a while, Cara walked with them, enjoying the walk much more than himself as it was quite cold, especially now it was deep into the night. He assumed it had been taxing on Tony too as he was moving slower than he had on the way to the stones. Occasionally leaning on his arm and with a hand on Cara when the hound wasn't looping around them in excited circles. 

When he got to a certain place, again, he had no idea but Tony seemed to know as it looked exactly the same as where they'd been 10 minutes ago. He took Tony's hand and didn't miss the wince, probably from over using his magic again, as fire curled around them, warming him to his bones as Tony took a different route home.

Certain veins only traveled in certain directions, so the trip back was different but still took them through several streams of Blue Fire. Cara didn't follow them, but he figured he had his own way of travelling seeing as he had not arrived with them. When they stepped into Tony's apartment, it felt almost burning hot in comparison to the chill and blistering winds of Scotland. He had been about to say something about it as Tony wavered on the spot. 

He was getting far too good at catching this idiot when he passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony's summon came because I was listening to a song on repeat that just sounded really good for summoning dead people. Tweaked slightly.
> 
> The song is awesome. 
> 
> The Cauldron Born by Damh the Bard
> 
> I apologise for attempting poetry and making you read it, but dead people can't be straightforward. It's the rule. XD
> 
> Received some absolutely beautiful art, will probably add this too next week too as I'm adding this after many have already read, plus it's so freaking gorgeous. I'm utterly head over with it xD
> 
> From a Shayshomemadeluck on Tumblr


	45. Thrice Blessed, Bound and Blighted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thus knows as a chapter of explaining things! 
> 
> We have a mix here from actual history, a touch from a favoured book series which is where Bone Inspectors came from, and then my brain. I'm me and can't leave well enough alone, so I turned a 1 line job title into this!

**James POV**

Cara slipped from beneath the table as he lay Tony on the sofa, James just stared for a few seconds, because it's one thing to _ know _ the hound could travel. It's another to leave him Scotland and have him slink from beneath the coffee table as if he'd been curled beneath it. Cara gently jumped up and lay himself over Tony's legs, which always looked kind of ridiculous to him given how huge he was and well, how tiny Tony was in comparison. Cara was a _ big _ hound, he easily covered James legs when he lay on him.

"Fry, can you order some pizza from the canteen or something? He passed out again." 

"Done, and the first aid kit is under the sink." 

First aid kit? 

Cara nudged Tony's arm at him that he could now see was wrapped in a makeshift bandage, and apparently still bleeding. Which was odd as he'd seen the man heal from cuts instantly. Frowning, he retrieved the first aid kit and cleaned the large, deep looking wound at his wrist up and used steri-strips to hold it closed. He didn't know if he required actual stitches and really didn't feel like stitching his arm up. He hoped this would hold at least until he woke up. 

Which hopefully would not take too long. James was surprised at how long they had been gone after he checked the clock. They'd left at about 1pm, it was now 11pm. Which had definitely been a bit of a shock, it certainly hadn't _felt_ like that long, he didn't even feel like he'd missed lunch. He settled himself on the sofa not far away from Tony and Cara as Drest made herself comfortable on his shoulders. Whilst giving him a look that she was not the best pleased with him. Claws prickling through his t-shirt. Because it was _ his _ fault Tony passed out, apparently. 

"Don't go around blaming me. I just catch the idiot." 

He couldn't even be much use on what had been said, might as well have been speaking a different language.

But with rhyming.

Because creepy ghost people giving you information wasn't bad enough, nope, gotta make it confusing with poetry, in the dark. Tony at least seemed to have an idea on what was said, he had paled considerably at what the second guy, Morcant, had said. Which wasn't comforting. He'd never seen Tony pale when discussing the guy trying to wipe out half of the universe, that threatened The Balance of the multiverse. More irritation than fear. 

It was about an hour later they had returned, 5 minutes after food was sent up when Tony actually woke up, blinking around slightly confused at the sight of food. He glanced at his bandaged arm, as if confused that James had bandaged his arm. 

"I passed out again didn't I?" 

"Yup." 

"I was 70% sure that wouldn't happen." 

"Well, the 30% won and now your cat is pissed at me, so I'd eat that if I were you." 

Which he ate like a person who hadn't seen food in a week. James guessed that it had taken more out of him energy wise than he had realised. At least he was eating though. 

"So, are dead people usually so cryptic? Is it a rule?" 

"Actually, they weren't too bad this time around, relatively straight forward. The information isn't something I can work on about the Titan yet. Pin in it. The second part, now that's actually worrying." 

He hates to think what them being _ worse _ would have been like, if _ that _ had been considered _ 'not bad'. _ James definitely wouldn't have called them '_straight forward'._ Relatively or otherwise. 

"More worrying than the dude that wants to wipe out 50% of all life?" 

"Ahuh. He had more of a 100% scope. Dominance, slavery, full evil bad guy list. To shred reality with the Void, render life into nightmares." 

"OK. Didn't see that coming. I thought I recognised the name.." 

"Hmm, you read Dédenach Maige Tuired? That was the battle that spurred the Exodus. But the Fomóire are trapped, _ he's _ dead. I scattered part of his ashes myself. This shouldn't be happening. Can't be! Why can't there be one ridiculous thing to do at a time? Drest, inform mother, see what she can do. But the chances of them fighting another battle for an earth that's moved on? Not likely."

"So, basically your people's ancient enemies are planning on conquering Earth and then spreading out again, but your people aren't going to be interested in fighting a war when they're safe behind the mists?" 

"Basically. Most likely his generals, at least two I know of. They were still alive, unfortunately, when we triggered the Void-hex. I wanted to hunt them down but we were running out of time. We would have felt the Void-Hex being broken though. My human form would have expired immediately to free me. The 7 of us that cast it would feel it break and there has been nothing."

"OK. Yeah. That's definitely not good, I remember reading about the battle, but not the Void-hex bit."

"That came at the end, most accountings don't include it. I made sure of it. If it isn't written there is less chance it can be undone. After _ He _was rendered to Ash, in the chaos we had to put the Fomóire away. Even without their leader, they're dangerous and would sweep across the Firelands and slaughter or enslave everything in their path. Without a leader it would be brutal chaos. Me and Mother stole one of their Wish-hexes a few battles prior in preparation. Nasty things. Me and Math altered it. Between the 7 of us, we effectively tore a hole in reality directly into the Pit of the Void, then used the Void-hex to pull them all in. I sealed the tear with the Fire. Trapping them in the centre of the Void and sealing it off. 

They can't even reach the edge of Underhill like they used to because of how we worked the Void-hex and how I used the Fire. Even so, Mab still guards the precipice as she always has, watching where they once crossed over from. She would tell me if there was so much as a damned leaf falling and there has been nothing."

"Well that doesn't sound at all terrifying, so you'd know if they escaped?" 

"Definitely, the 7 of us are partially bound to it, we'd feel if they opened the door. It would fucking hurt, but we'd know."

"Well that's kind of good then, that they're still locked up? What was the first thing?" 

"Unless someone has slipped through without us knowing. The other is just a reminder of something I already knew." 

He waved it off and James was now starting to wonder, because Tony had basically just avoided answering that question twice, which he didn't often do. He didn't really want to ask a third time as that would force him to answer and that was a pretty dickish thing to do to a friend. But he also wondered _why._ Tony was very upfront and willing to dive into pretty much anything he showed an interest in. He'd even told him about how he'd bound to the Fire. So this was definitely odd behaviour. 

The sentence hadn't made much sense to him, but then as much as he read into this, he was still pretty new to it all. He was sure he had heard it before somewhere, but the meaning and how it tied into their current situation? That was lost to him. 

"How is your arm anyway? I thought you healed instantly?" 

"Usually, but an offering isn't exactly a big deal if you just heal immediately. It'll take a few hours." 

"At least try and get some actual rest, Rhodey threatened to sit on you if you pass out again." 

"You didn't tell Platypus on me did you?" 

"No, but you know Fry will tell him if she thinks it is in your benefit." 

"Baby girl, did you tell Rhodey bear about when I got back did you." 

"Not yet Boss, but he is waiting to hear what the dead people said." 

Tony snorted at the and sat back in his chair, he was still a little on the pale side, but a damned sight better that what he had been when they'd first gotten back. He wondered if it was physically possible to get him to watch out for himself. 

"What is a Bone Inspector by the way?" 

"Ah, not got there yet in your reading?" 

"I don't recognise the words but there is something.."

Tony shifted on the sofa, folding his legs beneath him and James recognised this stance quite well. It was how Tony spoke about very important things about very old things and how he told stories. Which meant James was instantly attentive, he had grown quite attached to the Stories that Fae told, even though he had only met a few of them but the few he had met were pretty old, and had gathered all kinds of stories.

Cer preferred to be deep in the forest, with many people sitting around him. Tony's mother preferred to give you enough to take the journey yourself to tell the story. Tony seemed to like to tell his stories like this, or as part of his training. Testing his ability to take in the story whilst in the middle of a sword fight, sometimes James really did wonder how this was his life some days, but he wouldn't change it. It was his and he loved it. 

Stories were an incredibly important and serious thing to the Fae. The entire story was important too, he'd found that with some stories, it wasn't until the end when the most important thing could evade you and then suddenly it tied everything together. Sometimes it was weak later when he was ruminating over what he'd been told when he'd eventually realise the pointpoint Tony had been making. 

"Hmmm. Bone Inspectors were crafted, trained and bound by the Dryw, the Druids. They are many things. They are one thing. They are constant. 

"They are The _ Sentinels. _

"They are The _ Wardens. _

"They are The _ Defenders. _

"Usually, but not always, from a very young age they are _ Targeted,_ _Taken _ and _ Trained _ and are tasked with keeping the _ Knowledge _ of the land, with collating the _ Secrets _ of the land and with taking _ Care _ of the land. 

"The writing of stories, like I do, is more of a Fae trait. However you might notice that they're guarded in this workshop that is out of magic, space and time. As for this workshop… 

"It can only be _ found _ by those who hold _ knowledge _ of it. 

"It can only be _ seen _ with an ongoing gift of my _ magic_. 

"It can only be _ entered _ with a shard of _ Bluestone _"

As a person who had been given permission to take the books _ out _ from this room, he was suddenly happy that he had been extra paranoid and started locking them in the safe under his bed. Friday had told him the room was secure, but he felt better keeping them safe, out of sight, telling no one he had them and in general, he wanted them unable to be taken. 

"The Dryw preferred Oral means of Gathering, Storing and Celebrating the Stories. You know how precious, paramount and powerful stories are. The Dryw served three core functions when it came to the _ Stories, _ to the _ History _ and to the _ Land. _

"_Gweled _ to _ See. _

"_Gwawd _ to _ Sing. _

"_Gweinydd _ to _ Serve. _

"There was more when it came to other things of course, they served the function of many jobs that still exist today, but the focus today is on the Stories, History and the Land because _ that _ is why they formed the Order of Bone Inspectors.

"And one thing Bone Inspectors did, by the Guidance, Will and Gift of the Dryw, was to _ Travel, Listen _ and _ Remember." _

"They collected people's stories?" 

Tony nodded and James had a feeling it was more as he didn't look finished. Not that James was complaining in the slightest, this was possibly one of his favourite parts of his new life. He wondered what it was like in ancient times, wandering the land, speaking to people, collecting their stories and passing them on so they wouldn't be lost. 

_ " _ You _ Hunt _ stories like a Bone Inspector. You _ Crave _ Knowledge like a Bone Inspector and I believe you will _ Guard _ what you learn like a Bone Inspector too. With your _ Life,_ With your _ Power _ and with your _ Death._

"The Bone inspectors were very important when it came to the stories, especially for that last part. To guard the words. That was also why the tradition was oral. 

"You cannot _ steal _ a story _ gathered _ within the _ Mind. _

"You cannot _ alter _ a story _ kept _ in the _ Heart. _

"You cannot _ taint _ a story _ bound _ by your _ Soul. _

"As well as the Stories, Albion has many, many Old Places. These are very important. Standing stones, hanging stones, henges, groves, wells, hills, carvings and places like The Cerne Abbas Giant. The holy trees of Oak, Ash and Thorn. Guardians and doorways and many, many others. Some large and known about, others are small and hidden. Even now, with the modern sprawl, the old places are _ kept, watched _ and _ guarded. _ Even by those who do not believe. Some not as well as they should but they do what they are able. Sadly many of the oldest Yew trees were claimed by the Church as a means of converting the populace. Place the church on a site people already visited. Now those churches are falling into disrepair. There is a Yew tree that is almost 3000 years old in one of these churches. 

"These places, of many different kinds and significance, like where we visited today actually, they require _ Protection, Maintenance _ and _ Care. _

"Some Bone Inspectors would devote themselves to a singular place that called to them, others would travel to every island, every corner of the lands. Never standing still. Some cared purely for the _ Blue Fire _ instead of the _ Stories _ or the _ Land._ Morcant used to joke that I needed a Bone Inspector more than any of the Henges and sites of old."

Tony huffed in indignation which just made it more amusing. He was smiling though, and likely remembering the man he has glimpsed today. Bone Inspectors seemed something huge to James somehow, already. To remember so many stories, to guard so many secrets and care for many sites. That was something big. 

"I think he just liked to steal my food. He claimed when he was on _ duty _ he had to be fed you see. To _ protect _ me from getting into trouble. He got himself into just as much mischief as I ever did. For all of his _ guarding, _ I'm sure at least half of it was his fault. Morcant is one of the first Reapers, his diary is a Bone Inspector Tome, very, very rare. It's also much, much larger, so separate from what you've read so far. I can get it for you if you like?"

"Oh, I definitely want to read that." 

Tony grinned and James knew that grin. It was the one when Tony thought he had bitten off more than James could chew, and was highly amused at the fact. He closed his eyes and instead of summoning the book on a burst of Black Fire, this was a mixture of Blue, Black and White. 

Suddenly there was a huge book in Tony's hands. It was a good 2 feet across and 4 foot long. It was very thick too. James wasn't sure he'd ever seen a book that large before. The exterior was a deep blue leather and heavily decorated with knot work that mixed Blue, White and Black around the edges. There were a number of symbols that he could recognise, the Awen was in the centre was one he did. There was a lot he did not recognise however. It was a work of art. The translation Ward also allowed him to read the text stating it was 'Morcants Tome of Reapers and Bone'. Also he could read beneath it, 'Book The First.' Tony's smile suddenly made a lot more sense but he was extremely excited to get his hands on it as Tony handed it over to him. The weight of it was shocking and a quick peak made it clear the text was small too. Each page was a work of art, not just the cover. James had a feeling he was going to enjoy this. 

"Back to the Bone Inspectors, now, each is different, like each Reaper is different but they all have a drive to _ Learn,_ to _ Protect,_ to _ Guard._ Like Reapers have the Compulsion. Bone Inspectors are all thrice bound to the _ Land, _ the _ People _ and the _ Fire. _

"Now when it comes to you… 

"You might not have been _ Found. _

"You might not have been _ Taught. _

"You might not have been given the _ Duty. _

"What you do have however, is the most important part of being a Bone Inspector." 

"What's that?" 

"The _ Spirit,_ The _ Drive _ and The _ Will_." 

When James had read that the number three was important to the Celts, he hadn't quite realised just how much until Tony had explained what a Bone Inspector was. 

  
  


**Rhodey POV **

"I heard you went and spoke to dead people with James? Interesting date choice, but OK. Anything new?"

"It wasn't a date. It was a very important information gathering venture. Does a whole different, horrific threat count?" 

Tony recounted what he had been told, both separate messages and he had a bad feeling about that first one. 

> "Birth, Life and Death; Past, Present, and Future; Earth, Sea, and Sky." 

Rhodes scratched his head as he thought about what Tony had told him, and what information just seemed to be there since the Fire had been unlocked inside him. Threes. Threes were very important to the Celts. 

"For the Titan, there needs to be three of us, doesn't there?" 

"Pretty sure, but then I have been pretty sure about _ that _ since I woke up and _ miraculously _ found myself faced with two potential Reapers. Two incredibly powerful Reapers. And my base is on top of a three point convergence. That kind of shit doesn't just _ happen _." 

"And because its you, I'm guessing you haven't explained the significance of threes to James." 

"I haven't _ not _ explained it, he's learning everything he can get his hands on, but I don't think he's made the connection between the importance or their being 3 Reapers for this fight. He certainly hasn't connected it to _ himself _. He discounts himself and his importance far, far too easily. 

"Morcant is right though, I don't know how I didn't _ see _ it before today. He's got the feel of a Bone Inspector, even though he is in the wrong land and wasn't trained for it and hasn't been given the duty, he still _ feels _like one. However, I'm not going to dump The Mantle on him, rob him of his journey, of his choice or force his hand just because the fates are complicated gits!"

Tony was pretty close to ranting on the subject, but then it was important to him. Mantles of Power are immensely powerful things, but they don't just grant authority or offer power. There were _ changes _ that happened when you took it on, how it influenced their thoughts and even personality to a degree. Tony had taught him to build a barrier in his mind, when he dropped that barrier, to call Rhodey human would be untrue. His human nature was more of a... hold over, that he could pull out now, when required. Rhodes dropped that barrier and nature, then in effect, became more like Tony than any human. He noticed that humans reacted to him as if he was a predator when that happened. Tony would never have a person walk into that decision _blind_ or without it being _entirely_ their choice. 

He stood to pace, something that had become a comfort to him after Tony had healed him. He could certainly see where Tony was coming from, taking on the Mantle also wasn't the kind of thing you could just pick up for a fight and then put back down. When the Fire burned, it could not be rebound. There was a certain compulsion to ensure The Balance was maintained that became intrinsic to your very being. Tony had told him he feels it constantly, so it made sense that it was passed down to them. 

James deserved to know that dead people were basically creating a prophecy about him, but at the same time… any kind of free will would be instantly compromised the second he knew. Would he just accept it because three were needed? Or because it was something he wanted? Rock meet Hard Place. 

"There is a chance he could work this out himself you know. If he's going through your reading material at half the rate you say he is, it's not going to take him long to see the patterns. To maybe connect these patterns to himself." 

"I know. The amount of Fire he carries to, it's going to make taking in the information quicker. He still discounts himself far too easily, something I am not usually fond of, but I think when he moves past that, he will take up the Mantle. It's just a race for which comes first. _ Especially _ after he asked me to explain what a Bone Inspector was, how it relates to him, there is no way to explain them that is not literally littered with threes and I don't deny requests of Reapers craving stories. 

"We all have a little prophecy in us from Mother. Not to her degree or strength which is good, because prophecy is usually complicated and headache inducing. There is a _ reason _ she is blind. For us, it is usually feelings, sudden ideas or drives. I can manipulate threads when it comes to healing, to see the best course of healing that leads to the longest thread, but I can't see what happens in those threads. 

"Like when I went to heal James, as I placed his arm it slammed into me to coat it with the Black of the Reaper. That maybe, one day, I will have someone to share the secret of the metal. Sharing that with a Bone Inspector makes completely perfect sense now. To the point it's painfully obviously smacking me in the face for not seeing it sooner. Back then, I had no idea. Just a feeling, a push. I won't _ truly _ know if he will be able to understand until the bind is off and his powers start to manifest. This however? The First Bone Reaper decreeing James is of his line? He didn't say it in so many words, the message was for me to understand right now, not for James yet. See how it's little things that snowball? So, when a Reaper asks for a story, they get it. I don't always know when that information will be relevant to them." 

"I understand, it makes sense. I can't wait until he decides to take the bind off. To see what powers he calls, and not just because I want to see if he nearly sets the apartment on fire like I did." 

"We are both waiting on that day." 

"So, which one am I?" 

"You are Birth, Present and Earth." 

"Didn't expect you to already have it that clear in your head." 

"You're the Anchor. The centre. Your Fire is steady. Me and James… We both have a lot of raw power that can burn us up if we aren't careful. A lot of other similarities that are written in blood and pain. Add your control to our potential polar Fires if I'm right, and the triangle is virtually unbreakable. Especially if I'm right about what one of his gifts will be." 

"Is this why you keep doing dumb shit and passing out, we're unbalanced aren't we." 

Tony sort of made a seesawing gesture with his hands whilst shrugging. 

"Maybe? It's not exactly new for me to drain myself down to empty. Morcant used to pull me back, I've always had a Reaper to make me pause. The Reaper is usually a Bone Reaper too. 

"But it is certainly happening far, far too often. It will only get worse with time. We can work together as a duo for most threats, it's fine. After a certain level? Even day to day? Yes, we're currently unbalanced and I'm working to make up the difference. I am powerful on my own, but I am as tied to the Balance as can be. If things are not balanced? It weakens me, it puts more strain on me and it kicks up my instincts. Leaving me on edge and more likely to burn down. It's why I'm uneasy about certain threats being so close."

Rhodes sat back, pinching the bridge of his nose because he really couldn't see a way around it. Tony would never forgive himself if he felt he pressured a person into becoming a Reaper. Hence why Tony was apparently burning himself out, repeatedly, when he guessed James releasing his bind alone would stop that. 

Tony would _ always _ put the choice to become a Reaper ahead of his own desires, wishes and even his damned health. That was something that was written over and over. 

It wasn't even as if James wasn't interested, he _ was , extremely _ so. 

There was _ something _ holding the man back, although he had no idea what it was. Tony had no idea what was holding James back either. It was a pretty personal journey into finding your way to that yes. For him, it had been easy, he was Tony's right hand man. It was more like a conclusion of something he'd been moving towards for years without realising it. Rhodes was pretty sure James was already falling into the role he'd take after, he already guarded Tony, even though James didn't seem to realise he was doing it. 

James, was still pretty new to their strange family, and whilst he fit in perfectly with the new Avengers. He took their crazy in a stride that even he found impressive. There wasn't anyone at the compound who he found off putting apart from Ms Witch Bitch, and that included people like _ Venom _ and _ Deadpool. _ Even the kids loved him. He won _ Harley _ over in record time.

Somehow, he had survived months of dealing with the rogues and still came out of it optimistically. After his last argument with Steve, he was still holding strong whereas Tony in that situation had buckled repeatedly until he _ died _. Watching him fight was a spectacle alone, Tony had called him his Battle Wraith, flowing across any field and completing any objective Carol gave him with a level of competency even she found staggering. 

There was also the fact he took Tony's new brand of crazy and simply adapted. No matter what Tony threw at him, the man just went to meet dead people and got Tony to _ eat! _

Rhodes had absolutely no idea what was holding the man back, what made his discount himself so easily. Rhodes had been trying to give him space, both he and Tony had, and now, they had no way of suddenly being more interested in it without James asking -why?- and potentially connecting it with what he heard from the Gruagaich. 

He's pretty sure the dead people had actually further complicated their lives rather than helping. 

"_ This _ is why you don't ask dead people things."

"Well, it was that or find out a way of visiting the Grimlands myself. Which. Trust me is a capital bad idea. Bad enough that even I won't consider it." 

"Why is it so bad?" 

"Well, I could die to get there if I skipped a few stops, but then I'd be beholden to the same cryptic bullshit the Gruagaich have to deal with to pass messages on. And I'd be, well, dead." 

"Yeah, let's not do that." 

"There are… _ ways _ into the Grimlands, but Rhodey, I say this as one of the fundamental truths of reality. The dead despise the living. To summon them and pay tribute is one thing, to break into their lands to steal from them? The payment would be too high. Even those who are our friends, that _ wish _ to help, they are never alone in the Grimlands and there will never be enough to protect you." 

The way Tony full on body shuddered he wondered just how he came about this information, but decided that might be a story he doesn't want. 

"Explain the other thing to me, maybe we can at least think on that."

> "All of our time and legends lore, 
> 
> Through the mists that invade our shore. 
> 
> Ripped clean from the nightmare, 
> 
> Out from Balor's rotting, blood soaked lair. 
> 
> Tearing right through realities seams, 
> 
> Hunt, but flee before the banshee Screams." 

"Apart from creepy as all hell, I'm missing a lot of information here, Who is Balor?" 

"He's dead. And as much as I don't want to have people thinking about Voldemort, avoid saying his name too much. To draw his attention, to have him just _ look _ upon you, was certain death once. Even for my kind. Not just death, obliteration, those who were rendered to Ash under his gaze do not even get to move on. It's only of the ways he was so detrimental to The Balance. Even now he's dead, it's avoided. Prophecy can act as a by pass but I would prefer to not keep reciting it.." 

That, out of anything, told Rhodes this was several orders of magnitude above what he had already classed it in his mind. Tony's was not the kind of person that was needlessly superstitious. 

"OK, so, Sauron is dead..." 

"Really?" 

"What, you said no voldemort. You can't deny me my Tolkien. So, Sauron and his death ray eye of doom is dead. I'm guessing, being an evil overlord dude. He had generals. Right? And, I'm betting they really hate each other." 

"Molaich and Calatin were the highest ranking, most active and still alive at the casting of the Void-hex. They're both Fomóire but very _ different _ from each other. Calatin could be mistaken for one of my people, rumoured to be half actually. Molaich however has twisted himself beyond recognition, his magic has pushed him so far beyond his original form, that the only way to contain his energy was within a magical, swirling murder of crows, taking the shape of a man."

The anger and distaste on Tony's face when he spoke about Molaich vs the bland indifference of Calatin made it pretty clear which one Tony saw as either the greater threat, or there is a history there he doesn't know. Generally that was a given, his best friends age went from 40 something to 4 digits overnight, he's accepted that there is a lot of Tony's life he doesn't know. 

"So, the chances of us fighting some normal bad guys seems to be getting slimmer everyday. At least it can't get more complicated. So we have two bad guys, who conveniently hate each other. Maybe they'll kill each other?" 

"If one kills the other, they'll simply absorb the split faction." 

"And become twice as strong. Gotcha."

"It took a war last time Rhodey, a long, bloody, violent war. That I was only a general in with The Reapers. Many Reapers, the youngest of which was 390 at the time. With centuries of pain and blood before it even came to that." 

"And I'm guessing from the look on your face, that the chances of an army popping out from behind the mists ain't gonna happen?"

"That's the thing Rhodey, even if they did? What makes you think they'll just go back after?" 

"Oh come on!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Received some absolutely beautiful art, I added this last week after the chapter had dropped so I'm adding it this week for those who might have missed how awesome it is. 
> 
> From a Shayshomemadeluck on Tumblr
> 
> [Welsh Pronunciation Guide ](https://www.go4awalk.com/fell-facts/welsh-language-pronunciation.php)


	46. Running

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone also did put a wonderful comment regarding pronunciation because I keep throwing works at you guys with utterly different pronunciation, so I figure I'll add their link to the beginning and maybe in chapters where its included. 
> 
> Primarily, The language you are seeing is Welsh. Tony definitely uses Welsh terms of endearments, my favourites being Cariad and Fy Sidan. Which I don't think I put translations up for. 
> 
> But there are others, the Gruagaich for instance is Scots Gaelic (and if you put it into Google translate, it says hairdresser, which makes my Ghost scene kinda hilarious, but it does mean long haired.) Welsh is a bit of a peculiar language, double letters are treated as a letter, and some pronunciation is peculiar to non natives.
> 
> Right, so I'm going to hide and check my emails in fear after dropping this...
> 
> Trigger Warning for Wanda being her horrid, horrid self and being downright awful. So potential trigger for assault/rape/gaslighting even though these things do not actually happen, it's Wanda, ya know? With her lack of moral compass and habit of ripping into people's brains.

**James POV **

"James, Steve has asked to meet with you. Again." 

James rolled over and stuck his face into his pillow. This was how he had woken up every day since their argument and it was starting to slowly drive him insane. Was that Steve's new tactic? Drive him freaking crazy so he'll have to punch the punk? He rolled over, because as much as he wanted to scream into his pillow, he wasn't going to do it. 

In general, the rogues had been suspiciously low key, it was driving Tony around the bend that they seemed to be doing completely nothing. The main magic the Ved'ma had used was telekinesis. James was hoping that the fact they were abiding by the rules was a good thing. He did understand why Tony was fixating however, having Wanda in his territory was not good for him. The tracker bracket monitored her movements, she had not once left the confines of the wall, the web was still in effect. Tony was concerned for his safety, but he figured that was his instincts giving him trouble. He felt safer than he ever had, but then between Tony and Rhodes alone he was covered. 

“Which pre-recorded response did you go for today Fry? "

"I went with 6, we haven't used that one for a while, he actually responded differently today."

That was new. 

"He did? What did he say?"

"That he wants to apologise."

"Holy shit. Are you fucking with me Fry, I thought the damned apocalypse would come first. One of them anyway. Is there a plural of apocalypse?"

"I'm not sure. He wants to know if you'll meet him for a run later."

"Uh, yeah that's fine. I've got dinner with Tony at 5, tell him 11 is fine."

"You will be careful though, won't you? It's just you're very important to Boss and myself.. "

"I'll be fine Fry, plus, you're with me now."

It should be pretty amusing when Steve worked out he had a watch that just so happened to have Fry in it. She was great, he had tried heading out of the compound on his own a few times, but found the anxiety crushing. Tony had told him about how JARVIS and then FRIDAY got him through enough anxiety to sink a ship. That had led to him getting one of Tony's techy smart watches. 

  
  
  


"Buc- uh. James, sorry it takes some getting used to. But I'm going to do better." 

"Thank you Steve. That means a lot to me, you're probably out of practice is all." 

"So I was thinking tonight you could come to the team dinner. I wanted to apologise for how things happened with Wanda." 

The fact Steve is calling them team dinners is amusing, the team is huge and occasionally has big dinners together. Wings and TicTac occasionally show even if they don't socialise much. It's a slow process, Nat even showed a few times. Steve, Clint and Wanda had rejected every invite. 

"It's not really a team dinner when you exclude most of the team." 

Steve frowns and he can almost see the angry biting reply form in his mind before he pushes it down, smiling instead. Which is a huge improvement, he's actually impressed and damned hopeful. 

"I guess you're right. Family dinner, then." 

Not so hopeful. He feels like sighing but Steve is trying, so he'll at least try. Wanda however was not a thing he would bend on, and he doubts he'd deny the little Ved'ma access to family dinner. 

"I don't know Steve, they might be your family but they ain't mine."

"Sure they are, you're my family, so they're your family." 

Steve was just utterly ignoring the Wanda shaped elephant in the room. It was starting to grate on his nerves. 

"Steve, I've tried to tell you a hundred times, I don't want to eat at the same table as Wanda, OK?Especially now I know she's Hydra" 

"But I don't understand  _ why _ , she's such a sweet kid, you should give her a chance. I'm sorry for not telling you, that's on me. Wanda probably would have told you but she was worried it would hurt your recovery. I don't know what Tony has done to poison your against -"

"You realise all of you were bad mouthing Tony, constantly, for  _ months _ , right? Yet you act like if Tony told me 1 bad thing about Wanda, that's the worst thing in the world." 

Well. This was going well. And he bets Wanda didn't want him knowing about their little shared connection. After telling Tony that Steve had kept this information from him he had raged. He was pretty sure the fact he was using Tony as a pillow was the only reason he hadn't gone after Steve right then, he had however told him everything. Everything he remembered and everything he had learned since regarding Wanda. Tony had since managed to locate some Hydra information sites, so soon James was looking forward to finding out just why the little Hydra bitch didn't want him knowing about her. 

"She's just a kid, and the team had reason, they needed to blow off steam. Tony has no reason to attack Wanda." 

"Except for the mind manipulation?" 

"I can't believe Tony has been lying to you about Wanda, I knew it." 

"Steve I've seen the videos." 

He grated out, because Wade had recently come through on that promise when he first arrived. He'd showed him all kinds of footage that had pissed him off. Her fucking with people's minds had made him sick. How she had even put Natalia on her back in her nightmares? Wanda never should have been put on the team. Second chances are all well and good, but what she did? That was too far in his mind. 

It's also interesting to see who Steve offers his second chances too, given the scathing comments towards Loki. Someone he had become quite good friends with, he and Tony made a point of occasionally dragging him away from his work. He deserved a second chance, he felt remorse for what he did under mind control. Wanda was in control of herself and James had asked around. She had never apologised as far as anyone knew. 

Is Clint could state that he did not want to be near Loki, then he figured he was within his rights to avoid the fuck out of Wanda. Jessica vehemently agreed with him on this. 

Venom the sweetheart even offered to eat Wanda for him. 

"Tony can doc… Let's, Let's just leave this OK. So you'll come to dinner?" 

"I won't eat with Wanda. Plus, I have plans tonight." 

He can't help but smile at that, since they'd now made a few trips to the UK without landing in the ocean even once. The look on Rhodes face when Tony said that was now saved and on his phone via FRIDAY. Tony had now thrown a few other options into their dinner pool. It was somewhere in Germany tonight and he was looking forward to it. Bucky barely got out of Brooklyn before the War, The Asset travelled everywhere, but he wasn't exactly one for sightseeing. So as James he wanted to experience what the world had to offer. Plus, there was the 'spending time with Tony' aspect. Also the Firewalking aspect. 

"What plans?" 

"I'm going to dinner." 

"So you could cancel that dinner and have it with us?" 

"No Steve, I'm not cancelling my plans, I'm looking forward to tonight. Even if I was willing to cancel, still not eating with Wanda." 

He has enough of Bucky's memories now that he can literally see Steve getting angry. He decides to wait him out, depending on how Steve handles the next few sentences would be if he goes running with Steve, or if he heads to Tony's workshop. 

He's willing to give him a chance, but he isn't going to let himself be railroaded. 

"Okay, just you and me then yeah? Instead of running in the compound we can head to this cafe, it's a good hour run and then we could get burgers and a taxi back here." 

He couldn't be more shocked, he was worried that Steve would push this until it broke. 

He was glad that he actually  _ listened _ to him. Yeah, he wasn't perfect. Buy boy if he wasn't actually  _ trying _ . 

"Okay, that sounds nice, I'm happy that you accept my conditions. My therapist will be thrilled we came to a conclusion that makes us both happy." 

"Don't know why you see one, they're just charlatans and you don't know if they're trying to brainwash you. Especially with what happened last time." 

He thunked his head into his hands. One step forward. Two steps back. How did Sam put up with this? 

"Okay. Topics you can't talk about on our run or I go home. Tony. Therapy or me being in the same room as Wanda." 

"Okay, okay, I just need to drop off my gym bag at the house if we're running out of the compound. Don't want to lug it along." 

"Sure, I'll wait at the gate. Fry you up for a little run outside?" 

"Always, maybe if food is at the end you'll beat your old time like you keep talking about." 

"Cheeky minx is what you are, does Tony put up with this sass or is it just me?" 

"Who do you think programmed me?" 

James laughed as Steve frowned at his watch. Amazingly, the blonde didn't say anything, just gave him a determined smile and jogged over to the Rogue House as it was now known as. James was actually feeling pretty good about this. That Steve was taking his wishes and abiding by them, even though he disagreed with them.

A few minutes later Steve met up with him at the gate and James actually enjoyed himself. He didn't often run outside of the compound, barring the forest with Tony and Rhodes, and never this far from it. He always liked trying new places for food too, he loved a good burger. They set off at a good pace. Today was shaping up to be a good day. 

"I've never been out this far, it's nice." 

"You should run more out of the compound, it's how I found this little place a week ago, ran till I nearly dropped and staggered towards food." 

"That does sound like you, I run in the forest mostly, I like it there." 

See, he could be diplomatic too. Usually, if he was running in the forest it was with Tony, who James was convinced didn't know how to run in a straight line without kicking off of trees, occasionally yelling Parkour. Dramatically flipping or jumping long distances that no human had a hope of managing. James figured it was good, Tony was starting to realise he didn't need to act human around him. It seemed he dropped a little more of the act everyday. 

He also ran in the forest with Rhodes, who was a little more dignified when they went out. He actually could run in a straight line, but James loved watching when he 'Let go' so to speak. Ran as fast as he could. James didn't have a hope of keeping up but it was thrilling. Plus all his training with Rhodes and Tony, he was already faster and could run further, he could feel himself improving and he couldn't wait to feel the difference when he became a Reaper. It was starting to be a thing he could see. The more he trained with the two of them, the more he felt like he had a place. Like he slotted into place safely and happily. 

When the three of them ran together, it was a mess of competition but very fun. Even Rhodes would eschew his more normal style of running. He had even run with Rhodes shifted into a Panther. 

He wisely did not mention any of this as the happy memories flitted across his mind. Likely better for Steve to think he ran alone in the forest. 

"Huh, I thought we weren't allowed in the forest?" 

"You have to get permission, I don't recommend just waltzing in. Forests can be dangerous places Steve." 

Steve bit back another comment and they finally came across the cafe as they slowed to a jog. James was impressed, he _really_ was trying, he just hoped that in time Steve could stop seeing Tony as the villain in their little life drama. 

There were enough real villains in the world. 

Steve was at least making an effort. He and Rhodes had talked about it a lot, about how Steve and Tony were during the years prior to Siberia. Rhodes didn't want to lose him because he bent himself into knots over Steve like Tony had. That Rhodes considered him such a good friend, his _brother,_ that he was worried, had left him feeling great. Not that he was worrying him, but that he had a person that cared like that. 

Rhodes was a very, very loyal person and an awesome friend to have. Plus, he made great pancakes. He didn't even share them with Tony when he was in the Rhode's-Doghouse for passing out again. 

They entered the cafe, and realised that maybe he should have actually brought a bag. Pretty sure the staff didn't really want to wait on two guys who had just ran for an hour. It took a lot for him to really sweat, but as hour of running with someone who could moderately keep pace with him had him sweating a bit. Steve was drenched, it was a visual reminder of how much he had improved under Tony's insane training practices. 

"That was great Bucky!" 

James bit his tongue as they were led to a table at the back, tucked away from everyone else. Steve must visit a lot to get such good seats. As soon as they were sitting, he realised that he had to say something. No backsliding. If he let Steve get away with one 'Bucky', even when he was all exhilarated, he'd have to fight tooth and nail to get back to 'James' again. He didn't want to do that. Not after being called James by everyone so easily. 

"Steve. Please?" 

Steve sighed, a very put upon sigh, as if the fact that he wanted to be called by his name was the hardest thing in the world. James would let it go, Tony had several nicknames for him, some that he literally did not know the meaning of and still meant to look up. He liked those. 

It was just something about 'Bucky' that made him feel like he was slipping. Like he'd lose everything he'd gained. Everything he'd fought for. Everything he'd built.

It just.. wasn't him, he couldn't explain the feeling of dread he got when he was called it. Like the bottom dropped out of his stomach and his skin felt like it didn't fit right. He was probably making a mountain of a molehill, and it would make Steve happy if he conceded. But after months of people calling him by his name? Just because he asked? No. He _refused_ to go back, even for Steve. 

"I don't see why you want to be called James, you used to hate it, reminded you of-" 

"Being yelled at by our ma's. I know. You've told me. Repeatedly. But I've told  _ you, _ I'm reclaiming my identity. This makes me happy Steve, makes me feel like I've come out the other side after everything in the War, with Hydra. Like I've carving my place in the world and it starts with my name. I want to be James."

"Or is Stark forcing you to abandon your name." 

James froze. 

He _knew_ that voice, he watched, dumbstruck as Wanda slid into the seat next to him, at first, he felt so  _ angry _ that Steve could do this to him, until he saw Steve's earnest, pleading face. 

This couldn't have been a coincidence. This was a set up. 

He was just... tired. He knew what friendship could be like now and 'this'... Wasn't it. 

"Steve. What the fuck. No. I'm leaving." 

He stands and Steve jumps up, hands out, pleading with him. 

"Please, sit down Bucky, it's not what you think!"

"Yeah, sit down Bucky. "

Red mist seeps out of her hands and he feels it skate across his skin and it makes him feel sick. As his knees bend and he finds himself sitting even as he tried, tried so hard to stay standing. He doesn't even look at her, he glares bloody murder at Steve. 

The anger is the only thing keeping him from panicking. The ward on his arm heats up, but she can still move him around like a fucking doll apparently, he and Tony never considered this. The block was to keep her out of his _mind,_ not his _body. _

"FRIDAY is on my phone, she'll tell the others what you're doing to me."

Why isn't she already talking? What have they done to her?

"We're just trying to help Bucky, something isn't right and Wanda is going to help, she'd never hurt you." 

"No Bucky, I'd never hurt you, Steve, he definitely has magic on him. It's hurting me just to look in his mind."

"It's a mirror you fucking Hydra bitch, what you put in, you get out."

"Its okay Bucky, don't worry. The Mind Stone gifted me with these abilities and it is much stronger than anything you could imagine, it will show me how to help you. It guides me you see, with its help I have access to more information than you could ever conceive and I promised Steve I would do anything in our power to save you." 

The pain built up in his arm until it felt like a fucking brand and he was wondering desperately where FRIDAY was. She would have said something by now. He feels her hands slide through his hair and he felt sick again until he feels a crack. The noise was so loud it made him flinch, as Steve didn't react he assumes it was in his mind. 

"Hmm, what do we have here? He's going to Dinner with  _ Tony _ tonight Steve, that's why he cancelled on you. Tony is probably forcing him-"

"He's not forcing me! Never has. Unlike you, he asks for consent." 

"I'd never force you to do anything Bucky, I'm going to help you, all this struggling is so pointless when I have the power to heal you. Steve has missed you so much and healing you is the least I can do for him." 

"You're literally forcing me with magic to sit here right now! I do not consent to this! Release me right away." 

"It's okay Buck, just trust Wanda. I know this isn't really you speaking. We care about you and want to see you free of what's forcing you to be like this." 

He growls out and finds he can't raise his voice to a shout. He tries to bring up all manner of memories to keep her away from important stuff, but she just bat's him away. 

"Tony is wrong Bucky, it's not mind-rape and I'm going to help you Bucky. It's mind-healing." 

Everytime she says 'Bucky' it doubled down the nausea created by her hands on him. Fingers in his mind. Fuck, he knew this wasn't healing. No matter what she said. He knew what mind-healing felt like after all, fuck, no-

"Steve, this is worse than we thought. Tony has practically seduced him to his side. Probably blackmailing him, or worse, you know what he's capable of… Hang on. Someone else has been in here!" 

"Get out of my head! Please Steve I'm _begging_ you, please, please don't do this to me. If you care about me at all, call her off, make her stop. Please! Don't take my free will from me, not again, please-" 

"Bucky calm down, don't make a scene, Wanda is helping you.. She isn't taking your free will, it just seems scary because you don't understand. Wanda is good people, trustworthy, unlike others you have been around lately."

"Steve, I'll make a fucking scene if it will make you realise how wrong this is! How can you do this to me? You're meant to be my friend! You're letting a Hydra agent fuck with my mind!" 

"She's not Hydra Buck, Tony's got you all twisted up with lies, I know it seems like he has a lot to offer, but it isn't  _ real _ _._ Wanda is going to help heal you. Make you Bucky again, and then you'll realise I've been trying to help you all this time."

Anger is washed aside by cold dread and sheer panic and the nausea of her fingers moving through his mind. Flicking through his memories for something interesting like he's a fucking magazine. The Ward was still occasionally heating up, but she was like water slipping through the cracks, wearing them down, widening them. 

He resolutely doesn't think of anything that could hurt Tony, even identify him and only 'accidentally' brings up memories where Tony seems human as he pleads with Steve to understand. Only he can call her off, FRIDAY isn't talking, maybe if he holds out long enough someone will realise something is wrong. Hold out. Must hold out. 

"Steve, I've been through a lot, people change over time and it's been over 70 years. I'm learning to be me again, I  _ like _ who I am." 

"But it's not you Buck. This is for the best, how's it going Wanda?" 

"I'm just wiping all of Stark's shit, then I can wipe all his memories from the fall. He'll remember nothing, he won't even know who Tony is." 

"No Steve, Gods please don't do this me, this is wrong. I'll never forgive you for this! Just stop now and we go home as if this never happened. Please? Don't do this to me!" 

"And carry on watching you slip further away from me? No Buck, this is better." 

He goes to scream but can't and feels blinding pain when he disobeys any order, but he can't fight it. She's getting stronger, more is slipping through and fuck it hurts. Gods he wants to fight it, but it hurts and he's so fucking tired, it would be so easy just to let her - no. No. He can't fucking let her. He won't make this easy, he'll fight every damned second. She probably implanted the suggestion anyway, no, he will make her work for this. 

"In Wakanda, Stark snuck in and did something to his mind Steve. Tricking T'Challa that he was removing the words when he hadn't, he's been using them to turn Bucky against you for revenge." 

"No he hasn't! He didn't do anything like that, she is lying! Steve please believe me, stop this!" 

Steve wasn't even listening to him anymore. Worst of all, he believed her. James can see it in his eyes, in his aura painted around him. He fully believes that James came back wrong and that he is saving him. 

"Oh God, I can't believe he'd steep so low!" 

"It's okay Steve. Don't worry, we'll fix Bucky right up and the jammer means FRIDAY won't do anything, she doesn't even know I've ever left the base. When I'm done he can tell FRIDAY he's fine and lock her from reporting to Stark. He can say that it was a glitch or something. Privacy protocols means she can't tell Stark. Then, we can use Bucky to lure Tony away from the others and find out what he's done to himself." 

"Please Steve. Stop this. If you were ever my friend, you wouldn't do this to me. This is wrong." 

Oh Gods, please don't let them use him against Tony. He doesn't give a shit what they do to him, but they can't use him against Tony. If Tony has a weakness it is his Reapers and he felt double that because his fire was bound. That, and the fact that for some reason, he can hold Tony back. Neither he or Tony knows why, but for some reason he can and if they force him to use that against Tony? That trust that Tony leveled in his direction that he's sure he doesn't deserve? He's not sure he'd ever forgive himself. 

"Is that really necessary, Bucky has been through so much. And it's okay Bucky, be quiet now or we'll attract attention, don't fight it, just let Wanda help you." 

"Tony fucked with his mind Steve and badly, he's  _ obviously _ new to this. We're lucky he isn't comatose." 

James is still trying to fight and can't seem to talk anymore, but manages to slam his fist on the desk to desperately call attention. Something. Anything. 

"Hurry Wanda we're attracting attention. Stop fighting Buck, this really is for the best." 

That he should have gone to Tony's workshop was the last coherent thought he had. 

Then it was pain pain pain and the dark sleep of cryo…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...... I'm posting this and going to bed and hiding behind a rock.
> 
> The follow up I wrote in one sitting and it was 14k which I then chopped up into sensible chapters. That was months ago and I did my usual thing of constantly going over and over and over and some off those chapters are like 7k alone. I also don't think I'll drag this out because this was kind of mean, so I figure you'll get them as I'm physically able to proofread as my arm is really playing up atm. 
> 
> It's a mixed, jumping POV that I can't work out if I love it or despise but there's too much to try and narrow into single POVs without going over and over a thing, it'll make sense when you read it. Hopefully. So, I figure I'll post them and if they are utterly despised by everyone I could try and hone them down. I've put extra, extra care into ensuring you know who each bit is about. I don't know, I think I've read it too much to be a good judge of it? 
> 
> Also, I have noticed a trend, I tell you lot I'm unsure or dislike a chapter and I get way more comments, like you're all trying to protect the chapter from me xD I love it, so much. I love my repeat commenters and those who do research! And anytime someone says they love my world building I do a happy dance. You've made me more confident in what I put up as I would write, get nervous about it and delete it. I'm am sorry I repay that with this! But, just imagine what could happen next...


	47. Trepidation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt way too bad leaving that on a cliffhanger, so, I said sod sleep and proofed the 1st part of 'The Conflict'.

**Rhodes POV **

"Huh, that's odd, James wants to meet me in the meeting room before dinner." 

"Oh you mean before your date?" 

"Platypus, were just friends. It's not a _ date, _ it's just _ dinner _. That's what friends do." 

"Gods you're so blind, and you think James discounts himself? At this rate I'm never going to be your best man and I imagine your family would throw an awesome party. Come on, let's go see your man." 

"I'm still waiting to be _ your _ best man. You actually have a partner." 

"And whose fault is that? Or are you and James just going to pine and doom us all to watching you both for all eternity?" 

"I don't even know what you're talking about, James is not pining." 

"Oh, but you are?" 

Tony wisely does not answer that and lets himself be dragged along, not that he's exactly putting up a fight, he obviously has no idea why James is calling him to a meeting room. But he is just heading straight to it, not asking any questions and Rhodes let's his smirk says enough. 

"Why are you so sure James doesn't like you anyway? You're a moderately attractive, powerful, weird Fae creature. I suspect James would happily go for that. It's his type." 

"Hmm, also a Fae that hasn't actually had a relationship outside of the cycles in an embarrassingly long time. Being in a relationship whilst human.. It's different. I don't feel things now like I did then. Plus, being human for long stretches of time, the fluidity of time in Underhill … it's been a while since I've had time to do anything else, oh and the universe is once again on the brink of destruction."

Rhodes ignores most of that and focuses on the actual important bit Tony tried to slip through. 

"How long is 'a-while'." 

Tony did not answer that either, but then Rhodes had worked out that that tactic worked out for his friend more often than not. Rhodes however knew him well enough that it just made him thoughtful. This likely explained why Tony was so utterly oblivious to James. Also why it took him the better part of a year to work out he was crushing on the guy he spoke to every day. 

Rhodes had been convinced he knew at the watching movies on video call stage. Or the texting goodnight stage. The stage where if James asks him to leave his workshop, he just does. Also, Rhodes had googled what they called each other, as James tended to fall into Russian and Tony fell into Welsh. Names and nicknames dodged translation wards as names usually meant something utterly random. This was the stage that had him half sobbing on Carol's shoulder at how stupid they were. It was sickeningly adorable. 

Rhodes had been utterly convinced Tony had worked it out the first time he had seen the designs for James amulet. It had taken Tony so long to get the final part he just kept adding to it. It now made his Scythe look simple! Just the damned chain was ridiculously complicated and labour intensive. When Stephen finally sees it he's going to faint. But nope, Tony just wanted James to feel safe so it makes perfect sense that he'd make the amulet more complicated than the compound _ walls._

At least he recently seemed to have worked it out. Rhodes didn't know what it was in the end, Tony had breezed past so many extremely obvious stages it was ridiculous. It did however now mean he had Tony _ and _ James talking to him about how they're totally just friends and the other obviously wants nothing more and swearing Rhodes to secrecy. James at least worked it out a good few months on Tony. James also thought that the fact Tony Firewalked with him, talked to him about things he would not even talk about with Rhodes, _ trusted _ him and was so ridiculously overprotective it was ridiculous, it was all just just a 'friend thing'. Tony was just very tactile, it was a Fae thing, that didn't mean it meant anything. Says the man who Tony was literally napping on like a cat at the time. 

So, James was slightly less in comparison to Tony, but still, an idiot. 

The compound had several betting pools now. 

No. He totally did not start it… 

"Fine, but I'm telling you, I am sure that he likes you and I bet he won't care if it's been like a thousand years or something since you last dated. Or more?" 

"I'm so not giving you that number." 

"So it's more? Interesting… very interesting. Are you at least going to attempt to work out what his block is this time? I'm sure you can be subtle if you try. It can't be worse than Stephens subterfuge."

They step out of the lift and Tony stops, freezing completely in place, features going blank. Head tilted to one side. 

"What is it?" 

"You know that bad feeling I've been complaining about that I couldn't place for the last few hours? It's gotten worse. A lot worse." 

Rhodes had to consider the increased proximity to James and this for all of a few seconds before Tony was moving.

"Didn't you text James when it started up? He said he was fine." 

"Yes, but, something is _wrong."_

Leaving Rhodes to jog to keep up with him. For a man with such tiny legs, Tony could really cover ground when he wanted. They were nearly at the hall where the meeting rooms were when the feeling of trepidation expanded to him and left Rhodes feeling like he'd been doused in ice cold water.

Amongst that mess of sensation he felt the bleed over from Tony has he suddenly dropped all the barriers in his mind at once. Rhodes had to assume that had not been intentional because it blanked out all of his increased senses and left him trying to muddle through through the intense mashup that was Fae instincts. Other than, wrong, bad and wow. Fae instincts seemed to be extremely complex but when pushed seemed to harden into singular concepts that blocked out everything else. Even then, the singular concepts seemed too heavy for his brain to process. 

It wasn't the first time he'd felt a bleed over from Tony, but this was sharper somehow given the complete lack of control. Rhodes was still human enough to just look at Fae instincts and think 'What the fuck is this?' 

Rhodes had been learning all about Fae's instincts, how they affected them because it was Tony, he wanted to know how things worked when it came to his strange new package of issues. When some are triggered, it completely wiped out Tony's ability to think in concepts larger than things like 'protect' 'hunt' 'kill' depending on the circumstance. The only one he had really experienced peripherally was when they'd been on a hunt and he nearly got lost in it. Tony had had to physically drag him out of the hyperfocus. Rhodes has no idea how Tony managed, but then it was his normal. Feeling things like a human was weird to him. 

Whilst Tony still had impeccable control over himself, he was not invulnerable to this. Especially if something triggered his anger. Rhodes didn't know why, he knew there was a story in Tony's past but Tony never spoke of it. Only the consequences of that event. That Tony's anger was stronger, more powerful and very, very easy for him to get lost in. Tony controlled this, rarely allowing himself to feel anger and when he did, he was extremely careful. Holding himself in check. This was important right now because one of the things Rhodes was feeling from Tony was a pure, white hot rage that he could practically see painted around him in bright flashes. 

Rhodes could also tell something had triggered it this time because the first thing Tony usually lost with the complex thought patterns, with the barriers, was his ability to appear human. The thousands of little movements, feelings, and things Rhodes couldn't even comprehend for Tony to appear human. Things Tony did so often that even he forgot he was doing it. Right now, Tony was as far from human as he'd ever seen him and he felt pissed. Not that you could tell it from looking at him, his face was blank, his steps measured. Even if he fledgling sight or the Fire wasn't letting him feel the rage, just a second glimpse at Tony's eyes was enough. Rage, wrath and fury. Any word seemed paltry in explanation. 

All of this instantly put Rhodes on guard, especially with his senses still reeling so he summoned one of his Reaper blades, he dropped his own barriers that in his mind, separated him from Rhodey the Reaper from Rhodey and Warmachine. Allowing him to sort through the information quickly. Like Tony when he dropped his humanity guise, Reapers had a lesser, but similar effect on humans. They were contained power, dangerous and lethal. Predators, and people picked up on that, so Tony had taught him how to keep a barrier in his mind. 

He felt Tony pushing his senses out, towards the meeting rooms and he added his own, knowing immediately that something is up because there are much more people in that room than just James. Rhodes picks up an edge of dread and trepidation that has ticked Tony over into this mode and he knows Tony's fallen deep as they're still _ walking _ to that room. Tony would simply port to James if something was wrong, but porting is a higher level function. Magic in general was. Not all Fae were magically gifted, it was a learned skill that some had natural ability in. 

"FRIDAY, is James back in touch with Steve?"

"Yes Colonel, they went running after Steve apologised, then he returned to the base with Steve and Clint after eating at a café. He then watched a movie with The Rogues but under privacy protocols." 

"Anything strange happen?" 

"I… don't know. I've been trying to talk to him alone to find out but he took the watch off. He told me not tell tell you anything." 

"Yeah. Something is definitely wrong. Before he took it off, did you get cut off from him?" 

"Yes, for 6 minutes and 46 seconds, but then he said he was fine and to not tell Boss under privacy protocols. I didn't know what to do.." 

"It's okay Fry, we'll work this out. Has the Witch been near them?" 

"She hasn't left the compound otherwise WATCH protocols would be in effect and privacy protocols disengaged." 

Tony frowned, and Rhodes was wondering too. From what Tony was feeling, that the witch had maybe done something to James. But he hadn't felt any magic from the witch since around 11am.

"FRIDAY, pull up records of the Witches tracking bracelet for me since she was giving permission to leave and compile, actually, all of them. Pull everything." 

"I'll get on that now Colonel, I… I was meant to protect him, have I failed?" 

"No, no sweet pea, if something bad has happened, it's on the bad guys." 

Tony nodded as they got closer, Tony was moving fast but not as fast as he could move. To Rhodes it felt like he was walking a tightrope of control. Part of him remembering why he shouldn't just blast into the room and kill someone, whilst the other thought that that was a capital idea. 

Rhodes watched as Tony opened the heavy, metal fire door with enough force that the metal actually tore apart in his hands as. Hanging partially off its hinges and groaning under the onslaught that Tony didn't even register he'd inflicted, single handedly. That, if nothing else, told Rhodes that things were fucked and it was probably going to be his job to ensure Tony didn't kill someone in this state that could come back on him when his instincts calmed down. 

Seeing the Rogues all jump up from their seats, staring at the door or Tony, he resented this job because if they had let with witch touch James. Touch a Reaper when he was in a vulnerable state with his fire inactive? He'd wanted to hurt someone himself. The Accords Council would kick up a shit and potentially screw with Tony's plans to save the multiverse over a dead Captain America however, the Cap-Column was loud in America and anytime Tony tried to do anything about the Rogues. People withdrew support for other ventures, frankly, it was ridiculous favouritism that Rhodes was sick to death of. 

After this, he was going to indulge himself by letting Pepper and Tony's legal team loose and just sit back. Pepper had been kind of bored lately, he bet she and FRIDAY could cut a swathe before Tony worked out what he was up to. He didn't give a shit what the council says after this, they are not going to house the Witch. If they force it? He thinks Tony should drop his glamours and the lock that keeps his power from registering on humans and let them know just who they're screwing with, but then maybe he's a little biased and finds Tony's idea of dropping Wanda to walk the mists for centuries a good one. 

  
  
  


**Scott POV **

Scott was sitting in the meeting room, chatting with Sam as they waited for Tony to arrive. He wasn't sure about this, but when he and Sam came back from the cinema. James has been with Steve and Wanda. It was nice to see the man again, he hadn't bumped into him in a few days and it was good to see that Steve had finally apologised and they'd made up. Then Steve called a group meeting where James had told them Stark had been using magic to manipulate him. Scott felt uncomfortable because that didn't sound anything like the Tony Stark he'd been getting to know through other people. (No Sam, he was not a fan boy.) 

Sam had looked unsure as well which was no help and he could never work out what Natasha felt. Wanda had convinced them to set up a meeting, to _ prove _ to them what Stark had done. They picked the end meeting room that no one ever used so they wouldn't get in anyone's way, the one with the super heavy fire door that Scott couldn't even budge, even Steve struggled with it. 

They'd been waiting, James was talking about some event from the past with Steve, which Scott thought was odd. Because James didn't really like talking about his memories from 'before' but when Steve had told him everything was fine he'd felt better, even though he wasn't so sure why. 

He was sitting closest to the door, so he had a front row seat to watch it be opened so violently, that the metal _ tore. _He hadn't known that you could tear metal! That action alone told him a few things straight away, they were outclassed and outgunned. Tony Stark didn't need the suit to be dangerous to them, not if he could do that one handed without even looking. That entrance… it told him enough. 

He also looked pissed off as his eyes scanned everyone in the room. Not his face, that was blank, it was his eyes. For a brief second he felt the weight of that look hit him before he moved on. Leaving Scott feel dismissed and fucking happy about it. He was pretty sure he'd seen his death in that look and when Tony moved on, he sagged, body surged with adrenaline that had nowhere to go. 

With his mind practically screaming at him to stay the fuck still, stay quiet as he just stares at the door with a mix of fear, awe and terrified respect, because Scott is smart enough to know if someone can do that to fucking _ metal _ , _ one handed _ , without even _ looking _? They're capable of much, much more to squishy humans and he's wondering if the rumours he's been hearing around the compound are actually true. 

"Holy shit."

Sam had jumped up to stand next to him as Tony's attention moved on. Rhodes however made a point to glare at them. Also, Rhodes had a freaking sword? Unlike Tony, Rhodes was visibly pissed off and made sure that they knew it. Scott was starting to have that feeling again, the one he'd had at the airport when he realised he was part of something he didn't understand. He'd promised Hope he would not get into these stupid situations anymore, she was going to be be so pissed. 

  
  


**Mixed POV **

Scott and Sam had blanched, but Rhodes didn't know if that was the raged out Fae in front of him, the door or the naked blade he was not hiding. Natasha was carefully blank as ever, Clint just looked confused, staring at Tony as if he'd never seen him before. Rogers has his patented 'I'm disappointed' face, but it was Wanda's smug face that instantly had Rhodes on edge. That, and the fact that James was still just sitting there? 

Rhodes didn't have the Sight yet, it was still evolving for him. James's sight was already incredibly strong but that was no use to them right now. He could however feel revulsion through the Fire from Tony. 

How the fuck had she done it? They had so many security protocols in place to avoid this! Especially when it came to James who she had targeted before. 

She hadn't left the compound, he hadn't felt practically anything catch in the web. The reading at 11am had been familiar enough that he had written it down and moved on. Knowing Tony would pick it apart later. It had been low level. Either way, this should not have happened and if the Accords Council hadn't forced them to house the Witch it would not have happened. 

Tony was cataloguing the Witches magic the second he entered the room, he can see James smiling but it looks wrong. Like someone saw a photo of him from the 40s and tried to mimic it. It's so close but it's wrong. It's nothing like James actual smiles 

It's pain and suffering and he's been forced into this and Tony can feel it through the fire, Tony can feel him fighting it, even now, and worst of all, the punch in Tony's gut, he can feel his guilt and fear for _ him. _ Angry at _ himself _ for _ letting _himself be used to lure Tony into a trap even though the fucking witch mind fucked him into submission. 

For this. There will be pain. No one gets out of this unscathed, he's done, James was meant to be _ safe. _ How did this even happen? His Web picked up nothing new and FRIDAY was to inform him if Wanda's tracker went off base. Either she'd gotten around his web, or she'd more likely gotten around the Accords Councils tracking band some how, not for the first time probably, Tony decided that he hates her erratic magic. How the fuck she got past his wall is more than a little concerning. 

He calls out, even though he knows that he can't answer, but his name slips before conscious thought catches up with him. His instincts running high that he can barely think straight. 

"James?" 

Wanda's response is immediate, smarmy and sly even though she tries to sound indignant and laying blame at Tony's feet Rhodey notices. 

"His name is _ Bucky, _ and we know what you did to him _ Stark. _ I found you're interference in his mind, I saw _ you _ violating his consent. You had the nerve to call my powers mind rape when you did much, much worse!"

Even with his vision hyper focused, lacking colour and his peripheral vision is blurred, Tony can still See that threads are _ nothing _ like the ones that have been caught in his Web, those were _ completely _ different. They were inert, these are fucking alive. 

That's why she hadn't needed to cast top up magic on the team. When laid, her magic acted as a fucking parasite. Feeling off the victims psychic energy to keep on working as she intended. This was not magic a witch of her level should even be able to conceive of, let alone have access to. The magic caught in his web is so different it could be from a different person. 

Tony hadn't really registered the others in the room after his initial scan, his instinct pushing too hard and devoting his attention to where it was required. Rhodey was at his back, he could deal with anyone else. That was until Roger's steps into his path. Blocking James from his sight. Which immediately caused the full weight of his attention to shift and smash into Rogers. 

  
  


Steve, blinked in confusion as to what just happened, this wasn't how it was meant to go. They were all meant to be calmly sat around the table, Tony was to enter, admit what he had done and then tell them how to reverse these _ changes _ he had done to himself, and then he would apologise to all of them, especially Bucky, for toying with his mind. After that Steve could start his plans to take control of the Avengers and fix all the problems that he had noted in his file. If Tony was contrite enough, Steve might even let him help find a replacement for the Ironman armour, because Steve is a nice guy. Of course Tony will have to promise to never be near Bucky again, what he did.. It is not something one can easily forgive. 

But that's not what's happening. The fire door, that even Steve found a little heavy for a fire door, it's why he and Wanda had picked _ this _ room, thinking without the suit Tony might struggle to open it, so that he couldn't leave until everything was sorted. So he couldn't dodge them like he'd been doing since then came home with his petty behaviour. Instead Tony had batted it aside in a throwaway gesture and it _ crumpled _ , the sound of metal _ tearing _ had all of them, except Bucky, jumping to their feet in alarm. 

He had barely a second to wonder why Bucky didn't react the same before Tony was walking to him, eyes only on Bucky and No! Steve won't let him near Bucky again! He steps in the way and the strange, almost pained, look on Tony's face changes in a flash as his attention switches and Steve backed up on instinct, because he's never seen Tony look like this before. He thought he'd seen Tony angry, at Siberia, but that's nothing on the fury in Tony's eyes right now. His face was blank but it was his _ eyes, _shifting molten gold and rage that immediately had Steve holding his breath and breaking out in a cold sweat, leaving Steve confused and nervous, this was not the Tony he had known. Natasha speaking drew Tony's attention away from him, and if felt like a physical weight lifting off of, but even though he was staring at Natasha, he had a distinct feeling that he was not forgotten, that he was still being watched. Bringing bucky here had been a mistake. He was in danger. 

"Okay guys, why don't we calm down here. I'm sure there is a mistake, we can clear everything up." 

Even though she was desperately trying to defuse the situation, she regretted that it drew Tony's attention to her, she had _ known _ this was a bad idea. Especially given what she knew about the fact Tony wasn't just a human anymore, but she wouldn't tell that secret, she couldn't, she had learned not to betray him again, but now she realised she had miscalculated again. Badly. The part of her mind that had been telling her that Tony could not be one of the Sidhe was resoundly silenced the second his eyes cut into her. That time on the bench, when they had spoken and she had looked into his eyes and saw time. Now it was rage, fury and wrath, the air around him was _ warping _ under it. She could feel it dancing along her skin, setting her nerves alight. He was Sidhe, because this was not human rage. No human could feel that. 

She also miscalculated in a different way. 

Nat had had no idea that Tony was so _ close _ to Yasha, she had seen it in the visceral pain on his face when he entered, felt it in the raw power crackling around the room that only she seemed to feel. _ Wanda too maybe? _ But for her, it was almost suffocating, she was hypersensitive to everything and it was so heavy she felt as if she was about to buckle under it. Tony was definitely one of them, and old, very, very old which only meant one, very important thing. _ Powerful. _ She couldn't deny it anymore, there's so much power it's making her _ teeth hurt, _ like something was trying to get out of her, she felt like she was going to _ scream. _

Clint was close enough to see Steve suddenly back up as he stepped into Tony's path, and even stranger, _ Nat _ paled. Which told him something was very wrong as those things fundamentally just do not happen. He's _ never _ seen Nat pale like that and they'd been through a lot. Stark's attention was all on Nat, but Clint could see the shifting gold of his eyes and how blank his face was. As blank as Nat, which was strange, Clint's head started aching the longer he looked at Stark so he shifted to Wanda. She looked happy? There was something in his mind, his gut feeling him something was wrong, but he didn't know what. 

Sam and Scott are smart enough to stay silent and very still. Something in their heads that screamed _ 'don't attract the predator' _ even though in their minds at the same time, it's just _ Tony _ . But Tony's voice was low, dangerous and just a little off from an actual growl. Most people can only drop or go up an octave, 2 at most, but Tony's voice sounds low and dark, the growl was very real. On most people, it would be ridiculous, but Sam and Scott are left feeling very real _ fear _ and are definitely realising they have fucked up somehow. Even if they have no idea how. 

Tony's head tilts away from Nat eyes sliding slowly to lock back onto Steve but she knows she's still in his sights somehow so stays completely still. 

"You are not going to want to get in my way. Move now." 

"Steve back away. Now." 

Nat hisses at Steve to get out of the way, standing between Tony and James is clearly a very stupid, fucking suicidal thing to do. She has been learning from her Queen about the ways of her people and one of the things was that some Fae liked humans. Formed bonds with them.

Humans favoured by the Sidhe, depending on the Sidhe, were _ cherished _ and _ protected _ and there was a more possessive, for some an ownership vibe. Like, she was her Queens. Her Queen would care and protect her. If she was hurt and someone stood between her and her Queen? Well, they wouldn't be standing for long. Tony is proving to have impeccable control over both his anger and his instincts as he hadn't already gone through Steve. But she can feel it, that he's on the edge. She's not sure how, this… Tony told her to come to him if she felt something she didn't understand, felt something trying to get out, but she _ can't _ go to him. She's trapped on the wrong side, her mind swimming with observations she isn't sure how she came by and trapped next to a man foolishly stood between an old, powerful Fae and his human. 

The Fae do not tolerate having _ their _ people messed with. Yasha was very clearly something to Tony, she didn't know what exactly. It was enough that Tony looked like he would go through Steve if it was the shortest path and that he was holding on by his fingertips. She can almost _ see _ how Steve dies if things carry on as they are. 

That's not even counting that fact Rhodes was stood not far behind Tony, holding a long, extremely sharp looking black _blade_, not a weapon she would have thought the Colonel would favour and she swore she saw White Fire moving across the skin on his hand. They needed to back up, reassess and discover what Tony's powers actually are. Really she wanted to back up, reassess and cross the room to stand at Tony's side as the most disconcerting thing about everything that has happened, since Tony tore into this room on _pure unadulterated rage_, is that Yasha _hasn't_ _moved_. He still has the exact same smile on his face. She'd _stupidly_ stayed to try and control the situation, when she didn't notice something worse was going on right under her nose. How hadn't she _seen? _

"No! I can't let him touch Bucky again, he'll get inside his head again twist him even more! I only just got Bucky back, I won't lose him again." 

Nat wants to scream to look at his Bucky! It is not _ normal _ that he is just sitting there, smiling as they're talking. She's starting to realise that maybe she was on the side that included mind fucking. Even if she had stayed to attempt to mitigate and damage, she hadn't _ seen. _

"Oh Steve.." 

Something in Tony Snaps at Steve's words, it's not a complete drop. Nat can still somehow feel the steadfast control he's got over himself, but something snapped and she felt it. Felt it painted across the room in a rainbow of lights that leaves her blinking spots and swaying on the spot like she was at high altitude. She saw Yasha twitch, but Steve didn't react, how did he not feel that? Glancing around, she notes that Clint, Sam and Scott seem equally unaffected until they all realise that Tony is now armed. Holding a frankly huge, black Scythe. The thing is practically as tall as Tony and the blade is long, glinting in the light. It sets her teeth on edge, humming with power. As Tony starts to spin it one handedly, she can't help the shock as that spoke of skill and familiarity with a weapon she wouldn't even know how to combat. Everything is drowned out by the scream trying to get out of her throat, it feels stuck, undecided. 

Tony's Scythe is in his hands even though he didn't actually remember calling it, the Reaper metal restoring a semblance of control after the crack, he begins to spin it deftly through the air, picking up speed as he charges the staff with kinetic force. Before slamming in on the floor, a force wave swipes out towards those on his left, Scott, Sam, Clint and Natasha are swept back against the wall and harmlessly pinned. He feels Wanda shield herself as she's thrown more brutally into the corner by her own sloppy forcefield. Tony will deal with her later. 

He barely glances at them before growling at them to stay put, making zero effort to appear human for them. 

They try to move but find themselves completely locked at the wall, hands flat against the wall, barely able to move their heads. The strangest thing is, they can feel a pressure holding them in place, but it's not crushing, even what they try to move. 

Natasha however, she can _ feel _ the force pinning her, she can _ see _ flashes of blue and black flame and a barrier that is molded against them, getting her skin tingling everywhere it makes contact. Again it's clear to her that the others _ don't _ feel it and not for the first time she wonders what is happening to her, why can she see, hear and feel what she is now sure is _ magic _ where as Steve, Clint, Sam and Scott don't? 

Wanda crumpled in the corner, having deflected Tony's blast that pinned the others. Her shield protecting her, but she miscalculated the degree of power Stark would be able to wield with his strange weapon and was hurled backwards. She tried to get to her feet. The room spinning slightly, gingerly touching her scalp, her fingers come back bloody and suddenly she is furious! How dare he! Before she had much of a chance to stand, let alone retaliate, she flinched. Swearing under her breath as sparks of orange slice into the room creating a portal as Dr Strange steps through. Quickly assessing the situation and focusing entirely on Stark. Good, that way she can carry on flying under the radar. 

Steve is quickly losing control of the situation but still _ refuses _ to move from his path. Staying between his friend and Tony, eyes on the strange weapon that just _ appeared _ in his hands. Wishing he had brought something himself, but he had wanted to have this talk as friends. He hadn't wanted Tony to force _ another _ fight like he did at the Airport, or Siberia. Not understanding the wave of force that just incapacitated most of his team, 4 of them trapped with one action. Wanda was hurled into the corner and hit the wall hard and was struggling to stand. 

Tony barely registered the portal opening, just that suddenly Stephen is there. He assumed FRIDAY had contacted him or something, as it is his job to contain the witch should she break the conditions of her pardon. Thor, lucky bastard, was off world, although he expected he'd show soon. He only has eyes for Steve and he's just present enough to actually want the stubborn idiot to move so he doesn't have to kill him and deal with the paperwork. But it's a close thing and Tony is seriously struggling with his other thought processes because of it. 

Stephen is calm and collected as he speaks to Tony but stays to the side after he assessed and deduced what caused this problem. The fact James is sitting there smiling as if people in this room aren't a few steps away from bloody violence is very disconcerting. Out of everyone, barring Rhodes, who looks equally pissed, James probably knows the most of what Tony was capable of. No way would he just sit there. He would never let Rogers stand between them, the man had fallen hard for Tony, the only reason he would be as he is now, was because of the Witch. He needs to bring Tony back from the edge, Stephen can see his aura, which was usually a powerhouse that made his teeth ache if he focused on it for too long, now… now there was more. He hadn't realised Tony was holding back so much, the flitting colours are now so bright that it hurts and blanketed the entire room. Stephen wouldn't be surprised if he could feel this from several rooms away. He still has no idea _ what _ Tony is, but he can see he's running on instinct and that he has a weapon in his hands that glows so blighty to Stephen's senses that he can barely discern the shape of it. He obviously isn't thinking clearly. The fact that if he was, Tony would have simply ported to James and swept him away. He needs to calm him down. 

"Tony, think, try to calm down. Bring your anger in." 

Tony actually glances at the Scythe. And then at Rogers. Stephen stays several feet away as he hopes to calm him down, that he's listening causes him to breathe a little easier, not that this is anywhere close to over. He's not stupid enough to approach Tony in this state and he's definitely not dumb enough to put himself between Tony and James, even moderately blocking his line of sight would be _ beyond _ stupid. He keeps his line of sight and access to Rogers and James completely clear. If only Rogers would back up, but somehow he doubts that would happen. If Stephen can convince him to banish his weapon, it would bring the potential violence level down at least a little so they could sort this out. He would simply portal James out of here, or Rogers, but right now he's not sure if that would redirect Tony at him. With Tony calm, then he'll be able to remove Rogers. 

"Fine" 

Wanda stays silent, hoping to avoid the scrutiny of the Sorcerer Supreme. She is pretty sure she is stronger than Stark, no matter what the stone says, he has barely had magic for a minute, but the Sorcerer Supreme is a different matter. Wanda is unsure of the extent of his capabilities, and if she can combat them, she would have preferred to have more time to assess him before a confrontation. She was still assessing that net that coated the whole compound, she had no idea how he did it. The Stone had been teaching her how to move unseen, exiting the compound and tricking FRIDAY and the tracking bracelet into thinking she was in her room had been taking up most of her magic and time. Layering her spells under simple telekinesis the way the stone instructed. Not that she'd cast anything important on the base. 

However, it took hours to leave and she was then nearly completely drained of magic for 5 days after! So exhausted she could barely walk. So she hadn't had the time or energy to spare on the Sorcerer himself because of his damnable web. She didn't even know why he was here, she had made James give FRIDAY orders to not contact anyone. FRIDAY must have gone against James direct orders not to contact the man on his behalf, wretched machine. Why was everyone making this difficult for her! Her magic was still run down after Steve had told her Plan B was in effect, plus layering bindings on Bucky in a weakened state, wiping Stark's magic, she needed to _ rest. _ She was however trained by Hydra, she knew how to ignore her body's pain and exhaustion until the mission was complete. 

The mission was to make Stark suffer. 


	48. Evidence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not all the chapters in this little conflict hulked out. This one did a bit, but I don't think that's a complaint held :) these chapters all started out as 2-3k, no idea what happened. I blame my insomnia. 
> 
> I've also read and poked these chapter enough that I'm pretty confident, with a last edit check and posting them up. Some things always hide from my Dyslexia under the rug though. But it means you should not have big waits between postings :) I'll be keeping up our altered schedule until the pithy name 'The Conflict' is over. So, unless something medical pounces me in the night, I figure you guys are in for chapter a day. At least. 
> 
> Also, I'm enjoying all the plotting for what to do with Wanda xD

**Mixed POV**

Natasha watched carefully as the strange sorcerer carefully positioned himself to the side of Tony. So Tony could see him but not so that he blocked his line of sight.

The positioning was as precise and careful as his words to bring Tony back from the edge. As Tony willed away the Scythe, the compulsion to scream died down slowly, it wasn't gone, but it was no longer thrumming in her viens. The lack of it left her a little light headed and dizzy from the pressure and magic that was built up in the room. If it wasn't for the barrier that effortlessly kept her standing, she would probably have slid down to sit on the floor. 

Even though the absence of Tony's weapon was an improvement, the situation was still on a knife edge and Natasha could almost see what was going to happen next. See it play out in slow motion as she was utterly powerless to do anything about it. 

Steve sighed in relief. 

That alone was how she knew the Sorcerers careful words and Tony's steadfast control were about to be dashed upon the rocks of Steve's utter stupidity. 

Thinking that what, with his weapon gone, that Tony was conceding the fight? Steve did something even more monumentally stupid than standing in-between Tony and Yasha. Natasha was honestly surprised that Tony hadn't taken Steve out already, it made her adjust the parameters in her mind for his age and power. A younger Sidhe would have torn through Steve where as Tony still had the mind to realise killing Captain America would potentially be detrimental to his plans. She didn't know his age precisely, but she wondered if he was close in age to her Queen, which was a daunting, terrifying idea.

Either way, she watched helplessly as Steve smiled in relief and triumph, as if he had _won._ Then came the utter stupidity, he stepped towards Yasha, and reached out to touch him. 

Yasha was still frozen, it felt like hours since Tony tore into the room on a wave of wrath of fury but it had barely been 2 whole minutes and she was sure Steve had averted death once already. She watched the Sorcerers eyes widen at Steve's action, did the man truly believe the only danger in Tony was his blade after he tore metal up like paper?! Natasha wants to smash his dense head on the table. 

Scott's brain had skipped out about the same time Tony freaking Stark summoned a Black bladed _ Scythe _ out of thin air! In a burst of Black Fire! That, and the fact he wielded it with a level of skill that spoke of serious familiarity, yeah, they were missing something. Something big. The way he spun it in one hand without having to concentrate on it was nothing short of awe inspiring, and as it was aimed in his direction, _ terrifying. _As the but of the weapon crashed onto the wooden floor, they were swept back against the wall. Surprisingly it hadn't hurt.

They had merely been removed from the equation, Scott had seen it in the man's golden eyes as they scanned over them. 

They couldn't even turn their heads away, they were trapped in space and forced to watch how things turned out. The arrival of the Sorcerer had helped, he had brought Tony back from the edge even if Scott didn't exactly understand _what_ was going on, but he knew it was about James. Because James hadn't moved, not an inch since this started and that was wrong, he didn't want to think that Wanda had done something to James on Steve's order, just as much as he didn't want to think that Tony had manipulated James. One of these things had obviously happened. It was clear that something was very, very wrong with this situation and maybe, just maybe, he was on the wrong side. Again. 

Clint's head felt… Strange. Ever since this strange forcefield had effortlessly taken out and incapacitated 4 members of the team, things had... shifted. The blinding pain behind his eyes that he hadn't even realised was there suddenly vanished, with such speed that it left him feeling dizzy and like he was going to throw up. He tried to move and found if he did, he actually felt a little better. He still felt like shit, something was still wrong, but _something_ was gone.

Clint didn't know what it was, but it was good. He couldn't look at Stark without the pain trying to make a comeback, but it was… muted now. He could barely follow what was going on in the room, his mind swimming he let himself fall forward. He stopped standing or moving, and simply let himself hang, suspended by the forcefield that almost cradled him and he felt more at peace than ever. The haze, the anger was lifted and he sagged. 

Sam was staring at James, and he had been since Tony tore the door open with his hands and James hadn't moved. Just stayed smiling like some bizarre stepford wife and it was freaking him the fuck out.

So, he was staring. He was looking for _ something, _ some clue, some sign… he didn't know what exactly, but the fact he was just sitting there, he didn't like that. Even after Tony summoned a huge, terrifying looking _ Scythe _ and proceeded to pin the four of them against the wall, with _magic_ after spinning the huge weapon single handedly. He's pretty sure that's the kind of thing James would watch, not just keep creepily staring forward. 

Before they could even blink, they were swept away with such ease that Sam knew _ all _ their ideas at Tony's power level were so far off the mark that it was almost funny. In a haha, were so fucked kind of way.

As Sam's attention was carefully monitoring James, he saw Tony step back from the metaphorical ledge as the Scythe vanished, the magic holding them however stayed, they still couldn't move. Sam couldn't even turn his head away from the scene in front of him. Because of this, he also saw Steve go to step in close to James. Which took the potential violence level in the room right back up again. 

Wanda pushed herself to her feet, swaying slightly as her head felt foggy and painful from where she hit the wall, she wasn't stable on her feet. The mind stone whispered to her to stay down, to rest, to recuperate. That drained from the magic expenditure from earlier and injured, with a head wound that she was no match for the forces in the room.

She ignored that, whilst she didn't know the Sorcerers capabilities yet, she doubted he had anything on something with the sheer power of the mind stone combined with her skill. She wouldn't attack him anyway, she could however get a good attack in on Stark before the Sorcerer intervened and then she would tell him she couldn't help it.

She was so frightened! Stark had twisted the mind of her friend, attacked the whole team for no reason, injured her! She could reopen the wound too, more blood would increase sympathy. So it made sense that she lashed out when Stark was going to hurt Steve! He was Captain America. Everything good in the world, anyone would understand why she did what she was about to do. Would understand that she only intended to disable him, make him sleep, but her head wound made the spell go awry. Stark deserved more pain, but shredding into his mind and lobotomising him after he saw what she had done to Bucky. It was not the revenge she had been working to before all of this civil war nonsense, but it was still something. 

Red Mist came to her fingers, pain lanced up her hands from overuse but that was easy to ignore. Hydra had trained her well in that regard. She moved to lunge and slip inside the murderers mind, she doubted he'd know how to protect his mind like the sorcerer could. This hadn't gone how she wanted, but the day is not lost, something is still salvageable. Make the best of what you are given is what her mother always told her. She got at least _ some _ revenge on Bucky for being so cruel and heartless to Steve. If she has to use pain to train him out of liking Stark? Then that's exactly what she'll do. The fact he _ likes _ that _ monster _ at all is enough for her to write him off completely in her mind, let alone as much as he does, but Steve can't let go. Stark must like him back, with how he has acted since coming into the room, the pain painted in the magic around him is delicious. 

Tony locked onto Rogers again as he took that step, as his hand reached out, hurling raw magic at Wanda before she can even raise her hands, wrapping around her, smothering her magic down. Her intentions had been a buzzing bee across his senses that was nothing short of irritating and distracting him from his target.

Tony doesn't know _why,_ but her magic feels lower than usual, which makes the bind that much easier. With Rhodey at his back and that he was actually well rested, he didn't bother going for finesse. He could bind her with less magic, but it would take a few seconds longer and Rogers will not touch James. So, instead he hurls a huge amount of raw magic at her hands. Wrapping around and around and forming redirection wards. Simple, like the ones he has along his arms, designed to turn a person's force against them. He layers that 1 ward over and over from the tips of her fingers up to just past her elbows and a thin circle around her throat to lock it in place. The more magic she pours out trying to escape, the stronger the binding will get. The mind stone could eventually muddle its way out he suspects, but not anytime soon.

Rhodey reads his intention to separate the problems, Steve first. Witch next. Tony sees him grab the witch back the back of her neck and drags her unceremoniously from the meeting room and into the hall to guard until Tony is ready to deal with her. The badly damaged Fire door slams into place ringed with Black Fire, cutting off her indignant shouting. Her cockiness made overpowering her with sheer raw magic simple and Tony doesn't even glance in her direction the whole few seconds it took to bind and remove her. He will deal with Rogers first. Then, he's on Rogers before he can even register he wasn't standing anymore. His hand never reached James. 

Steve was reaching for Bucky one second, then Tony was hurling a wave of Black Fire at Wanda the next for no reason! She had only just managed to stand up, she wasn't doing anything to anyone and he was helpless to watch as Black _ Fire _ suddenly wrapped around her hands. He wanted to go to her, but he couldn't move from where he was. He couldn't leave Bucky vulnerable to Tony again, so he was helpless as Rhodes dragged her from the meeting room with a huge, a Black blade at her throat. Her screams of fear were abruptly cut off as that same Black Fire slammed the broken door into place. 

Steve barely had a chance to even think about what he had done to Wanda, let alone tell Tony to let her back in this instant and free her. Before a fist is hitting his diaphragm with enough force that his vision whited out as the air was forced from his lungs. He's pretty sure he heard something crack too but he barely gets a fraction of a second to even work out what is happening. Then Tony looped his foot around his ankle, the force and disorientation from the hit to his diaphragm has Tony slamming him down to the floor before he can even try to respond. Before he can even get his hands up or turn to protect himself. Tony goes down with him, hard, as Steve struggled to catch a breath. His back slamming hard on the floor leaves him gasping, already winded. Tony's punches are hard, much harder than anything he is used to and ruthlessly efficient. Not focusing only on one area giving Steve practically no hope of defence or predicting where he'd hit next until he slams his knuckles into Steve's temple, leaving him dazed and confused. 

Tony slammed Rogers down, clear away from James, hard onto the floor. People are yelling but he doesn't know nor care who it is or what they are saying. He doesn't let himself loose for long, he can't risk letting the anger burn, he needs his vice like control over himself to remain intact, to remain himself even as _he _pushes closer than _he_ has for a long, long time. This was the compromise Tony makes, Tony will let _him_ loose for 10 seconds only, let _him_ make the man who hurt James hurt. The only reason Tony allows this, is because for some reason, _he_ seems to be as angry as Tony over James treatment. If Tony is busy fighting _him,_ it would make everything much harder, so he slips back. 

_ He _ started with Rogers diaphragm to wind him, following that up by slamming Rogers back to the floor. Forcing all the air from his lungs, leaving him gasping and slow to react. As much as Tony kind of just wants deck Rogers in his perfect teeth, _ he _has other ideas and Tony has to admit they're good. 

Spreading out the attack, a few cracked ribs here, broken jaw, aiming for his sides intermittently. _He_ moves fast and by the time Rogers raises his hands to protect one area, _he's_ moved on. The larger spread of damage will tax the serum, leaving him injured for longer. Tony can admit that the pain in Rogers eyes is somewhat satisfying as _ he _starts to pull back. Pleased with his grouping and Tony finishes up by driving his knuckles hard into Rogers temple to disorientate 

Tony isn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth as he feels _ him _ recede completely after that hit, feeling an odd sense of satisfaction and not quite hate directed at him, which if Tony had more time, he'd be utterly baffled by, but Tony knew _ he'd _retreat after, trusted that. Knowing only Tony can help and heal. Tony gives himself a second to be amazed that this is probably the best they've worked with each other in over 5 millenia, before immediately pushing it aside for more important matters as he looks at a dazed, blooded and confused Rogers. 

Tony promises _him _back that when James is out of pain, when he can take the corruption from his mind, then he will Rogers _ hurt. _ Then _ they _ will make him hurt. Make Wanda suffer. Tony already knows exactly how to do it too. A contented hum flits through his mind. Good. Now he can get back on track. 

Then he will balance what has been done. 

He pins Rogers to the floor with his hand around his throat, his mask of neutrality slipped back into place as his control clicked back. Holding Rogers single handedly as Blue Wards suddenly flare to life along his fingers and up his wrist. Lighting up different Wards, burning through his glamour, curling like a spiral to his elbow. Reflecting all energy as Rogers desperately clutches the arm around his neck, trying to dislodge him, the more Rogers struggles, the stronger his hold will be. Tony isn't strangling him, merely restraining, but the threat is clear. Rogers legs are easily pinned by his own and just like that Captain America was rendered pretty useless. 

The four against the wall were more than a little thrown, even Natasha feels slightly overwhelmed. Everything had happened so fast, one second Steve was reaching for Yasha. Wanda had stood up, then Wanda was neutralised and dragged from the room as Tony practically speared himself at Steve in a blindingly fast, ruthlessly efficient attack lasting barely 10 seconds, that had Natasha's eyebrows shooting up. She'd heard more than a few ribs crack and Steve didn't have a chance of actually defending himself given Tony's attack style.

Seeing Captain America pinned to the ground like an errant brat had a profound effect on the others she noted. Sam and Scott were both gaping in her peripheral and Clint looked utterly incredulous. Tony looked almost bored now his hand was around Rogers neck, except for the real rage and fury Natasha can still see painted around him. The air warping like desert heat under its intensity. The blue symbols lighting up around his arm flashed into the broad colours of red and gold. She had no idea what these symbols were, or what they did, yet somehow she could see they were redirecting Steve's strength back at him. Natasha didn't know what was stranger, Tony's brutally efficient attack or that she was seeing things. Even the Sorcerer seemed to be looking at Tony in a new light Natasha noted. 

Whilst Tony _ told _ Stephen he wasn't human, and Stephen _ knew _ that, he had felt his magic on many occasions by now. It was like nothing he had ever encountered and the man's aura was nothing like anyone he had ever met, including Asgardians. This was different somehow, a visceral display of strength that was plain as day to everyone witnessing it, seeing Tony easily incapacitate a Super Soldier, who is still struggling, after an efficient attack that lasted barely seconds. Not that he couldn't incapacitate the soldier himself, of course. Stephen had more power in his pinky finger compared to a mere defrosted Super Soldier. 

Tony's calm, measured voice cut through Stephen's wandering thoughts, it was more effective than shouting. He was perfectly calm, each word measured and not at all like the Tony they knew. Tony had told him once that in his rage, he will never be loud and brash, but calm, measured and single-minded in his wrath. At the time, Stephen had not realised the effect it would have during a situation like this, nor how that calm voice would be impossible not to listen to, that it would make the hairs on the back of his neck stand to attention and make very real fear and nervousness curl in his gut. 

"Stephen. They won't believe me if I do it and we need to fix this now or I will stop controlling my anger. Wanda has used a mind subjugation weave on James. Dampen all magic around him and please ask if he consents to me removing the corruption. James has waited long enough."

"There is no corruption! Wanda helped fix what you did to him-"

Tony tightens his fingers around Steve's throat, cutting him off before slowly leaning in closer to talk to him. Barely an inch from his face he locks eyes with Rogers who he struggles to breathe as Tony talks. Stephen wonders if the idiot realises just quite how close he is to death. Tony's voice still has that calm quality and he wonders how it would be affecting the baseline humans in the room considering the effect it's having on himself. He is on Tony's side and it has him nervous, he would hate to be on the other end of that wrath. 

"That's why Stephen will dampen _ all _ magic around him. Nothing else, if she did nothing to him, nothing will happen. If she did something, he'll be free and you will realise what you have done. If I put my _ 'evil magic _' on him, as you stupidly fucking believed the Hydra Witch, it will be pulled back enough for him to answer. Then you can ask him and get a real answer. Got it?" 

Steve gasped in a shallow breath as Tony released his grip slightly to allow him a chance to get a breath, but left his fingers tighter around his throat this time in warning. He could breathe, but not well and he could feel Tony's fingers twitch and dig into his throat as he was trapped somehow, staring at his eyes. Tony calm, measured voice at odds with the sheer anger in his eyes has Steve uneasy and off balance. 

"But-" 

"You go with this Rogers, or I will take my chances and kill you. So I may remove that dread magic from his mind and free him from your torture. You have no idea how much _ effort _ I'm putting into _ not _ killing you right now." 

Everyone is silent after that. Even Steve was stunned into silence as Tony's fingers twitched around his throat again in a clear threat. Tony didn't yell the threat, or even make it overly creative, he just said it in a clear, calm and measured voice with a ring of truth that made all of them freeze. Steve looked around the room as if hoping for help from somewhere, but his team was still pinned to the wall, unable to move. Wanda was outside with Rhodes. Tony's face was utterly blank and it was clear he would find no quarter there.

Steve had no idea what Tony had even done to poor Wanda or where Rhodes had taken her and Bucky… was still sitting in the same position. He hadn't moved at all in the minutes since Tony had entered the room and that… that was what made him nod, because there was a tiny niggle of doubt in his mind. Bucky would have come to his defence, not just sat there smiling, facing forward whilst someone beat him into the ground for no reason. 

Steve just didn't understand what was happening. Everything was moving too fast, it felt like hours but it had been barely a few minutes since Tony had ripped that door open, incapacitated the team, attacked Wanda with no provocation and then brutally attacked himself when he had done nothing wrong. The Sorcerer seemed to not care that Tony had attacked so many people with no cause! He had originally thought the man would be on his side seeing how he told Tony to put his weapon away, but just a glance in his direction had the Sorcerer sneering at him. Clearly no help there. 

All he was thinking now was that maybe Wanda hadn't managed to clear all of Tony's magic from his mind. Maybe that was why he was stuck staring forward instead of helping him fight off Tony. The Sorcerer might even be able to help Bucky, even if he would not go up against Tony.

So, he eventually nodded and the Sorcerer summoned these golden orange discs, hands moving in a complex series of actions as it grew and changed. Steve watched with interest and wondered how long was this going to take exactly? It took Wanda a fraction of time to cast spells, she simply did them without these strange, arcane symbols that made him more than a little uncomfortable. He didn't like the idea of someone putting this magic on Bucky, Wanda's magic was pure, clean and good… Bucky had already suffered so much, then Tony had used magic to subvert his will. He deserved a break. Before he can call out to say he's changed his mind, that he doesn't want this strange magic touching his Bucky. The circle was thrown from the Sorcerers hands in Bucky's direction and settled over him. 

Bucky shoulders sagged and he shuddered in relief. 

Stephen grit his teeth as the large expenditure of magic channelled through him, with little to no preparation, Tony sometimes forgot that not everyone carried a powerhouse of energy with them at all times. But in this situation, he found it easy to not blame the man. It wasn't an easy spell and dampening fields generally took an annoyingly long time to cast and were rarely used in battle because of it. He was much faster than most however, which was good because everyone but Tony was watching him intently, Tony was watching James.

That Tony _ trusted _ him to do this brightened something inside of him despite the sheer amount of awful that was this entire situation. Eventually Stephen flung the circle out, settling around James and dampened all magic around him. Tony had done so much for him since he found him that day in the forest, this was the least he could do for him. That and maybe _ accidentally _ trap Rogers in a portal for a few hours and leave him falling after Tony was done with him. 

"Oh thank fuck. That fucking Ved'ma was _ torturing _ me, trapped in my worst fucking memories, _ over _ and _ over _ whilst fucking parading me around as her fucking pet. _ Steve _ . On _ your _ fucking orders. Tony came to Wakanda when I agreed for him to remove the code words, he _ healed _ me. That was it. Tony please, _ please _ fucking get this out of my mind. I consent to it, I want it gone."

James sagged in the chair like his strings were cut, shaking slightly as his muscles spasmed. The pain suddenly vanished with the dampening field but he'd been stuck for a long time. _Everything_ hurt and he felt sick to his stomach with the memory of the Ved'ma hands on him. Her fingers slipping into his mind, flipping through his memories. He wanted to lie down desperately, he was exhausted and hurting but he didn't dare move from the spot. He had no idea where this dampening field ended and he never, ever wanted to feel like that again. Trapped, watching and smiling and being unable to help. Usually he argued when Tony went to remove his pain, not he was relying on it, hopeful for it. 

Watching events play out in the meeting room over the last few minutes had been a quiet torture itself over layered with the visions the Ved'ma had conjured from his mind. Seeing the agony and utter _guilt_ on Tony's face, feeling it through the Fire. Knowing how close Tony was to complete rage, instincts overriding everything, that he could feel Tony holding on through the Fire. How he was holding onto a ledge by his fingertips.

James had been scared when he'd felt the Ved'ma summon her magic, saw that grasping red Mist leak into the room. James was pretty sure that one on one, Tony vs Wanda, that the Ved'ma wouldn't stand a chance. But that mind stone, it altered the playing field somehow. Somehow she had bypassed Tony's web and the compound security, even the wall. So James didn't want her casting her vile magic on Tony. Not when the man still had nightmares about what she'd done to him as a human. 

Clint was instantly horrified as he saw Bucky sag in blatant relief. His words were like shots Fired in his mind. Bang. Bang. Bang. Each one echoing and reverberating around, pulling him out of the calm fog he had settled into. The barrier still wrapped around him, but his attention was resoundly back in the room now. Pulled back harder than watching Tony take down Steve. He'd been a part of this. He'd been a part of a person getting their mind screwed over, by someone he _ trusted. _ He trusted Wanda like Lau- Wanda more than anything. There was no one he trusted more. He trusted her to cast magic on his mind to help with the pain. 

Clint had experienced mind control on a heavier level than the rest of the team, he'd been forced to attack friends, he'd been forced to kill. Forced to do horrible things and risk the life of his Nat. 

He understood the pain, the suffering during and after, how it stays with you. He understood mind control… and he'd just been sitting there, letting it happen to another man. Clint had wondered if something was wrong, the turn around seemed strange but then Wanda had told him that Stark had somehow gotten his hands of magic and was using it to subvert Bucky's will. She had reminded him of what happened to him and told him Stark would probably do the same to him if he agreed to the requests he was getting. Stark and Bruce wanted him to go to medical, they were worried--just wanted to subvert his will. Did they?

That didn't sound right.

Stark was rage and fire about what had been done to Bucky. By Wanda. Had come into the room and efficiently put them away in minutes to help James. 

Clint had wondered, hadn't he? When Wanda walked in with Bucky, but then the thought had slipped away from him as they watched a movie. Clint had made popcorn for them, Bucky had smiled and thanked him. He'd just been happy for Wanda that now Bucky was free from Stark, Bucky didn't hate her anymore and the two of them were sitting together as they watched a movie as a family.. Then Sam, Scott and Natasha joined them and it was perfect, wasn't it? No one was missing. 

Clint was having a crisis as memories slipped free from nets that he hadn't known were there. What had he done? What had he endorsed? What had he been a part of? He didn't deserve the barrier. The barrier that even now wrapped around him, soothing him. 

Sam finally had his proof but he didn't feel good about it at all. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Scott was looking a little green too. They'd watched a movie next to a prisoner of war being tortured and hadn't seen a thing. He wished he could look away now. Sam however got the feeling that Tony wasn't going to release them anytime soon. He couldn't find it in him to blame him.

Nat was cursing herself for being so _blind_ and failing Yasha. She had only met up with the others for the team meeting before coming to the meeting room. It had been 28 minutes. She should have seen something but she hadn't wanted to. What use was this strange vision she seemed to have now if she hadn't seen what was going on under her nose? Seen what Steve has orchestrated. Because she doubted that Wanda did this alone, because Yasha would not go anywhere near Wanda. It had been a point of contention since Yasha had discovered her ties to Hydra. Before that even. 

Nat had become… disillusioned with Steve since the Civil War but this… this was something else. It was unforgivable that she had let her own wishes, her own selfish desires for Steve to still be the man she had built him up to be in her mind. She had let it blind her to the pain and suffering of a man she looked up to with far more respect and for far longer. Yasha had been her hero as a child, she had emulated herself of him. She had worked hard to please him in training and because of that, became the best Black Widow. She survived because of him. That Yasha had now suffered because of her ridiculous hopes? Why was she forever doomed to hurt those whom she cared for? She hoped he would forgive her for those 28 minutes, hoped Tony would, but she also wondered if she had the right to even ask. 

Steve was just shaking his head in denial. This was _ wrong. _ Bucky was just _ confused. _ It was _ Tony _ messing with him. _ Wanda _ was helping him. He must have gotten the magic confused in his mind. That was it. Wanda would never hurt someone like that. 

"No, no Buck, _ Wanda _ was helping you, _ Tony _ was messing with you. You've gotten confused, probably with all the magic in your head. That's okay though, we can get it fixed. Wanda will help you." 

"No Steve, Tony's magic was helping me heal, it didn't make me think about anything. It didn't force me to do anything. It didn't make me sit when I wanted to stand. It didn't make me smile when I wanted to be sick. I know what brainwashing feels like, I also know what it feels like to have your mind fucked with by magic now, thanks to you, and Tony's magic was nothing like that. It was warm and healing, whereas Wanda's magic was icy and sliced me up. She forced me to obey her orders whilst I _screamed_ no, and _punished_ me with pain when I tried to fight! When you demanded I be quiet, didn't you wonder _why_ I suddenly stopped? Because she punished me on your command. It was agonising and you didn't even fucking notice. Tony knew as soon as he saw me, I could see it on his face the second he opened that door. Just a look and he _saw_ what you put me through. You didn't _want_ to see." 

"No… I… I didn't know…! I was just trying to help you! I only ever have been trying to help you! It's all for you! I wanted you to be fine and happy again!" 

"I already was fucking happy! You wouldn't _ listen _ to me Steve, I fucking _ begged _ you, begged you not to do this to me, begged you not to let a fucking Hydra operative fuck with my mind. I was free after 70 years and you let her do _ whatever _ she wanted as long as I smiled correctly and parroted 'Bucky' phrases and agreed with you as you reminisced. Something I told you I don't like doing months ago!"

Tony let go of Steve with a look of utter disgust before finally being able to cross the room and go to James. Disregarding the Super Soldier. Reaching out before he even got to him. Tony felt the magic damping barrier flutter across his skin, attempting to push his glamours down but because of how he carried the Fire with him they stayed in place. He wouldn't be able to cast much in the field however, he'd need Stephen to remove it before he could remove Wanda's parasites. 

Steve made a move to stand up and follow, looking for all the world that he was still going to get in the way. Natasha hissed at him to stop, causing him to pause, confused at what was happening. 

He was helping, right? He _ didn't _ hurt Bucky. He'd _ never _ hurt Bucky. He just wanted him to get better and be the real Bucky again. Not this other person, he wanted Bucky to be happy again and he couldn't be happy as _ James. _ Couldn't be happy if he was doing things Bucky would have hated. It was just wrong. 

Steve was in the _right._ Steve _knew_ Bucky better than anyone. Better than himself and definitely better than Tony, who had barely met Bucky, and tried to kill him! All he wanted was to help, but when he tried to correct Bucky he had reacted badly, which told him something was wrong as Bucky wouldn't be like that to him. Wanda wouldn't torture him, she was just helping him see what was right. Bucky had been Bucky again and Steve had loved every minute. Just like he had thought, when he was the _ real _ Bucky again, he and Wanda had gotten on brilliantly. Not as James who apparently liked Tony if what Wanda had said was true. That alone proved something was fundamentally _ wrong. _ This… This wasn't right. It must be a trick. 

He hardened his resolve and looked at Bucky about to stand and protect him from Tony again, but seeing Tony's face shift to something so… soft as he finally reached Bucky left him... stalled. Tony spoke completely in a different language with a musical lilt that he was sure he recognised, it wasn't Gaelic, maybe Welsh with the musical quality? Which was bizarre as to how Tony knows Welsh and how Bucky seemed to understand him.

"Rydw i yma Cariad, rydych chi'n ddiogel." <I'm here love, you're safe.>

Bucky turned to him like he's… safety, and he doesn't know what he calls Bucky, it wasn't English that's for sure even though he'd switched to English. Whatever it was caused Bucky to smile and the difference between the smile he had earlier was like a blow to him, it was real… _No._ He won't let Tony turn him against Wanda. He would not let him win. It was still up to him to save Bucky somehow. 

"It's okay Fy Sidan, I'm here. You're alright. Steve I'll show you her magic stand fucking here if you still think she's innocent. You _ will _ see what you dealt."

Stephen stepped closer to the pair, not too close. He made sure there was a good 2 feet between him and them. Stephen didn't want to work Tony back up again, not now he was finally starting to calm down. His aura was still alight in such a strange way, instead of the complexity of higher thought patterns it was like everything was blanketed down by pure instinct. It was so strange, Stephen had never seen anything like it before. Stranger still, was that Tony's aura also reached out, wrapping around James as Tony move to him. Stephen had again, never seen a person's aura to _ move _ like it had a mind of its own. James frazzled, sharp, jagged pained aura that was still twitching with aftershocks of pain, was soothed by Tony's aura as Tony soothed the man.

So no, Stephen _ really _ didn't want to interrupt or cause Tony to start moving back to that knife edge of pure rage again… but he had an _ inkling _ of what Tony was going to do. After the UN and the Accords Council assigned Wanda to him for situations exactly like this after Tony's preliminary report, he'd been doing a lot of research on different kinds of mind control. There wasn't anything concrete on the mind stone itself, but mind control was not limited to one stone. It had been a horrifying subject to dive into and it left his skin crawling when he thought about the witch.

"Tony are you sure…?" 

"Stephen, you want to take the witch, correct?" 

Stephen did not take Tony's calm, almost soothing tone as directed at him. The words might have been for him, but everything else was for James. His anger was obviously not gone, so he was very careful with his words and his tone. He did not think his friend would hurt him, but at the same time, he had just discovered his friend was a damned sight more powerful than he thought he was, and Stephen had already thought Tony was powerful. Now he knew that he was a Power. With a capital P and everything. 

"Of course. That was the plan you set down with the Accords should she break the agreement of her parole." 

"This is the only way you take her alive. Understand? You can remove your dampening spell now, I'll catch and hold everything but I need my magic to remove what she laid down." 

Everyone was silent again at Tony's easy proclamation that the only way Wanda would live past this event was if whatever he planned went forward. Steve gaped at it, annoyed at the lack of outrage. 

Tony was finally where he had wanted to be the whole time and could actually breath properly since he stepped into that hall and had felt dred coil in his gut. Stood with James, his instinct was still there, pushing, but it pulled back enough that colour actually started to fully return to his vision and his mind started picking up where it had dropped out. Fuck, since he walked into the hall and felt that something was wrong, he'd needed to be _here. _Because of Rogers blocking his path, James had to suffer even longer than he should have, _fuck_ he could have just Firewalked, _dammit._ His anger had gotten the better of him, instincts overrode everything and he didn't think. _Couldn't _think. Hopefully James could forgive him for that.. He carded his fingers through James hair, feeling Stephens magic pull away, he caught Wanda's magic and held it in place. 

Tony was actually calming himself as much as he was calming James. Actually, he was more calming himself. James had actually calmed as soon as he had reached him, instantly putting his trust into Tony in a way that was both gratifying and humbling given that this was his fault. James had turned slightly in his chair, that he was too exhausted to even stand pained Tony. Turning, painfully slow, he curled towards Tony's chest, still shaking slightly from the come down of adrenaline or muscle spasms Tony assumed. It was slow going as he was exhausted and in agony yet he did it anyway. 

He quickly slipped his hand to the back of his neck, needing to help in anyway he could. His glamour on his arms folded away as he began to remove his pain. From his fingertips moving upwards, revealing the woad Wards. It was agony to take, but he'd take every scrap of it so James didn't have to feel it anymore. Tony was partially at fault for this, it was his _ failure _ that led to this, and falling prey to his instincts had prolonged James pain. Taking that pain unto himself was the very least he could do to balance this failure. 

James rested his head on his chest, as if he was trying to plaster himself to Tony as he pressed right back. The trust he was showing him utterly staggered Tony. He would not blame James if he was furious at Tony for all of this. James had come to his territory expecting _ safety. _He knew he should just focus on soothing James and removing the threads but he couldn't seem to help himself so he carried on carding his fingers through his hair. Something must have shown on his face, or James picked up on it through the Fire. Because James lifted his right arm, even though he was clearly exhausted, to squeeze the wrist of the hand drawing away his pain. 

"I'm alright." 

Tony gave him a pained look at that because he knew exactly how much pain he was in, James just smiled at him before curling further into his chest as if to prove Tony's spiralling thoughts wrong. Tony just looked down, utterly confused by the action. 

As Tony was wearing a t-shirt today, the woad tattoos were visible from his fingertips the entire way up. The Rogues had obviously not seen them like this before, even when he had the glamour down. The most they had probably seen was his hands and wrists. He could feel all of them bar Stephen taking them in, trying to understand and Tony really could not find it in him to care. 

He decided that as James actually _ liked _ them, he didn't know why, when it came to his Wards, it usually made modern people uncomfortable until they grew accustomed to it. James had liked them from the instant he had seen them. James seemed to like it when he dropped his exterior glamours in general, and even when he dropped the human act. His mother delighted in how it was confusing Tony. 

It was all quite strange and not in Tony's usual experience with humans that it left him baffled. Modern people were usually uncomfortable with large amounts of tattoos which is what the woad resembled, let alone his face. It freaked people out, made them nervous. Tony loved his Woad, but he'd gotten accustomed to hiding it thousands of years ago when they went from respected to a target. He didn't like making people he cared about uncomfortable after all. James… James made him _ want _ to drop his glamour. Enjoy being in his own skin again. He'd even been considered dropping the glamour that was anchored in the Fire, but he'd not quite built up to _ that _ yet. That was big. 

This was something he could do though, something to make up for the pain he caused, even under the scrutiny of the others. So he dropped the rest of his external glamours. Peeling back until the only glamour he had left was the one in his Fire, most of it was obviously still covered by his clothes, but his face, neck, and as the shirt was pretty loose, his collarbone and glimpses of his chest. It was pretty obvious that it continued beneath the fabric as wards dipped out of view. The interest from the others doubled down, Stephen curiosity also pinged across his senses, shock and confusion from the others pinned to the wall, likely not quite what they expected. However, it was all very easy to ignore. Tony only really cared about one person's reaction right now, and that it could possibly cheer him? up after taking so long for him to get to him? It was easy to drop the glamour. 

Using the hand that wasn't steadily draining away the pain, he slid his hand to James chin to tilt his face up gently, despite the pain and everything that had happened, he _ smiled, _ just because Tony had dropped his glamour. That he was smiling after this, Tony was blown away. 

"I tried to fight it Tony, I'm so sorry." 

Tony shook his head, counteracting the apology quickly before anything could form from it. He would not have James in debt himself over something that was his fault. 

"It's ok Fy Sidan, you fought so well, I could feel it and you are strong, you have _ nothing _ to apologise for. Understand? _ I'm _ sorry I didn't get to you sooner. Sorry I let my instincts run roughshod over me when I could have got here sooner. This never should have happened and I'm sorry I failed you." 

Tony was as protectively curled around him as he could be, carelessly apologising more than he ever really had in his life. He was practically apologising like a human but the weight of the apologies were actually comforting in a way. James had turned to tuck himself against Tony's chest, his right arm wrapped around his waist his metal arm was now clutching his shirt as if it was the only thing keeping him together. Squeezing him. 

"Stop that, this isn't your fault." 

He was about to apologise again as James tilted his head up and leveled him with a glare that had Tony clicking his mouth shut. That earned him another smile before James made himself comfortable against his chest. Tony didn't know what he'd done to earn this trust, not after he had failed so badly. 

James wasn't exactly one to show pain like this, so the sight of him like that was having a pretty strong effect on everyone else in the room. Tony too actually, if his protective instinct jumping up with the need to protect was anything to go by. They were also staring at Tony in equal amounts of shock too. Back and forth as the two men acted nothing like any of them were accustomed too. From the sheer rage and promised death Tony had practically shown them mere minutes ago, this was just… completely different. It wasn't just the fact he looked like a terrifying ancient warrior like in modern clothing, it was the sheer gentleness that many didn't attribute to Tony. Especially as he still was not trying to appear human. 

Scott found the entire scene ridiculously adorable with two of the scariest people he knew, suddenly being all cuddly and smiling dopily at each other. Alright so Scott kinda liked sappy books and this was just cute. After all the terrifying, adrenaline surging, crazy, it was kind of nice.

Watching the magic slowly peel back from his fingers up his arms, revealing the strange blue designs as they went was nothing short of awesome. After it then peeled back from his face too? Extremely cool. He'd seen some of them before, but since they'd come to the compound Tony was usually seen wearing long sleeves. So he had seen them on his hands, but he had been confused that sometimes his hands had been bare. Sam had assumed they were temporary, but Scott had a good memory for details like that, and he saw that they were identical everytime. He was sure he'd seen some films with similar markings. Scott got the feeling it would take a long time to work them out, it gave Tony an ancient feel, like he was looking at an ancient warrior that stepped out of the past. But in jeans and a t-shirt. 

Sam and Natasha were paying less attention to the strange designs on Tony's skin and more attention to how they were acting with each other Natasha was watching with interest because she had been pretty sure the pair were not dating, but the degree of closeness the pair had easily fallen into had her wondering. 

Highlighting her miscalculation for the degree of care Tony clearly had for Yasha. She hadn't even seen Tony like this around Pepper but then… Tony had changed since Siberia. There were some things that had remained, but he had a degree of comfort in his skin that Tony had lacked before. Oh the man had been confident but only when he was acting, using the carefully constructed masks, beneath he had been soft and breakable. That was still there, he was soft in the way he looked at Yasha, the way he revealed these tattoos to them just to make Yasha smile, but he was comfortable in it. He felt as far from breakable as possible. Tony had always been tactile but nervous about actually engaging where as now Tony had practically plastered himself to Yasha. 

Steve just watched in utter confusion as Tony pressed himself close to Bucky's back as possible, it was almost as if Tony was working out how to manage the most contact without moving Bucky. Who was clearly exhausted and in agony, yet he was still trying to move, he couldn't deny it, he was suffering. No, that wasn't entirely accurate, he had been suffering. Because now he was smiling. At least he couldn't deny that, he _ didn't, couldn't _ believe that Wanda was the cause, and he really didn't like the idea of Tony comforting Bucky like this. Did not like how close they were, not one bit. Not when Tony had been so violent at the idea of his even standing next to him. Maybe Tony's magic was torturing him and Wanda hadn't been able to stop it all! That made more sense, he just didn't know how to remove Tony from Bucky.

He just didn't understand, this _ couldn't _ be how Tony said, it _ couldn't! _ Tony started talking again, in the same, soothing tone as he had been speaking to Bucky, so at first Steve thought Tony was still talking to Bucky. It was like the pair had forgotten they were not actually alone in the room.

Anytime he had tried to even step close to Bucky to comfort him, Tony had attacked him and now Steve was supposed to watch whilst they were like this in front of him? He didn't like how Tony was holding Bucky, not at all. 

With the soothing tones, and the fact Tony hadn't actually looked up from Bucky, it all really had Steve thinking they'd forgotten about them all. Even those who Tony had trapped against the wall and had yet to release! Until it became very clear that he was actually talking to Steve, even though he wasn't looking at him which Steve found highly rude. All the while running his fingers through James hair which Steve was also not happy with, and he didn't understand the black lines that twisted through the blue tattoos from James neck. Was Tony putting something into Bucky? 

"I'm going to remove her magic and place it directly into your hand, I won't tamper with it, I will leave it exactly how Wanda placed it so you can see what each one consisted of, forced into James psyche, along with a portion of the pain. The magic will be exactly as Wanda laid it, you'd be able to tell if I did anything to change it, as my magic looks very different. The red would change to Black Fire should I attempt to alter anything. On my word, and on my magic, you will only see and feel only what Wanda devised. Understand? Then, you will _ see _ what _ you _ did. Every single one." 

Steve found his voice as he finally scrambled to his feet at last, still healing the damage caused by Tony's brisk but brutal attack earlier, but he pushed back the pain. The shock that had had him almost paralysed him on the floor was wearing off and he immediately went back to saying things Nat, fuck, that _ everyone _ knew would piss Tony off. 

"And we only have your word on it-" 

Even now Rogers seemed to still want to profess Wanda's innocence and accuse Tony of everything, which finally made a little Tony's anger snap again, he was holding it back but it was slipping through here and there at places of weakness caused by Rogers poking holes in his resolve by pissing him off. Tony was frankly fed up with the worst always being thought of him and the best of her. That she received a thousand second chances even though she showed no remorse or repentance and Tony was accused of anything even remotely connected to him because he was the devil or something. 

Tony was done. Plus, he was sick of them wasting time. 

The snap marked his words with a violent flash of magic that had Stephen and Nat sucking in a breath under the shock of it. Even though he used the same, calm measured tone still. It splashed across their skin like pins and needles and leaving an after image of a bright flash in their eyes. Everyone in the room saw _ something _ although they couldn't quite say _ what. _

"I can't lie. So yes, you have my word on it." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what it is about my fics where I get myself a little revenge on the 2d cut out of a human that is MCU Steve. But I really like Tony punching him.
> 
> I think 616 Steve is nodding in agreement personally.


	49. Balance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The insomnia cheque from the last few chapters got cashed 😂 spent a good period of the day falling into naps whilst proofing this one.

Tony couldn't lie? 

Everyone's head snapped to Tony. Realisation dawning on some of their faces, others were utterly baffled. 

Sam and Scott had absolutely no clue, they found it odd really, that he said he couldn't lie. What would stop a person from lying? Not won't lie but unable to lie. But they also, somehow, fundamentally knew it was the  _ truth _ and that maybe it had something to do with that flash. Neither knew where the flash came from, it wasn't like it was in the room. The lightning levels didn't change but it was like it splashed across their mind. Both had become accustomed to their lives being weird over the last few years, but magic seemed to add an extra layer of confusion to things. 

They knew Tony had been a normal human before Siberia and after, he came back changed. Steve had thought he had experimented on himself but the more and more was revealed and it was clear that these changes weren't a modern thing. They were old. Ancient as the blue tattoos that Scott had seen in some films but couldn't think of the name. Not being able to lie. That seemed in the same vein, old, magic. 

Clint was barely paying attention to the room, he was trying but then something in his mind would catch him and pull him off course, lost in his own mind, thinking. He was leaning into the barrier again, even though he was sure he didn't deserve it, Stark, not Tony. Tony. Tony. The pain was white hot as he pushed further into the barrier. He was sure Stark wouldn't help him like this, not after what he'd done.  _ What had he done?  _ He didn't know, but he knows it was a lot, that it hurt. There were conflicting memories, he and To-Stark stashed in the vents eating chocolate and then him alone, like he was before Wanda with no one. If Ton-Stark knew his barrier was giving him relief he'd probably take it away. Clint is starting to think that's what he'd deserve. 

Stephens eyebrows shot up at those three simple little words. Those three words were more to him than the simple fact that Tony couldn't lie. So much more. Because if that was true, then what he'd been denying for months was possibly true too and that meant his friend was Fae. Not only that, but a Celtic God. He'd been utterly convinced that Wong had it wrong, he couldn't believe The Fae existed… and yet, he had read every book that Wong presented him. Discovering that fairy-tales were real? After what he'd read? That wasn't wonderful or cute, it was fucking terrifying. Well, at least that explained the aura he thought. 

Natasha was the first one to actually break from their spiraling thoughts, but then she had already come to accept he was one of the Sidhe now, ever since those eyes turned to her in rage that could  _ never _ be mistaken for human, she was no longer in denial. She had heard of one's who were unable to lie, but she hadn't known if it was truth or fable. That was the one problem she had trying to research something like the Sidhe, much was written, what was true or false, that was a different game. Humans did a lot of the writing and they were bound to add things they made up. For example, she doubted that Tony could be defeated by  _ salt. _ She had presumed the salt was the same as not being able to lie or vulnerability to Iron for example, which Tony very obviously did not have. 

"That's why it sometimes feels weird when you say some things? I get this… feeling out of nowhere, that it is the truth?" 

Tony nodded at Nat's question before directing his attention back towards Rogers. Holding eye contact with him and letting the full weight of his attention settle on the Super Soldier, in a way that he usually avoided doing to humans. 

"Yes, now. Steve, I just gave you a big fucking vulnerability. Attempt to abuse it, and I. Will. Kill. You. See how it works?"

The same feeling snapped through the room as Tony pushed a little magic behind his words, so even those not magically inclined could  _ feel _ the truth in those words on a base level, and Rogers blanched. Tony heard his heart rate pick up too. Maybe realising how much he'd fucked up? Tony mused, or fear that Tony was very willing to actually kill him? Tony would have thought that that would have been evident by now. 

Either way, Rogers raised his hand slowly. Tony hadn't looked away yet, so Rogers was stuck making eye contact with him, unable to look away until Tony gave him leave. Not a trick Tony utilised often, but then it was quite obvious that he was not human by now, why should he go to the effort to act as such for people who had been involved in this? Why should he care for Rogers comfort? He pushed and pushed so now Tony was being himself. 

Usually, he avoided things like this, as they marked his nature clear as day and made people uncomfortable. James was quite a strange human, he had been dropping aspects of the human mask bit by bit, waiting for the man to say Tony had taken it too far, and yet… it hadn't happened. If anything it made him encourage him more, although he was pretty sure this hadn't been what he intended. He could however feel James amusement through the Fire from where he rested on his chest. So maybe it was? 

After Rogers had started to sweat under the strain of maintaining eye contact, Tony dropped his attention to James. Rogers slumped, breathing heavily now the attention was off of him but he didn't move from his position, which had been Tony's intention. Seems that he could be taught some proper behaviour after all. 

The entire time he'd been comforting James with his magic, that was very happy to be so close to James after being kept away for so long. Black Fire was shifting along his hand impatiently where he was pulling James pain away. Tony held it in place as he didn't know if James would appreciate his magic randomly coming over and saying Hi. He'd experienced it with the Blue Fire, but not with Tony's Black and Blue Fires. 

Especially given the lack of consent he'd suffered today. The handy thing about their current position, on top of the fact Tony had placed himself as a clear barrier to everyone else in the room, was he could use James Fire to talk to him. Even though it was still bound. Usually fire had to be unbound for communication, but the proximity helped. 

'Uh, so my Fire is acting up, it kind of wants to say hi? It's been worried about you.' 

James jumped slightly, before chuckling, which Tony figured meant he hadn't scared him too badly by talking through the Fire. As James didn't know how to talk back, he nodded slightly against his chest, everyone else was pretty oblivious as Tony sighed, feeling some of his muscles relax as the Black Fire slipped from his hand onto James skin. Blue Fire a few seconds behind. Skating down his back. He wouldn't have seen it, but he was close enough and still mostly curled around James, standing between the others and him. So he felt the shiver before James hummed and chuckled. His magic perked up knowing that it had cheered him. It lightened the ache in Tony's chest a little too, if not any of the guilt. 

He felt the fire wrap around James' wrist, so apparently it was planning on staying for awhile, sometimes he didn't get much say in these things. 

It had been so hard to think past the rage when Rogers had gotten in the way, blocked his line of sight, his magic had raged too. Even though he was still slightly surprised to the extent that he had fallen to his Instincts. He'd not slipped up that badly since he learned to control his rage again. Mind control was a very touchy subject matter for him though. He'd heard of people whose instincts had over ridden their brains to that level, but that had never really happened to Tony before. To the point his vision had narrowed and switched over to black and white, with targets lighting up. Not an experience that he would like to go through again. 

Tony was quite happy to be able to see colour again. Now he had contact with James, they were at a manageable level that he was more accustomed too, although he had a feeling it was going to take a while to completely settle. He really hoped James didn't mind him gluing to him for a while. 

Between his magic, pulling pain from his body and just running his hands through his hair. Although Tony would admit the latter was more to calm himself down. James had started to actually relax into him, which helped calm Tony down considerably. James had been hurting so much that he didn't even try to argue like he usually did when Tony took his pain on himself. Which said a lot really, as James always argued a little anytime Tony took his pain, although he understood why Tony did it. People being in pain around him, especially people who were his sent his instincts off the charts and plus, Tony's body can adapt to pain faster than a human. Whereas James would take hours to work through the mess it shouldn't take Tony long at all. 

Tony was holding all of Wanda's magic in check, so none of it could inflict anymore damage on James as he gave himself a minute to lower his instincts. Before he started pulling them free and exposing Rogers to them. He was really not looking forward to touching the parasites, but Rogers needed to understand. 

Sam found his voice, because whilst he had a million questions about everything, what had happened, what was happening and what on earth Tony even  _ was. _ Right now he had one it particular, and he'd been wondering about it since back lines had started flowing up Tony's arm from James neck, following the twists and turns of the strange blue patterns on Tony's arms. James had immediately relaxed as soon as he had started, the pained expression on his face had smoothed out and he'd stopped twitching. 

"So, urm, why does your other arm have black lines?" 

Tony glanced at his arm, the black traveling from James and absorbed into Tony? His left that hand firmly on the back of his neck, the other in James' hair Sam noticed. Whatever Tony was doing, it was certainly working. James looked more alive compared to the pale, shaking form he'd fallen into after the Sorcerers magic stopped him smiling Stepford wife style. 

"One of my abilities is to take someone's pain on myself. My body is much better equipped to deal with it. I leech it out like poison, as pain affects the body in strange ways. My ability allows me to take what is causing the problem and draw it out. A trick I learned when I was training to be a healer. The Black lines are his pain. Wanda has had him in agony, torturing him with memories and physical pain from the second her magic touched his mind, she only knows how to force compliance with pain. She uses pain as a hammer and everything is a damned nail." 

Sam blanched at that, Scott gaped slightly, not having really thought about the pain the witch had forced him into. It sucked because James was nice, he didn't deserve pain. 

Clint had actually been paying attention this time, and focused on the black lines. The thing in his mind kept telling him ton-Stark was cruel, selfish and wouldn't do something to anyone. But there he was, in front of him. Draining pain and taking it on himself. That was pretty big, he imagined that many people wouldn't do that, even if they had the ability. He didn't know if he could do that, take other people's pain on himself. He didn't do well with pain, which was probably why Wanda little training magic was working so well on him. Anytime he thought Tony instead of Stark there was blinding pain. He didn't have constant pain though, proved that James had just been stronger than him, that he'd crumpled at a tiny bit of pain and he complied hadn't he? He didn't know. He tried to stop leaning into the barrier, but… he couldn't give it up. It was the only thing in so long that was soft and held him, made him feel good. Kept the anger gone. 

He couldn't turn to look at Nat or Sam on either side of him, they were all securely held and unable to move but Nat looked just as shocked about Tony taking on James pain. 

Although Clint had to wonder why Tony hadn't secured Steve like he had them, surely it would be easier than waiting for him to stand there and raise his hand?

"Stephen, bring Wanda in here now." 

"Tony-" 

Tony actually glanced up from James and looking highly unimpressed for having to do so, that look alone stopped any arguments the Sorcerer might have as he sighed, raising his hands in the universal symbol of surrender as he crossed the room, waiting for the door to open. 

Nat noticed that the look in Tony's eyes had softened, but it wasn't gone. Catching a glimpse when he'd shot the Sorcerer a look, were the others seeing this? Why was she seeing so much in people's eyes? Would this work on anyone or just Sidhe? 

Nat was sure Scott at least would have mentioned if he'd seen Fire in their barrier and the magic, Scott had not filter… She'd  _ seen  _ it. She gasped when the Sorcerer had gasped, but no one else had. That feeling building in her gut had gone silent now, but she  _ remembered _ it. Could still feel it. Maybe… maybe after this she could find Tony and talk to him. If the offer he made still stood after this. 

There was a great tearing noise, of metal screeching as the battered, Fire covered door was peeled away from the frame. Rhodes had been listening in on everything that had been said in the room through the Black Fire. Tony's Fire had acted as soundproofing, as such Wanda had heard nothing being discussed and no one had heard Wanda pitching the screaming fit. Which Rhodes had honestly gotten sick enough of, that by the time the door pulled open, Rhodes was standing in the hall, with his Black blade at Wanda's throat. His other hand holding her securely by the back of her neck. She was glaring but was now silent as having a blade like that at your neck, only as idiot thrashes and screams.

Rhodes dropped his blade, holding it loosely at his side as he entered the room, he let everyone get a good look and draw their own conclusions about its similarities to Tony's Scythe. He had felt him summon the weapon and from how Scott, Sam, Clint and Natasha were secured against the wall, he had used it. 

He handed over the little witch to Stephen, who had to practically drag Wanda across the room. Black Fire still completely encapsulated her hands and arms up to her elbows, attached to a neat, thin ring of Black Fire around her neck. With no magic she was not strong enough to overpower Stephen who looked mostly irritated as he unceremoniously dumped her on the floor next to Steve. 

She immediately scrambled to her feet, leaning heavily on Steve, who was still standing, not far away from Tony, with his hand held out Rhodes noticed. Tony was firmly in between James and the rest of the room, using himself as a barrier whilst he was leaning against James. So that's why Tony had calmed down. Rhodes noted that James was equally curled into Tony, arm looped around his waist, the other fisted in his shirt. If the man didn't look so exhausted from pain and if there wasn't black running up Tony's arm, Rhodes would be happy to see his two idiots curled up so close. Both of them were tactile and needed it, he just wished it hadn't taken an event like this to push them closer. 

Although he knew the idiots by now, they'll both still be convinced that the other doesn't like them. Rhodes wouldn't mind, but he bet he'd be hearing from both of them about this later. Both of them talked to him and made him swear not to tell the other. Carol had actually suggested locking them in a closet, but when he did that Tony just teleported them out and they were  _ both _ confused as to why he'd done it. This was why he called them his idiots. 

Wanda's screeching pulled him out of his wandering thoughts, and Rhodes figured he'd very much prefer his idiots pining over hearing any more of the Witches damned screeching. He'd had enough of that to last a lifetime.

"What did you do to me!?"

"I painlessly and harmlessly stopped you from using your powers and violating anyone else's mind like you were planning to do to me. You'll want to sit down.." 

No one missed the sharp smile that he tossed at Wanda with a brief glance her way but before anyone could say anything he turned his attention entirely back to James again, each time he looked away from James, it was only for a short period. Making it quite clear to everyone where his current priorities lay. He kept his left arm firmly on the back of James neck, constantly pulling the pain away which Sam was watching in fascination, Scott was wide eyed and nervous, Clint was just leaning into the magical barrier in front of him again, he just didn't know what to think anymore, so just didn't. The barrier felt good. That was all he could manage right now.

Natasha knew that Tony hadn't actually forgotten about them. Not even remotely. She knew that Tony had not released them for a  _ reason, _ she'd come to see the way his people saw things from spending her nights with her Queen. Natasha expected that to Tony, they had watched and done nothing to help Yasha, not seen his pain and suffering. To balance that out, she suspected that now they were going to watch Steve, and probably Wanda, likely experience a lot of pain and be helpless to do anything about it. There was likely a reason they couldn't turn away. It was easy to think Tony had merely removed them from the situation earlier but even when he had been human, Tony had multiple motivations behind seemingly simple actions that didn't become apparent until much later. 

She found herself completely okay with this, as for the others, she was unsure. She felt.. Calmer now, steady, even though she couldn't pinpoint  _ why. _

Tony's attention however, was still only for James as he continued to comb his fingers through hair whilst everyone else watched, slightly confused as to what he was actually planning and feeling quite awkward for watching, especially as they were physically unable to turn away. 

At the same time Steve was still plain confused. He'd never seen this side of Tony before either, but then he'd never actually seen this side of Bucky before either. He was smiling, eyes closed as Tony apparently took on his pain on himself. Steve still wasn't sure if that was what Tony was  _ really _ doing, sure he  _ said _ he couldn't lie and it  _ felt _ like truth, but this was just too weird. Bucky had never really been one to lean on others for comfort, he was the one who comforted everyone else. He was the strong one. He wasn't the kind of close his eyes and let someone else watch over. 

Steve wanted to interrupt them, to pull Tony away from being so close, but then he remembered the way Tony had stared into him. Like he was seeing through him. How Steve hadn't been able to even tear his eyes away. How he couldn't move, how heavy just his gaze had been. It made Steve pause when normally he would have stormed ahead. 

Clint forced himself to watch Tony's every move now, he  _ needed _ to know if Wanda had actually done this. He needed to know if she fucked with Bucky's mind. No. James. He deserved his name if he had really sat by and watched Wanda… If she  _ had _ done it to James, then maybe she really had done it to him. His mind was going back and forth on the subject, but anytime he thought about it for too long, his mind would remind him on a loop over and over. Trust Wanda. Trust Wanda. Trust Wanda. Protect Wanda. Trust Lau-Wanda. Wanda. He was getting whiplash from the confusing fog but he had a feeling that without the barrier, all he would remember was to trust Wanda, not the rest. 

He was pressing himself against the barrier to reach her without him intending to do so, like his body was off on its own course of actions. It pushed him back and the pressure eased in his mind again, the harder he pushed, the clearer things were so he let himself fully lean on the invisible barrier again. The barrier was good, he didn't have to stand, it held him. The Red in his mind hated the barrier but the red couldn't touch the barrier. The barrier was stronger. It was like he could rest and it had been so long since he had last rested. He wished he could just wrap himself in it and maybe sleep. Sleep without pain. He was so tired. The barrier made the mess of his brain pull back, like he'd been drowning for years and now he could breathe. 

So Clint could do little else but try to fight and watch really. If Ton-Stark didn't pull any magic from James head, then maybe there wasn't magic in his head. Maybe he was just losing it. He hadn't been trapped in terrifying memories and paraded around like a puppet, there wasn't the kind of pain Tony or James talked of, he didn't think anyway, he just didn't  _ know. _ He just… couldn't  _ trust _ his mind. Part of him hoped Tony found no magic to show Steve, he wasn't sure he could take it knowing someone had been in his mind again, he barely survived Loki. How had he survived Loki? He couldn't remember how he started healing. 

James, he survived, he was thriving, he was  _ smiling. _ Even  _ right now. _ After everything he'd been through. If James could do it, then maybe he could. Tony asked James a question he didn't quite understand and it jarred him from his thoughts, he didn't think he'd missed anything as he slowly melted down, everyone else looked just as confused in his peripheral vision. 

"How long for each one?" 

"Ten seconds." 

"Fy Sidan…" 

"Any longer, and he'll probably pass out before he feels every one. And I want him to feel _every_ _one_." 

Tony didn't want him to let Rogers off easy, but he supposed that he had a good point and he untangled the mess Wanda had left behind, pulling free a twisting, thrashing vine of red. 

To the others it just looked like he was still running his fingers through his hair, until he pulled the thrashing thing free. It was obviously from Wanda, everyone in this room could recognise her magic with ease as many had been tormented by it or seen someone else be, which generally said a lot about her really. 

"Buck I-" 

Tony didn't let him get any further, feeling James flinch at the name flared his anger back up again so he slammed the red, thrashing magic into his waiting hand, and then Tony forced Steves hand shut around it. Holding him in place with a vice like grip. No matter how hard he pulled, Tony just stood calmly, still removing James pain. As he now had no hands free to comfort James, he rested his head on the top of his head and pushed against him in quite a catlike gesture that made James chuckle. 

Steve's pain was immediate. Tony let the scene in the magic play out and feel the pain that Wanda had woven into it to anchor and punish James for fighting her. James just stayed curled into Tony's chest. No mercy to be found there and Tony stared Steve down again, so that even through the pain Steve would find that he couldn't tear away. Whilst pain lanced through him like his nerves were on fire and freezing at the same time. 

Tony was unflinching the whole time as Steve tried to pull himself free, but he pretty effortlessly kept him in place, with one hand and his eyes and Steve was bound. Steve couldn't budge his hand at all. Tony's head was tilted slightly as he rested his head upon James. The look in his eyes wasn't something to be mistaken for human, an alien feel, that even through the pain, it had the hairs on the back of his neck stood up again. Steve got a feeling that he was also only seeing this because Tony had  _ wanted _ it. Steve was starting to realise there was more to Tony than he had conceived, that maybe Natasha was right, maybe he hadn't augmented himself like he had thought. Even if he didn't understand any of this. 

When 10 seconds were finally up, Rogers stopped screaming abruptly, swaying and blinking in confusion, staring at his hand because the red thing was on fire with a pure white flame. Everyone, well except Tony, Rhodey and James who understood how the Fire worked, Stephen was starting to understand the different breeds of Fire and the kinds Tony carried with him. 

Tony controls the fire, so the fire only burns who he chooses to to, in this instance it was burning Wanda's remnants magic as its the only way to destroy noxious magic such as this. Magic however is also a person's life essence, the core of their being, so if you burn that with the Purifying Flame… well that's going to hurt. A lot. Stephen was pretty sure he was going to end up with a migraine by the end of this. 

The four along the wall and Steve looked confused as to why the bright white Fire was not hurting Steve at all, that he was just staring at it, dazed. Then Wanda dropped to the floor like a sack of bricks. Well, Tony  _ had _ recommended that she sit, but she'd stood, holding on to Steve and trying to pull him away whilst Tony had replayed the memory for him. Steve tried to pull away more this time, but Tony didn't budge an inch. Just kept Steve gaze passively, refusing to allow him to move or look away. It took 10 seconds. But like with Steve, it likely  _ felt _ longer for everyone watching. For Tony and James it was over quite quickly. 

"Don't do that again, I.. I'll do my piece but don't hurt her anymore." 

Tony just stared him down, no one spoke, the only noise was Tony's hand moving through James hair again. After nearly a minute, Steve flinched, but was still unable to look away. He just didn't know how to deal with  _ this  _ Tony. 

Satisfied, Tony brought his attention back to James. Releasing Steve with a look that clearly spelled out that he should not move. It took everyone a second to realise he wasn't talking to James again as he was using the quiet, soothing voice. The overall feeling he was putting out was that he didn't want to be there with them, but as he was stuck with them he would pay them as little attention as possible. 

"If you don't repeat that, exactly that, with every piece Rogers, I will pull every single piece out. Collect them in my hand and burn them together.  _ Understand _ ? Any more than around 10 at the same time, well, our little Wanda won't fare very well, and there are a lot more than 10 in here Rogers. Just ask Wanda. You have no idea how slow I  _ could _ burn them, if I do it too fast, it will kill her you see. So really, it's a kindness. 10. Seconds. As James requested. Push me and I will make it longer."

“Bucky, you don't want him to do this in your name, he's torturing Wanda, she's just a kid!" 

"Steve, she's twenty fucking six years old, you've had her in the field for years, she's not a kid and I'll be honest, after what she just put me through? I'm all for Tony slitting the bitches throat after she burns all the magic at once, or have him burn it over  _ years _ . And don't think that would be the end of her suffering either. And stop fucking calling me Bucky."

Tony gently scrapes his nails over his scalp, more than pleased with how James was dealing with this and more than a little amused with his ideas too, even after everything that had happened. Most people would have been crushed by what the witch had put him through, and yet he'd fought every second of the way, came out the other side  _ pissed. _ James hummed in response, tilting his head towards Tony's hand. Even though Tony said nothing. Steve, of course, decided he was at fault for what James said. 

"Tony, what have you done to him?!"

Instead of answering, Tony concentrated and pulled the next thing free from the tangled mess, this one was gluttoned. He holds it up to Stephen, who backed away from it immediately, distaste clear on his face. 

"Stephen, do you know how to destroy this without hurting the little witch?" 

Steve looked up excitedly before he saw Stephen shaking his head,  _ and _ cringing away from it. 

"No, after she arrived, I did some research into the different types of mental manipulation. This kind, that gets left in people's minds is the worst, most noxious kind. The magical equivalent to radioactive waste but it doesn't have a half life. Remove it and it hunts for a new host. Will tear through person after person for thousands of years if left unchecked. Just one could render a person catatonic in 2 to 28 years of hell. Then it moves on and does it again. They can also split. 

"There is no other safe way to destroy it other than The Purifying White Fire and few people can summon it, even fewer can summon enough of it to burn long enough to destroy the magic completely. This magic is a slice of her core, there is no way to burn it painlessly. Magic like  _ that, _ especially this severe has been outlawed for over 500 years in a multitude of dimensions. The last case study I found was a man who had done this to over two hundred people, I think, he was The Mayor of a village. A man carrying what was noted as a Black blade, by the name of 'Black Scythe' was the only person who could free the afflicted without the Villagers killing themselves or the magic being released and latching on to others. I was going to ask you about it… given the mention of the blade, it is a bit obvious now and I should have realised earlier really..." 

Stephen smirked at the comment about 'Black Scythe.' gesturing at Tony who nodded. He remembered that case well. Unfortunately. It was burnt into his mind and he wasn't sure he'd ever forget it. He and Rhodey could both call the White Fire, Rhodey was the Physical representation of the Purifying Fire like he was the physical representation of the Blue Fire, but they were pretty rare and Tony would rather Rhodey didn't have to touch this crap. It was like holding a void of heat, it sliced into his hands and the cold spread into his bones. Even when he was holding them to destroy, they were trying to feed on his pain. 

"It was actually 243 people. I had to sit each down and pull each thread out like I do here. That's why this method was set, as it not only discourages future behaviour, it's also the only way to destroy this kind of residue, The Purifying White Fire. Did you lot see our very, very powerful Sorcerer back away from this? That's because it hurts magic users to touch this, it took 9 days without rest for me to do that, long after the bastard died, so you see Steve, I fucking  _ hate _ corruption like thid, If I had known she was capable of this kind of weave? I would have never allowed her to return. They're the worst betrayers of magic."

Tony made it very clear what he thought of that, Tony loved magic. It was a precious part of life and the Balance of Magic was integral to him. As he was bound to the Fire, he was the Balance. He hadn't lied when he told Fury he was The God of the Balance, he was. It just wasn't a name humans picked for him. So he'd be unable to google it or research it. Tony had been named God of Balance by his people and it carried across the Realms. Magic was his belief system in a way, betrayers of magic were vile beings that Tony couldn't feel a shred of remorse over. It was sacrificed when they betrayed magic and that was a reason for another of his titles that was given by his people as Dienyddiwr. The only thing he felt in Wanda's direction was the enjoyment he'd get when he could remove her powers. 

"So, what, you're practically torturing yourself, holding that? Aren't you?"

Sam looked even greener at that, it had been bad enough that James had been forced to suffer, but watching Steve and Wanda screaming had been hard for him, especially with the being unable to leave. Tony seemed to have no interest in letting them go. Now that he knew Tony was taking the pain from James, feeling and seeing what was making Steve scream bloody murder at the same time? This was so fucked up and it was all the witches fault. Not all, he reminded himself. 

Steve played a part, and that hurt. 

After this he was going to be passing on all the information he'd gathered on Wanda to Tony. He'd know what to do with it. Maybe… Maybe Tony would check him too. To see if Wanda had been in his mind. He'd been meaning to take the files to Tony but instead always found himself coming to Steve. FRIDAY hadn't seen Wanda casting magic on him though, so he thought he was fine. But then, that's only since arriving at the compound. He'd been living with her for a long time, they'd been in close quarters in Wakanda for a good year. Fuck, she'd had so many opportunities to put one of those things in his head. Would she even need to cast magic on him now? Sam wasn't sure what was making him feel sick anymore, maybe everything. 

"No other way to deal with it, I just don't scream. I'm also going easy on him too."

"Hold up, the wizard said 500 years ago, are you seriously saying you were alive 500 years ago?! "

Scott's shock lightened Tony's mood a little and made James smirk, which was nice, because he really did hate people who could do this to other humans and he'd promised that the sorcerer could have her alive unfortunately. With every memory he witnessed. The more his mood darkened. 

"Yes Scott, in my actual form, I'm a little older." 

Tony ignored both Rhodey and James snorts at that. 

"To help humanity, I enter the mortal cycle occasionally. So, I was born as Tony Stark, then I died in Siberia as Tony Stark, which is when I regained my original form so to speak. When I'm mortal, I'm 100% mortal. Now, I am not." 

"Wow, that's so cool, well uh not the dying. I don't think that was cool! Um, can you tell me more later? You know, like… when we aren't  _ here _ ?"

"Sure."

"How are you just having a conversation when you're about to start torturing an innocent girl?!" 

"Innocent. Steve, ya didn't just call the Hydra bitch that tortured me innocent did you..?" 

"Come on Buck, she was trying to help, I'm sure of it. Maybe she went about it the wrong way? I don-" 

"Here's the thing you don't get Steve, you don't do magic, so I'll give you a little leeway for possibly not understanding the severity of this crime. The Accords are barely catching up when it comes to crimes of magic, as too much of her magic was slipping through. This is a vile, perversion of magic. But really, you should understand how bad it is. With Clint is on your team after New York, did you not bother to check on him? I won't even get in too what she did to my mortal self. James has  _ told _ you how she made him suffer, on  _ your _ word. You've witnessed only 10 seconds of a memory that she forced him to endure. Is there anything she can do that you won't excuse?"

Steve glanced at Clint who was looking at Steve with such hurt that Steve actually flinched. He had never connected Wanda's powers with what happened back with Loki. Clint had never shown a problem with Wanda, he'd been angry these last few years but after Ultron and what Tony did, Steve figured that was perfectly understandable. Tony had created something that tried to destroy the world, he was angry at Tony. That was all. 

Tony shook his head, he could just see that he wasn't getting through to Rogers with words. Maybe seeing what he'd forced James to experience would work, he wondered. As he pressed the thread he'd been holding so long, that his fingers were starting to go numb from the cold in Rogers waiting hand. 

If one memory wasn't enough, well, he was holding plenty more and Tony would hold Rogers in place to feel every single one.


	50. Overprotective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh I hate patch day, I've had to keep my arm mostly straight all day >.<

**Mixed POV**

A few seconds into Rogers holding the next piece, Tony started talking. Holding Rogers attention as it ticked over and started burning the magic. Not letting him look away. 

"It's not just the disgusting nature of the violation Rogers. All magic comes with a price of some kind. Mind magic like this? It is a two-way sword you see, she can only cut as deep as she's willing to slice herself up. Each peak at someone's memories makes it easier for the next time. Every time she plunders someone's mind and wipes their memory, she starts to forget _ why _ it's a violation. Starts to think that she is above everyone, that it's her right to fix people. That she is in the right. Every time she forces someone into a nightmare, she enjoys it. Every time she causes someone constant pain, it's harder for her to see why she shouldn't use pain as a motivating force. _ 'Fixing' _ people becomes normal. It doesn't just affect her powers too, it erodes everything about her. I've not seen a magic-user go as far off the deep end as she has for a long time. Generally we are lucky she is barely a basic apprentice without proper training. Already her skills are developing in patterns I do not like. In a decade she'd likely be a threat to humanity. In two? She'd be a threat to the Balance. Not everyone is cut out for magic, some were never meant to hold change in their hands."

He didn't know if he'd gotten through to him, people seemed to just not get how truly terrible mind control was until they saw hundreds suffering, or killed at someone else's behest. After the last one had burned up, Rogers had dropped his hand again. Tony was more than a little annoyed because with each he held, the more familiar he was becoming with Wanda's magic. Rogers was almost shiny and clean, his aura hadn't been disturbed or pushed with subtle weaves and there was nothing feeding off his energy. Wanda's Hydra training in subterfuge and Rogers desire to see the best in people was enough to sway him. She gave Rogers a person to protect and when Rogers had made up his mind on a person, it was nigh impossible to sway him. 

"Easier to go further and further until she takes a survivor like James, a man who was thriving after 7 fucking decades of having his mind fucked with, and saw nothing wrong with locking him in nightmares with constant agony and parading him around and _ you _ commanded her to do it. Now. Hand. Out."

This time Steve puts his hand out slowly, unnerved by what Tony was saying, he doesn't try to pull away until Wanda starts up. This time it seemed Tony had gotten annoyed with him trying to pull away, because Tony starts to slow the Fire down every time he does. Until Steve notices what Tony was doing, horrified and he eventually stops trying to pull away. 

17 nightmare scapes later, and Steve is on his knees, unable to remain standing and Tony hasn't let up for a minute. More than a few of them had been replays of James 20 years of torture as he held out before the brainwashing took. He doesn't want to believe it, does not want to believe that Wanda did this to Bucky. Didn't want to think he endorsed this, there _ had _to be an explanation. He didn't know, he thought he was helping... 

Tony, of course, isn't letting this up until he is finished, especially as he is _ still _ draining pain away from James. He should have leached it all away by now, and yet… there are still black lines on his arm. 

"What time did this happen..?" 

"I didn't know… ." 

That he was avoiding answering the question was increasing Tony's ire and it was concerning Tony greatly. Tony came to the meeting within minutes of receiving the text message. 

"How long was it from the first time her magic touched him. Till I came in here? The pain should have drained by now, yet I'm still pulling it from him." 

Sam and Scott who had been occasionally protesting, albeit, weakly protesting Rogers treatment, stopped after James spoke. 

"2 hours."

Tony froze, slipping his fingers back into James hair to ground him from killing them both. James seemed to sense this and his right arm that was looking around his waist tightened. He tilted James face up to him again. 

"Why did it take them 2 hours, I came the minute you texted me." 

"Wanda recommended we watch some movies first. That'd be nice for me and Steve to _ reconnect_. Even though it should have been obvious I _ couldn't _ say no. The others joined for the last movie where I was sat with the Ved'ma." 

He practically hissed the last part and Tony had a feeling there was more to that. He might not get it all tonight, he might not get it all from James, but he would find out just how long each of them sat and did nothing. There were some mitigating circumstances, he had now handled enough kinds of Wanda's magic, he could see it on them clearer than before, even her more subtle weaves that had been hidden without needing to touch them, without needing the helping hand of the Fire they let him see and feel what had been done to James. 

After he had removed everything from James, he would offer to remove it from them and see what their reactions were before he made any choices. He looked at the others in the room one after the other. 

"Any more protests?" 

The silence was damming, until Steve started his "I didn't know's" up again. 

"You knew Steve. I told you. She even forced me to sit and be quiet on _ your _ orders."

"Boss, I actually have video from the cafe that might shed light on this, I could play a snippet. "

Tony internally curses, that's how she got around his Web. He didn't think she'd leave the damned compound to cast her magic but he did have protocols in place if she did. She'd never shown that degree of restraint or forethought before and he has to wonder if maybe it wasn't her idea? How much was Steve involved? Was this purely the Mind Stones influence? 

One thing he knew for sure was that FRIDAY hadn't logged her leaving the compound, he had her tracking bracelet set as a priority to inform him when he left the compound so he could monitor her. He would need to find out how she was getting around the trackers. They were not Stark Tech as they'd been supplied by the Accords Councils, but when he'd looked in on them they were pretty solid, if a little cheaply made. She was also getting in and out without his wall registering her presence, the mind stone had to be involved. Even _ Loki _ didn't know how to get around his wall. 

"You okay with that Fy Sidan? I can make it so you don't hear?"

James nodded and Tony splayed his fingers out, single-handedly casting a small version of how Stephen cast, but instead of bright orange it was deep blue. The circle changed a few times as he set the final working before he gently pressed the Ward to James forehead, letting the magic gently settle. He's had so much magic cast around him today that he was taking extra care. It played one of his more relaxing songs from his memory that he knew James enjoyed, leaving it so James couldn't hear a thing inside the room. He relaxed further with the music, which made the additional power usage worth it even though he had a feeling that today was severely going to burn him out. 

"So Rogers, want to come up with a better excuse before I play this? No? FRIDAY, Play."

"No, Wait!"

FRIDAY, of course, ignored Rogers and played it anyway.

He glared at Rogers the entire time it played, the quality wasn't great, it was a cafe security system after all, but it was easy to work out what was happening. Even Sam who had still been kind of against what Tony was doing seemed to put his hands up at that point, well, if he could. Tony mostly just tried to think calm thoughts and focusing on small things before he slipped, hearing James literally begging Rogers to listen as Rogers ignored him? It was almost too much to deal with. 

Tony waved away the spell, James blinked around the room and saw the hostility aimed at Steve and something eased in him, he felt vindicated in a way. The barely contained rage that Tony had built back up to was a surprise, Tony had been slowly calming down since he had gotten his hands on him now it was back and sharp he could feel magic folding around him in layers and Tony had pressed closer if that was possible. Rhodes was completely still, his eyes had pitched to white and was glaring at Steve hard enough James was concerned he might actually spontaneously combust. James had been worried people he considered his friends would hear that and side with Steve… Sam he noted, actually had a better(or worse depending on how you look at it, either way, it was effective.) 'disappointed' look than Steve as he spoke. 

"I can't believe you made us a part of this Steve. You just told me James had gotten his memories back and was going by Bucky now and that he'd gotten over his dislike of Wanda. You told me that Tony had been manipulating him and I didn't want to believe you, but you forced James to agree. Fuck James, I don't know if you could ever forgive me for what has happened today, but I'm _ sincerely _ sorry."

The others joined in, Stephen was glaring at Wanda with outright hostility now and Rhodes switched his glaring between Steve and Wanda respectively. 

This time, Tony didn't wait for Steve to offer up his arm, as he still only had the use of one arm, he used magic to drag his arm up and slammed the thread in, holding it in place. What Steve didn't know was that he wasn't going in a random order, he was going in order of severity meaning each memory/vision/nightmare was worse than the one before it. Steve's horse not-Screams gave way to Wanda's sobbing as she felt her magic be burned again. He made sure to meet all of their eyes this time. 

"I want all of you to know exactly what I'm capable of when one of _ mine _ is hurt. This is the only warning I will give, Rogers if you so much as touch James again, I will make you wish that The Accords did not protect you from my blade right now.." 

Finally, the black lines dried up, he'd removed all of the pain she had forced into him, which was good as it had started to take a toll on him. Tony can take a lot of pain, but it's not fun. Especially adding to the magic threads he was handling, he was getting a double dose. 

"Bucky… No-Not..yours.."

Tony rolled his eyes before dropping his voice to ask if he wanted to mention the Fire or just have Tony be a bit off saying people were under his protection, he was fine with both really, because he did do both. Generally, he viewed all that lived in his territory as his, well, not the Rogues, ew. The Reapers a little more so. James had not unlocked his potential and as such was more vulnerable in his mind, it pushed his protective instincts higher than usual. Which was why he'd practically glued himself to James. 

"Fy Sidan, do you wish to tell them?" 

He stroked his hair and smiled, still calming himself as much as James, letting him know he didn't have to tell them anything, Tony was fine just looking strange really. James was more relaxed now everything had been completely drained away, the muscle spasms had eased too from his magic spreading. He still hadn't pulled that back, having it wrapped around James was settling him. He had no idea what it was about James, just holding his arm gently around his waist and his anger just came up short. It was strange because James was definitely not strong enough to hold him back, yet he could, with ease. 

"I'm okay with them knowing." 

Tony glanced at Rhodey, he had assumed that Rhodey was fine with outing himself, given he had not put his blade away, even now. If anything he was making sure everyone got a good look at it. Tony was already planning on laying a Geas on the Rogues after all this was finished, especially now they knew about his inability to lie. So he could simply add the Reaper information to the Geas, making it so they'll be unable to tell anyone about what Reapers are or who is one. Even by accident. 

Rhodey raised his right-hand sword up for everyone to get a good look. Angling it to catch the light perfectly Tony noted, his Rhodey-bear could be a dramatic little shit when he wanted to be and he was more than a little proud of his blades. 

"See this huge, scary sharp looking sword? It's called a Reaper blade. Like Tony's Scythe that you saw earlier." 

On cue, and a pulse of Black magic Tony held his Scythe out. Scott's eyes going wide as he looked back and forth. James ran his fingers down his Scythe, feeling the etched Wards, Tony pulled some Blue Fire, feeding it from his hand where he was holding the weapon. The Blue spread through the Wards in both directions until every Ward was lit with Blue Fire. So maybe Rhodey wasn't the only dramatic one. 

"I control Fire too as well as some other abilities. Reapers are humans who are enhanced by magic, are of magic, in order to protect The Land, The Fire and most importantly, The Balance." 

"The Balance?" 

Scott was very interested, had been since Tony summoned the Scythe because that was pretty awesome, if you only the situation was less… You know. _ Terrifying. _ Tony was casually holding the Scythe as Blue flickering lights spread throughout the weapon, lighting up complex patterns before flickering along blade itself. Rhodey's was a huge sword that glinted in the light and he swore it looked like white Fire was flickering across the blade. Both men had a… different air around them when holding these weapons, an authority. Protectors, Scott liked that. So yeah, he might be well on his way to being a fan, he wondered what Tony was too, because Rhodey was human, but enhanced. Scott had a feeling that Tony was not an enhanced human, he'd looked into his eyes when he'd said he protected what was _ his _and yeah, not human. Plus there was the 'became mortal' thing, that he'd died and returned to his non-mortal self. 

"Of all reality, to make sure multiverse doesn't implode. Reapers are chosen not by a person, but by magic itself, it searches out potentials. Tony finds these potentials, gets super overprotective of us and gives us a choice, accept the mantle, or not. It's not a one-time choice."

Scott had a feeling that Tony was definitely higher up somehow, high up enough that he raised Humans to the position of Reapers. That was so hard to wrap his head around, but at the same time, he got the idea. 

"OK, that sounds really cool!"

"I'll tell you more later if you want Scott. A trait of my kind if we like to tell stories and I'll be happy to tell you some. And I'm not that overprotective..."

Rhodey and James snorted at his comment of not being '_ that _' overprotective, grinning at each other. Considering Tony's current actions it was hilarious that he didn't think he was overprotective. 

The fact Scott was still capable of being hyper about stuff after everything that had happened in this room was adorable and Tony had to reward that somehow. Scott's excitement at different points today had also brought Tony back from the edge on more than once, so yeah, he hoped the man sought him out. He seemed to have more interest than fear and caution. So Tony expected that he would. He'd already decided that he was going to steal the man. 

This had been possibly one of the most terrifying days of Scott's life and he was still stuck to a wall with a forcefield but now he couldn't help it, he was a little excited. Scott always wanted to know more and Protectors… _ they _ were his heroes. It's why he had followed Captain America to Germany only to find out that he wasn't protecting the people, instead of fighting against what people were screaming out for. He'd been careful after that, he'd not wanted to put his faith into anyone without knowing that they were a real protector but Rhodey and Tony? Scott knew they were. They'd known something was wrong with James when they'd been blind to it, Tony and Rhodes had torn into the room in on fury and magic. Took them all out and got straight to James in minutes. Removing his pain and taking the magic from his mind. There was little doubt in his mind that these two men wouldn't protect people they had under their protection. James turned his attention from the Scythe, his fingers still tracing the patterns as he spoke. 

"So now you have a brief rundown on what a Reaper is. So, it will make sense when I say that I carry the Black Fire too, I'm not a Reaper though, I hope one day to be worthy of it. I'm like, a potential Reaper?" 

"You can't force him to do that!" 

Tony's face darkened with the implications that he would force a person into taking up the mantle. In all his years with many, many Reapers. He never put pressure on one to become a Reaper. Not even when Fate was pushing at him. His anger hadn't gone away and every time now, it was taking less and to trigger it. Like Rogers was poking holes in his resolve. 

"Rogers, just because _ you _ don't value consent and bodily autonomy. Don't assume everyone else doesn't. Whether James decides to take up the mantle or not is irrelevant to my care and his choice alone. _ No one _ will make that choice for him, not me, not you. Those who carry my Fire are _ protected_. Whether they have released the Fire or not. Hold him a moment for me Rhodey. I don't wish to be interrupted."

" With pleasure." 

He didn't want to be interrupted for this. It was important. He directed the first part at Rogers, because James already knew. Rogers was already weakened from Tony's quick attack and the memories and pain had taken a lot of the fight out of him. Rhodey was able to hold him single-handedly, with ease. 

"I cannot implant nor remove it, it's a natural occurrence. Understand?" 

He raised a hand before Rogers could say anything else, this wasn't for him to speak, looking very intently at James. Levelling the full weight at him so he would hopefully understand this, he had failed somewhere of he felt unworthy of his Fire.

"Fy Sidan, you have _ always _ been worthy, I don't know what made you think you weren't, you certainly are. The Fire is always there waiting for you. Whether you decide to take up the mantle tomorrow or in 5 years, me and Rhodey will be there and be just as thrilled. It has and always will be your choice alone. You have quite a lot of my Fire, after all, I've never seen anything like it before." 

Tony summoned his Black Fire to his hand next to James sternum, and the responded surge of Black Fire from James chest almost leapt out to mix with the Fire in his hand. Tony smiled at how excitable his Fire was. A bit more today, but then considering what had happened that wasn't a shock. Fire usually only got like this loud after it had been released though, and if Tony couldn't feel the intact bind on James Fire, he would swear the man had somehow unlocked it on his own. As he ran his fingers through the Fire again as he checked on the bind, definitely still in place. James cool black silk had an addicting property to it. Tony could never just run his fingers through it once. 

Rhodes was surprised by the sheer amount of Fire given he knew what locked Fire usually looked like. Rhodes had obviously seen both locked and unlocked Fire before, and James looked like his own, after the bind was removed. It made sense in a way though. They were unbalanced without the man, he would be a powerhouse someday and Rhodes couldn't wait. At least now they knew what had been blocking the man, and it was so obvious in retrospect that Rhodes was kicking himself for not working it out sooner. Although, he hoped that hearing that Tony thought he was worthy would be enough to help him to his yes. 

Scott had not expected Fire to explode from James chest! The same Black Fire Tony used to summon his Scythe. So the magic must come from Tony and find people. James and Rhodey seemed perfect. Both were strong fighters. He knew less about Rhodey but he and James had hung out a lot in Wakanda and the man had spoken often about someday wanting to protect people. He wondered if he had been talking about being a Reaper back then? He had a little bit of hero worship brewing for Tony, Rhodey and now James apparently. Sam was never going to let him live this down. 

Sam and Stephen watched with interest, trying to understand the strange turn things hand taken. Natasha found she was not surprised, her queen had told her that some of her kind did this. Poured their magic into Earth's Fire to find people. 

James seemed surprised, but smiling, which considering everything he'd gone through, made Tony happy. Steve just looked unhappy. 

"Buck, I'm sure we can find a way around it." 

James reacted harshly to that, glaring at Steve and considering if he had enough energy to get up and punch the idiot but figured being closer to Steve would not help Tony at all. James instead tugged Tony back to his side, needing to make Steve understand. Even though he could hardly look at the blonde right now, that would take a while. This was important to him, this was something he _ wanted. _

"You wanted me to fight in the Avengers? How is this different? Other than Tony giving me complete control over my choice when you just decided I'd be an Avenger. And you've already been told that it can't be removed." 

"But Buck-" 

"Yeah, plus, Tones is over-protective to any human he likes and I don't know if any of you lot have noticed, but he's _ extremely _ protective of James. He could wake up tomorrow with no Fire and Tony would still be there being annoying and over-protective, trust me. Suck it up Rogers and put your hand out. You delaying means you're forcing your supposed best friend to hold nightmares. Unless you think Tones should just torch the rest of course… "

James blinked at Rhodes proclamation, and that Tony looked as if he agreed with everything Rhodes had said. Oh. He hadn't known that, he had worried occasionally that it was only because of the Fire. Not that that was a bad thing, but that it wasn't just because of the Fire, that left him feeling better. Smiling easier. He had noticed that Tony was particularly overprotective of him, but he figured that was because his Fire was inactive and his Fae nature and instincts pushing at him because his Fire was bound. 

Tony slammed the next nightmare into Rogers hand but was not watching the man anymore. If he could trust him to somehow burn the nightmares, he wouldn't have to keep hold of his hand, but knowing Rogers he'd probably put them in a box under his bed and cause a huge incident when they escaped and attached to different people and then Tony would have to clean up the mess. Knowing Rogers he would then blame it on Tony somehow. He had quite a few more nightmares to go. 

By the end, Wanda and Rogers were practically curled up on the floor, the 4 against the wall were a little shaken, but he suspects for different reasons. James, however, was smiling against his chest. 

He could see Clint had wrapped himself in his bind, wrapped it around himself to soothe his pain somehow. He hoped that then man would let him heal him. Otherwise, he'd have to go to Kamar Taj. There was no way around it, now he'd finally gotten his hands on Wanda mind manipulation weaves, his sight could pick up on what was hidden before and it looked awful. Among other things, the red magic slugs, the ones that acted independently without Wanda's instruction there was something else laid on Clint that he had not been able to see until a combination of things happened. 

His bind of Wanda cut her off from Clint. His new knowledge of her powers, and finally a high-level barrier spell that Clint had somehow been wrapping himself up in. Tony had no idea how he'd done it, he wasn't aware that it was possible to do that. The other three hadn't, it simply held them securely against the wall. 

Somehow Clint had given himself over to the barrier, looping it around him several times. The barrier had then pushed back what he assumed had been a concealment charm, he was likely wearing something she had anchored it on. He could probably even spot it now with how he'd wrapped himself in the barrier, that was in, he was wearing something around his neck. What Wanda had laid on Clint was horrifying, nauseating to look at. Tony had been alive a long time, seen a lot and because of his jobs, he had seen the detritus of not just humanity. This was easily one of the worst things he'd come across 

Tony was dreading touching it, but he would if Clint would let him. Even if it was likely to cut him up. He was wrapped and bound in what looked like barbed wire. Tony had been about to release them, but he needed to build up some energy for a few minutes at least before he could tackle _ that. _

Sam chose that moment to talk, jarring Tony from his deliberations and plans for how to help Clint. 

"I just.. I don't know how you did that man. How could you hold his hand and keep it closed?" 

Tony looked down and James who smiled up at him, even though he had held a man's hand shut around some things that burned through him like ice and heat. Smiled at him even though he'd forced a man to see the Hydra top hits of James torture. Smiled as he locked a man's hand around Fire that made the little witch scream. Very much a Reaper. Watched as Rhodey had. He would happily do it all again for that. Tony slipped his fingers through his hair, he had a bit of a thing for James hair, so sue him. 

Tony doubted that any answer would be adequate for Sam. Nothing would be able to explain it because Sam fundamentally could not understand how his mind worked. They were of a different species. Humans instincts were a low hum at most, easily ignored, for a Fae they were loud. So loud that they drowned out higher thought and emotions were felt keenly, like they thrummed through his very being, his body humming like a tuning fork. 

So what answer would be acceptable? That he was not human? That should be fairly obvious to everyone in this room by now. If they thought him human after today then they needed to sit down and think about what happened and what was said. That anyone who engaged in this kind of magic was dead to him? That he really was letting them both off easy? Amusingly because of the Accords. Because he promised the Sorcerer he could have the little Witch before he counted the nightmares. Before he heard the audio from the cafe. If Tony had heard these first then Tony would not have offered her to the Sorcerer. Oh, he would have her for today, and she would think herself free of him but no way was he allowing her to continue as she is. He had a package for Stephen to keep her not only bound, but in case that entity that was the Mind Stone was able to abandon its sinking ship, would lock it in place. He didn't know how long it would take the Council to agree for him to remove her powers, he wanted her helpless until then. 

Also, there was the fact that he'd happily cut down anyone who hurts his Reapers. That was all ignoring the fact that he could now feel that one day, if she had carried on this path, she'd end up under his blade anyway. In the end, he went with how easy he went on them. If any of them thought Rogers and Wanda's punishments ended today, they were fooling themselves. 

"Because 10 minutes is not 2 hours. Because I only let him watch the memories, only 10 seconds as James requested. I didn't force them into his psyche and make him experience them as if they were real-life over and over through agony to 'correct his behaviour'. I simply showed him each memory and a small glimpse of the pain she anchored the memory with. I was taking on 100% of the pain and witnessed every memory too, I felt the cold slice of her magic deadening my hands as I burned each one. Natka. Explain to Sam what it's like to feel her fingers in your mind, pulling up your worst nightmares. Do you begrudge me 10 minutes? Do you begrudge James 10 minutes?"

"No. Sam, he's right."

"Also, you're thinking in very human concepts. To me, it wasn't about me causing pain and suffering. It was about bringing balance. Our kind are quite strict on balance, you give what you receive. And I simply returned to Rogers what he dealt. If he had given something good, that's what I would return. That is what allowing him back to the states was, a chance. I gave him multiple opportunities to do something good. However, that's not what he did. 

"He gave nightmares, I returned them. 

"He forced pain, I echoed it. 

"He made a person who is _ mine _ suffer. 

"I returned it upon a person who is _ his. _" 

He levelled Sam with a look that he hoped would convey that he had gone easy. They watched a person who was _ his _ suffer. They were required to watch this in return. Shrugging as he moved his attention back to James. 

"Balance." 

Sam swallowed thickly as Tony's attention moved from him and back to James. He had to say, possibly the scariest part of today, which had been abjectly terrifying in so many different ways, had been that moment. When Tony's eyes held his own and listed what Steve gave and what Tony returned. It was like he felt an echo of each thing just from Tony _ looking _ at him. Part of him still didn't understand how a person could hold another as they buckled in pain but it was like information passed to him from Tony and he _ understood. _ There was also the fact that since Tony had wrapped Wanda in fire, he was analysing his own actions in confusion. Every time he decided to go to Tony, he found himself talking to Steve who told him it was fine, that Wanda was just helping and he had agreed. She must have done something to him that he didn't realise how _weird _everything was. 

Tony pulled a black pendant out of his pocket on a large silver chain. The kind you could place over your head as it didn't have a clasp, he had planned on giving this to James later but that got screwed up. He had only just finished it when Rhodey had dragged him from the workshop so he could change into something 'more presentable' for leaving the compound. Apparently_,_ he needed help, although Tony wasn't sure why, he was pretty sure he could pick out his own clothes. They obviously hadn't even made it to the penthouse as he was still in his workshop clothes. 

Stephen squinted at the amulet before he realised what he was looking at. Then he practically choked whilst glaring at it, which drew everyone's attention to it. Tony would have preferred less of an audience but he also wanted the protection piece on him _ yesterday. _

"Is that… Black Atronach?"

Tony nodded at Stephen, he'd kept a shard in his workshop for the Sorcerer, knowing that he would want some before turning back to James. It would be fun to see what he would trade for it. 

"Yup, I've been making this for you, I should have finished it sooner. Then you would not have suffered at her hands. It took me too long to finish it."

"What is it? It's not your fault she targeted me, _ you _ didn't tell the witch to attack me." 

The flinch from Rogers at James emphasis on the word _ you _ was visible out of his peripheral vision but neither of them turned. 

Tony placed the Stone in his palm and he looked at it closely. It had a huge number of Wards carved into it, deeply and it seemed to have three layers. The indents were filled. There was a black looking metal, that on inspection looked to be different metals braided, a silver metal with a blue, shimmering glint that shifted to green as he moved the stone, and the centre wasn't metal on closer inspection. It was tiny, flickering lines of Blue Fire in the shape of a septagram. The back was similar, but all 3 circles were Fire. Blue on the outside, White in the middle and Black at the centre. With a second Septagram made of all 3 Fires. There were lines connecting symbols from the front to back… there was so much but somehow it didn't look cluttered. It was beautiful and more detailed than Tony's _ Scythe_. It warmed in his hand quickly, the stone had a pleasant heat and he swore it felt like a heartbeat. The heat sunk into his skin and bones and spread. Oh, that felt good. 

"It's every protection for the mind against magic and any means of telepathic and mental manipulation that I know or could find. I might have added a few other protective Wards from my repertoire too and maybe some Battle Wards should you take up the mantle, it should come in handy, took me ages to find the black atronach though. It can be tricky stuff.

"On the front are metals of earth. The black is iron wound together with platinum and electrum. For Otherworld, it's silver wound with Sediman, which is a metal of earth magic and Aqurin, a metal of water magic. They're the elements I'm best at working with. Then it's a Reaper Black wrapped in Blue Fire. On the back is the Fire Triad. I took the White from Rhodey, the Blue is mine and the Black is yours." 

James blinked as the stone that was humming in his hand. He could tell just looking at it that a lot had gone into it. But Tony's explanations of the metals, that was... No one had ever put so much sheer _ effort _ into a thing for him before, nor tailor-made something for him. He ran his finger over the Fires and the Black felt exactly like his. The Blue had the warm, shifting hum of furs brushing over his skin that he got from Tony's Fire. He'd never felt Rhodes Fire before, but it had a hum, like a low-level feeling of excitement and acceptance strangely. 

"I have a feeling from the fact you made Doc Whiz speechless, that's a lot?" 

It was definitely a lot, his eyes shifted to the chain and he hadn't noticed at first but the chain was engraved too, it was the same silver with a blue shimmer, but when he shifted it in the lift, it changed to green. Same as the metal in the stone. 

"Hmm maybe, I might have gone a little overboard, may I?" 

"A little overboard he says. You are certifiable, how much magic did that take to craft?! How much magic is in that? That's not an amulet it's a magical nuke!" 

James nodded so Tony dropped it over his head. And Tony frowned at Stephen. 

"It's not a nuke, bad comparison, nearly everything on here is geared towards protection and defence." 

"Fine, that could stop a nuke, several, with ease! Magical or otherwise." 

Tony felt… better now that he was wearing it. He shrugged at Stephen because yeah, he might have gone a _ little _ overboard, but James deserved to actually feel safe for a change. Tony had also had a long time to wait for the Black Atronach, so he kind of kept adding to the design the longer it took. 

If James had been wearing that this morning, today wouldn't have happened. The little witch might have gotten through his mirror protection Ward, but this was a drastically different beast. He doubted that even the Mind Stone would be able to subvert this charm with some of the extras he'd worked in. Not without years, even decades of work. It was definitely one of his best creations and he'd been drawing up the Wards since James first mentioned that the Witch was messing with his dreams and had started researching and collecting Wards from different branches of magic. He began carving the Ward Links for the chain that day on silver as he constructed the other metals braiding them. He mused that Stephens comparison to a nuke was not actually that far off really. 

"Is it meant to be tingly? Is the wizard going to pass out?" 

"You turned Atronach into a relic? Black Atronach. Wong is never going to believe me, that's damned impossible…"

"Not impossible, just exceedingly difficult. And I'll show you if you want to Steph? The tingling means it's binding to you. Eventually, it will even protect you if you don't have it on for some reason. No one but you will be able to remove it." 

Stephen, however, perked up considerably at that. Looking actually happy for the first time many of them had seen. Which was more than a little bizarre. 

"Rhodey, drag her over here, I have one last thing to do to her, today."

No one moved to stop him, well, 4 of them physically couldn't, Rogers could hardly move his head, let alone stand up to interfere. He didn't even seem to realise what was happening until Tony had his hand on her neck and then it was too late. 

Stephen didn't bother interfering, he knew that he wasn't going to kill her as Tony had given his word. So, he wasn't going to fight a pointless battle, he knew when to pick to fight and needlessly antagonising Tony right now would be absolutely stupid. Just because he was calm and a semblance of balance had been restored, did not mean the anger was gone. Fae were known for many things and their ability to hold grudges was legendary. 

Tony took a step away from James but still stood in the way of anyone in the room reaching him, reached and just lay his hand on Wanda's neck. For a few seconds, nothing happened other than her trying, and failing, to get away from Tony and Rhodes before she gasped at the weird sensation. Tony pulled his hand back and blasted it with Black Fire because he did not like touching her. Wanda was left with a very large mark inked into her skin. Covering the entire left side of her neck and shoulder. Black, not woad. He would never gift her with something so precious. 

Tony had simply brought her own magic to the surface and used his Fire to burn the red to black. Not painful per se, but it would feel strange having her magic manipulated by another with such ease. Having a person manipulate your own magic was also a way of proving strength for him, and weakness for her. It told her that Tony could take her magic and wield it himself should he want to. Now he could focus on clearing the magic from the others. Stephen tilted his head, barely able to glimpse the edge of what looked like a black wing before her still Fire covered hands reached to touch her neck. Stephen turned to Tony, curious. 

"What does that mean?" 

"I marked her as a blood enemy of my family and my people. I said you could take her, and you can. But they won't keep her at Kamar-Taj forever." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, we passed 1000 subscribers!!!!
> 
> I've been excitedly telling people, even my sister. Who I don't think even knows what Fanfic is, but then she's used to me being a bit odd. XD


	51. Healing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter of Mixed POV after this!  
And then some things you all have been after happens xD
> 
> Wow, this one went long, but I didn't want to chop it up, so we have an abnormally large chapter for this fic. It's going to feel so weird when I start proofing the chapters after this conflict!
> 
> Uh, if you don't like barbed wire, maybe skin the first part where Clint is being seen to!

**Mixed POV**

Tony waved a hand and the four against the wall and the magic pulled back, they stumbled slightly, being able to move for the first time in what probably felt like ages. Tony didn't completely remove the barrier from Clint however, wrapping it around him like a bandage. He could move now, the barrier just moulded itself against his skin. He'd never manipulated a barrier like that before, but it went surprisingly easy, the magic of the barrier actually wanted to help Clint so really Tony was just giving it the freedom to do so. The mild panic as the barrier removed replaced by Clint blinking in shock that Tony hadn't ripped away the first thing that had helped him in a very long time was painful to look at. 

"Thanks to this, I'm now intimately familiar with the mental manipulation and subjugation weaves Wanda utilises.."

Tony couldn't help the scowl he sent over to the witch who was currently sitting back in the corner sending him death glares. Rogers was attempting to bring himself to his feet but it was slow going, he hoped now he'd actually viewed the nightmares she wrapped around James mind, felt the pain, he might be less annoying. One could but hope. 

"To.. T-Stark. Fucks sake I can't even say your name! She fucked with my head didn't she?" 

"Clint, of course she didn't. Wanda loves you, she even looks after you when you have migraines. I'm sure this is all a mistake somehow, Wanda wouldn't do these things." 

That caused Tony to frown, and not just because of the almost desperate edge of Rogers, it was because Clint didn't have migraines. It was something that he'd monitored before developing his current implants, as migraines would have meant the ones he'd made could have exacerbated the condition. Clint barely even got mild headaches. Bruce had been trying and failing to get a lint to visit medical since the day he arrived. Bruce had said he had a headache, possibly a migraine, but Tony didn't know if that was just a cover, psychic feedback to cover the lost memories, or  _ actual _ pain. Bruce hadn't gotten anywhere and anytime Tony had tried to get remotely close to the Archer, he had gone in the opposite direction, and that was when he wasn't hiding out in his apartment. 

"Clint doesn't have migraines." 

"How would you know that?" 

Roger's come back was quick, apparently willing to die on this hill, no matter how many others got hurt. Tony could however feel the desperation in it, Rogers was starting to question. Was starting to wonder and he obviously didn't like it. Tony would possibly have sympathy for the man, of he hadn't picked nightmares from James mind, if he hadn't heard James literally beg him to stop, if he couldn't see the magic laid on Clint. If the parasitic slugs were a perversion of magic, that barbed wire was magnitudes of order  _ worse.  _ So no, Tony had little pity for Roger's desperation. As far as Tony was concerned, he should have noticed. In his position as Patron of Reapers, Tony regularly had teams under his supervision. 

When the balance was severely in danger, in those early days when the Fomoire stalked the land, he had many Reapers in his team. He knew each of them, down to food choices, and generally their life stories. No way would a Reaper of his have suffered so terribly without his noticing. Earth had calmed, and the Reapers remaining after the last battle had stayed together as a unit, protecting the Balance in lands he could not dwell in for long. Writing to him, even now, in different dimensions or different plants, he knew what they were doing. He was proud of them even though he missed them, he hoped they returned to meet Rhodey and James at some point. This was why he couldn't pity Rogers. He was not a very good team leader, sure, he was to Wanda. But to Tony? He'd been awful, just because of some files SHIELD showed him. Clint descended into anger and madness and somehow, Rogers never thought to question it. 

Tony knew that those early days, before Ultron, Tony had hung around with Clint but apparently Rogers hadn't even noticed. But then, Rogers hadn't particularly approved of pranks or violent video games, thinking on it, they had spent most of their time together without the Captain. Any group activity, Tony had been on edge as Rogers hadn't approved of a few parts of Tony's, well, everything. Where as he was best friends with Howard who made weapons for practically his whole life. He was critical of Tony for doing the same when he had actually stopped. So, it saddened him as a Caderyn, but it did not surprise him as Tony Stark, that Rogers had simply not seen what was under his nose. It seemed that as long as people agreed with him, everything was fine. 

Tony signed to Clint, because he didn't know how many people knew about his deafness and didn't want to out the man without permission. He could explain away the sign languages as picking something that only they knew. To discuss something privately in a room full of people. He knew Nat knew sign language, but he was pretty sure the others did not. 

<If you had frequent migraines it would have interfered with the implants I developed for you. Have you had any nosebleeds?>

"Wait, what are you doing?" 

"It's sign language Steve. I didn't know you guys knew it.." 

Sam replied as he watched the two men using sign language with a degree of speed and familiarity that spoke of more than just using it once or twice. Leaving him wondering what else he didn't know about his teammates. 

"I like languages, I collect them like bottle caps. Clint does too. Means I can ask him personal medical questions without you lot nosing in." 

<Yes. Loads. Can you help me? Please? The Barrier.. It pushed the anger back and there's something wrong with me.>

<Of course I'll help, come here Birdbrain.>

He gestured for Clint to come over to him as he couldn't leave James side with Rogers and Wanda still in the room, yeah he was over protective, but he as far as his instincts were concerned right now, he had a damned valid reason to be. It would be a while before he could tone them down enough to bring his human guise back on the subject. James seemed to find it amusing and not mind, which was handy, so he figured it was okay that he stuck to him like glue for a while. 

Clint practically stumbled over, like his body was trying to get him to go in a different direction, a very Wanda orientated direction. Tony easily caught Clint and pulled him over to him. 

"Okay, you being so unbelievably strong, yet still so tiny, is going to be hard to get used to." 

He blinked, because that was so much like the old Clint for a minute it was like a punch to the gut, even from something so deep into his human life. Jokes without the cruelty and anger that had become a part of Clint. The pressure barrier that he had wrapped around Clint was definitely helping. But it was a bandage and at the moment it was on top of a wound full of junk that he needed to clean out. If he was careful and worked around the pressure barrier, he could leave it in place. Then it would naturally degrade over a few dawns. 

"I'm going to keep that pressure barrier on you as it's helping. It'll degrade with each dawn but if you stay inside at the time, it will last longer, if you feel like you need it patched up as you heal from all this, come and tell me, yeah." 

"Really, okay, that.. That could be great, my head feels clear, like this fog of anger.." 

Tony had missed his friend. He hadn't thought that Wanda had been suppressing him after Ultron, that she'd been twisting him up inside, Tony had just thought that Clint had hated him after Ultron. Wanda had definitely been screwing with him back then too. Even now, as he flicked back through his human memories, it was like the film reel was damaged. Making things seem darker than it should be, patchy with holes and jumps. 

They'd all thought Clint had been the one to avoid her magic, instead of forcing his nightmare upon him, she turned his life into one. It should have been suspicious really that he was the only one she'd didn't screw with. Maybe it would have if he and Nat hadn't been carrying her magic, excusing things that should have topped them off. 

"First things first, let's get rid of this." 

Tony unclasped the pendant and pulled it away from Clint quickly, in case there was any magic on him to stop him. Clint blinked a few times in confusion. 

"What is that?" 

"A nasty concealment charm, so I couldn't see the magic laid on you. The barrier disrupted it. Does this actually belong to you? If she took something off yourself I can cleanse it, otherwise I'm going to send it to the Accords Council." 

"Never seen it in my life." 

Clint looked confused, but then he supposed he had good reason to be. He tossed the pendant to Stephen, who caught it easily, eyeing it speculatively before placing it in a containment box he pulled from one of his pockets. That's the handy thing about sorcerers, they were always prepared for many eventualities and always had an inordinate amount of spelled pockets. Loki enjoyed teasing Stephen about his several pockets as the young sorcerer had yet to form his own pocket dimension. 

Tony ran his hand over Clint's head, looking to see what had been done. Running a quick assessment charm to pick up anything with Wanda's magical signature. Wanda had been using constant, active magic on him, for Gods know how fucking long, but Tony's magic had cut him off from the source and the last few months she had been unable to top it up as much due to his Web. There had been some, those shoddy pain relief spells somehow had been shoring up the edges. Tony was still unsure how, but he suspected that now he would be able to understand her weaves better after this crash course into the vile atrocities of magic that she had blithely committed in his territory. 

There was enough parasitic magic to cycle through dry spells, likely so that the magic didn't expire when he returned to Laura. Wanda must have been taking him out of the compound to top up the magic somehow, or spelling it as if it was healing magic, either way Thor definitely had not picked up on it. Although he expected the man to be returning from Asgard soon with horrible visions of what she had done to James. There was no way of making that seem legal or consenting. There was usually a time delay between Earth and Asgard, so he would turn up, raring to go and ready for battle… most likely in an hour. Then that's generally what happens when your planet practically is sat on a black hole. 

The magic on Clint had already degraded a little since he had temporarily bound her magic in Fire, cutting him off at the source from any active magic. The parasites taking over. Which meant it was already extremely unstable and she was utterly reckless to lay this on a human. There seemed little care for how damaging this was to Clint, or she simply didn't realise just how detrimental this stuff was. That was the problem with skipping ahead. She had the power and the skill, but without the basics, without the core principles, her magic was built upon rotting foundations. Being an apprentice can be immensely boring, but it is required. Skipping ahead is dangerous 

Tony suspected that the magic clouding his thoughts, that told him everything was normal was fading. The magic that made Clint ignore glaringly obvious things, that made him not realise his memory had changed, the odious kind of magic that was very dangerous to humans as it would affect more than just Wanda. It's like removing pain from someone, all well and good until they accidentally claw their eyes out or chew their lip off. 

The only thing holding the scraps of magic together was his barrier. Unfortunately, degrading magic like this could be dangerous if just left alone, especially if he was already having migraines and nosebleeds. Especially if Clint was beginning to question. That was concerning. If Clint did not consent to him healing them he would have to go to Kamar-Taj with Stephen immediately. He needed to get that barbed wire off him. 

"You consent, yes? For me to remove Wanda's magic from your mind. FRIDAY will have this recorded. I'm very worried about the damage she has caused. You have been fighting for a long time." 

"Yes. Definitely yes. It doesn't feel like I've been fighting, it's like I'm barely keeping my head above water. My memories, they're a mess." 

Tony breathed in relief before preparing himself, this was going to fucking hurt. 

"Clint! What are you doing? You saw what he did to Wanda!" 

"Steve, he can only do that if Wanda has been in my head, if she has, then I don't care what happens to her." 

"Clint, how can you say that, she's just a kid! Think of everything she has done for you? How many nights she has helped you with your pain!" 

"Anyone who fucks with my head is dead to me Steve. Plus, if Tony is right, and I don't have migraines? Then she's been torturing me for years." 

Clint nodded at Tony, clearly ignoring Rogers. 

"Right, there is something laid on you that I'm going to remove, I'm going to try and make this pain free, but I need both hands, so I'll go quickly. Rhodey, Fire up for me, this is.. Not good. Clint, you have been fighting. You might not be able to see it, but I can." 

Rhodey came and stood next to the clenching his fists as bright, burning, white hot Fire burst from both of his hand, travelling to his elbows. James was looking at him in concern, obviously picking up that this was slightly different to what had been on himself. Tony closed his eyes and opened them with his sight completely thrown open. His eyes white, but he wasn't still and healing as he found the edge. He needed to see and at the same time, he wished he didn't. The Sight, came in levels, the level at which he used it now was rare even among his kin, it was passed down to him through his mother. The Sight showed you the utter truth of the world and its people, each image would be burned into his bind, never to dull, never to change for his entire life. With a life as long as his, even if used sparingly, nightmares build up, and Clint was in a horrifying state now that concealment charm was gone. 

Unfortunately he needed it to be able to remove Wanda's weave and he'd have to watch as he tore it from his skin. His mind flashing back viciously to a time of his past, of void chains instead of wire, that he stamped down mercilessly. If Rhodes or James clicked that this was triggering something from his past they would demand he stop and have someone else heal Clint. Which was not going to happen, not when he was able to heal him right now. 

It was slow progress at first, this had been laid down so long ago Clint had healed around and over it, no wonder he hadn't seen it when added to the concealment charm. So he was forced to rip open a badly healed wound. Clint shuddered as he finally got it started. Using the pressure barrier to follow his progress. 

"Fucking hell." 

Now he pulled at least some free, apparently Stephen can see it. 

"You can write this up for me Steph?" 

"Yeah, yeah I can do that. What the fuck is wrong with you, how can you do that to another person?!" 

Tony assumed that was aimed at Wanda, he didn't hear a reply but then he was focused on the task. He couldn't go too fast or too slow and his hands were already actually bleeding. He tried to hold the wire in between the barbs, but his hands kept slipping and this was much sharper and vicious than standard barbed wire. It wasn't anything he couldn't deal with, the blood just made it a little trickier to grip. His usual fast healing slowed by the multiple levels of damage the wire inflicted. More than just physical. 

Even though the barbed wire was not visible to most of the people in the room, the gashes appearing and bleeding on Tony's hands probably were. Judging by the feeling of unhappiness he was getting from James and Rhodey. 

And they called  _ him  _ the overprotective one? 

Fuck that hurt, he didn't stop though, as it would just hurt more after a break anyway. Nor did he let the pain show on his fact lest one of his Reapers try to make him stop. Tony didn't know how long it took, it felt like hours but it was more like 10 minutes had passed when the end finally came free. It had been dormant until then when it immediately tried to lash onto someone now it had been removed from Clint. He had expected that, which was why the second it came free, he quickly moved so that he was the only option. It lashed around his wrist, tearing at him as he quickly thrust it into Rhodey's Fire. The noise was something close to a high pitch scream and nails on a chalkboard, leaving everyone in the room flinching as the thing burnt away. Tony preserved a small sample he wrapped his magic and handed over to Stephen who quickly secured it in another box. Distaste clear on his features. 

His palms were healing slowly as he summoned some wipes to clean up the blood. He wiped them clean before immediately jumping back into clearing Clint's mind before someone recommended he take a break. His wrist was still bleeding but at least he wasn't bleeding on Clint he thought as his eyes cleared, swimming back to gold. 

Now Tony was able to place a hand at the back of Clint's neck as he ran his hand over his head. This was going to be delicate, he had to search out any active magic that was left, separating it from the degrading active magic and any other remnants from sloppy casting that were building up like scar tissue. Any one of these things could be bad, all together? This was dangerous. Especially in his weakened psychic state after the barbed wire. He hoped that he was in time to stall any permanent damage and with some higher level healing, that he could remove the built up scar tissue. Tony was unsure about his memories, whether they had been completely removed or simply repressed? He could lay down the Warding that was like what he had given James. If he took the steps to heal, it would help him along the way, make the journey easier. 

Even so, Tony was holding Clint very gently, he had suffered greatly at this perversion of magic and Tony did not wish to stress him further as that could do even more damage. Not after removing that vile thing. 

Sam had been watching with interest, as it looked like Tony was pulling on something, but there was nothing in his hands. It got even more confusing when Tony's hands literally started  _ bleeding. _ Huge gashes were just appearing on his palms as Clint was cringing. What the fuck was going on? The progress was slow, Clint looked nauseated, eyes close, swaying occasionally. Tony's eyes were pure white, occasionally flinching minutely before wiping it from his features as he just kept bleeding and gating more injuries. Sam honestly hadn't thought anything could top the events that had already passed, but this was a nightmare and he couldn't even see it. The Sorcerer obviously could, as could James. Rhodey seemed to see it but not as clearly as he didn't track it as steadily as the others. Stranger still was Natasha, he could swear she could see it as clearly as James and Stephen. Did everyone have fucking magic these days? His thoughts we jarred as Tony immediately jumped back from Clint. 

They'd all jumped back when it looked like he was trying to control something, like something was thrashing in his hands before thrusting it into the waiting Fire Rhodey had set up. Sam saw the gouge marks of what looked like something wrapping around his wrist several times before being torn free, the pattern resembled barbed wire which had Sam shuddering. It was completely brutal and Tony's wrist was  _ still _ bleeding, even now the black lines started to flow up Tony's arm again. Clint hadn't mentioned that he was in any pain and Tony had already taken on a lot of pain tonight already, he might not have been on the floor screaming with Steve and Wanda, but there  _ had _ to be a limit to how much pain a person can take on in such a short time period. 

Especially after whatever had literally caused him to bleed! His wrist was still bleeding but he seemed utterly uncaring of it. The blood was slower than he'd expect for a human, like it was already thickening and attempting to heal. His hands already seemed to have stopped bleeding, but his wrist definitely was not. 

Scott crossed to the other side of the room, pointedly avoiding getting too close to Tony and James whilst Tony was distracted by whatever he was doing to Clint, and returned with a first aid kit. James held his hands out and Scott tossed it over. He opened it up and started sorting through the contents whilst he was frowning at the black lines flowing from Clint into Tony. So Sam wasn't the only one concerned. Rhodes looked unimpressed too. Steve had paled considerably as Tony's arm was torn up, Sam hoped that meant he was finally starting to think, because Sam was really sure that there was magic in his head. All these times where he had been so sure something was wrong were suddenly back, something had repressed these memories, made him think everything was right and fine. Sam wondered if Steve had known Wanda was doing this. He hoped Steve had just been blind, because if he had known, Sam isn't sure he could ever forgive that. 

Clint saged almost immediately as Tony starts draining his pain and choked out a sob as he realises the pain has been there, startling Sam and Nat. Drawing his attention back to the pair, Tony was still bleeding, Tony seemed to not think of himself in the equation Sam noticed.so hyperfocused on healing Clint that he didn't even stop to heal himself? 

"What the fuck, how did I not realise that there was so much pain?" 

"It's OK Clint, I've got you." 

Nat came over to give him support too, tentatively, as if waiting to be cast away, but is visibly surprised when Clint automatically reaches out and grabs hold of her hand. Tony wondered if Wanda had attempted to damage their relationship too. Isolating Clint and keeping him for herself like some guardian construct instead of a person. 

"Oh God. Tony. I… What have I done? Laura! Why did I leave Laura? Why was I so angry? Tony, fucking hell, the things I said! Why did you help me? Why are you helping me now? Fuck. I don't deserve this." 

Shit, the memories were hidden under the layers of scar tissue. Tony had to slow down the healing, and layering different levels and Warding's as he went. It increased his workload but if Clint's memories returned to fast his mind might rebel against Tony's magic whilst Wanda's was still present and that would be bad. He would have to focus on removal first, the scar tissue was the prime concern along with removing the left over magic. Then he would need to resort to the kind of healing he had hoped Clint would not require. Not to dissimilar to what he had done on James actually. Just hopefully without passing out. The proximity of his Reapers to enemy combatants and his protection instincts would likely overwhelm any requirement to pass out from magic depletion, so at least that was something. Instead he'd just be exhausted, irritable and quick to violence. That won't lead to any problems  _ at all.  _

"Clint, I can literally  _ see _ and  _ feel _ what she forced your thought patterns into since Ultron. How your mind rebelled over and over and tore itself up over how wrong it was. I understand, and of course you deserve healing. You have been fighting for a long time, allow yourself a break man." 

Clint barely nodded and Tony could almost feel a fog of depression and self recrimination folding down across his mind as he began to collect the red strands that had been forcing his mind into unnatural conclusions. Nat watched, her face growing darker with each one he removed. Then he had an idea, that might help Clint take back some of the fight he believed he had failed at. What he hoped the archer would understand some day, that just because he had not won each individual battle over the years, he would be healed. Tony would make sure of it. Clint had lost and lost and lost, but in the end, he had won the war. He had survived, with his mind intact, which was frankly amazing considering the sheer amount of psychic damage, scaring, and magic over use that his brain had been soaking in. 

The parasites in Clint's mind didn't contain nightmares, rather were guides to force his thoughts where Wanda wanted them, each anchored in anger. So wonder he had been getting angrier and more brash as the tears went on. Clint was, despite his rather awful start to life, one of those optimistic cheery folk that found a reason to smile even if he landed head first in a dumpster. This anger was so against his natural personality that he'd been fighting constantly, the internal battle resulting in him turning sour and angry. There were less than ten threads, Tony decided that could definitely burn them at once without killing her. 

"Now, if you want, you can burn these, you can hold them, they can't hurt you because I won't let them, and I'll chanel my Fire through you. You can use it to burn them, I will just be the fuel. It will be your will and intent that will destroy them for good."

"Why?"

"I thought it might help in getting past what these did to you. You won man, let yourself have a victory lap. You deserve this Clint." 

Clint's eyes widened slightly at the use of his name and Tony wasn't sure what did it. Him staring him down and trying to pass along the feeling that he deserved it, or just him deciding to take back some control. Either way, To y practically felt like cheering when he did. The threads of life in Clint's mind were painfully short right now, this could open up more. 

"Yeah, I'll do it."

"Clint! You can't do that! It'll hurt Wanda!"

Tony very nearly snarled at Roger's, Clint needed something like this, that depressive fog could cycle and build and he could slip away before any of them can do anything. Tony can heal many things, but not everything. 

"What's the alternative Cap? Even the Sorcerer Supreme over here doesn't know how to kill them. "

"Maybe Wand-"

"I don't get you Rogers, you saw what I just removed from Clint, how can you defend her?" 

"I'm sure it's just a mistake and we only have your word that these even came from her!" 

Tony just blinked at the downright delusion before shaking his head. In Rogers mind, Tony was the bad guy, Wanda was an innocent child. He was desperate to believe it, but Tony could see it in his eyes, he was starting to doubt. Could see it when Rogers focused on his blood wrist, when he shot James desperate looks and now when he cringed at the handful of red in Tony's hand. Things were stacking up. 

"She's dead to me Steve. Dead. Let's burn them Tony."

Clint shot Tony a smile that had him so visibly relieved that Tony answered it with one equally as sharp that momentarily jarred Clint, realising it was the first time that Tony had smiled at him since  _ Ultron _ . Realised how much he missed his  _ friend, _ and  _ Nat _ too. He'd been so angry at everything, it had poisoned everything in his life, absolutely  _ everything _ . 

Tony showed Clint how to direct his Fire with a thought, and the archer had himself some fun raising the Fire higher and higher before they even added the red strands. Tony was too relieved to even care about the energy use. 

Clint paid zero attention to Wanda as he burnt the things that had been twisting him up inside for so long. Feeling lighter than he had in  _ years _ , and fuck, it was actual years since Ultron wasn't it? His sense of time had been utterly screwed too. 

Watching the strands writhe and burn didn't fully lift the pain from the consequences from Wanda's actions, but it cleared enough that Tony breathed easier. The potential futures of Clint taking his own life dimmed and were replaced with many other strings that stretched into the future. He couldn't read much into them, that was not his ability, unlike his mother. For him it was bound with healing, he could utilise the future threads helping him choose the best course for healing. Finding the longest thread. 

"If you sit a second, I need to make sure she hasn't done any irreparable damage." 

Clint sat pretty easily, following Tony's directions and Tony rested his hands on his head again, when he opened his eyes they were white and he was still. The trust and consent Clint leveled in his direction was a surprise and something that Tony had not expected. However, every scrap of trust and drive to heal would increase his chances of recovery. Tony didn't know what that recovery would look like, but he suspected that maybe he and James would be able to bond of having fragmented memories of their past and carry the knowledge they had been used maybe. 

For Clint it was worse in a way, James had not trusted Hydra, even with the chair forcing obedience. Clint had fundamentally trusted Wanda, it was fake, forced trust. Wanda had taken Clint's trust in Laura and effectively stolen it. Layered it over herself, everytime Clint would have thought of Laura, it would reroute to Wanda. Everytime he thought about the kids, his mind would fire with blinding pain, causing him to instantly forget what he was thinking about. Anytime he recognised something was wrong, the memory would slip away and be replaced by a feeling that everything was right, everything was good. The thought of it was sickening to Tony. 

Luckily, James was around and knew enough about how Tony healed to answer anyone's questions as Tony was now frozen as his mind slipped into Clint to heal the bleeding mess that Wanda had left behind. Physically and psychically.

Scott seemed utterly baffled that Tony's eyes had completely turned white again. 

"Why do his eyes go white like that?" 

"Yeah, that's what happens when he's healing usually, he's using his sight to see the damage internally and psychically, he slips into this state especially for higher level healing Wards. He won't move till he's finished and if the idiot passes out again we're going to have  _ words."  _

Rhodey snorted in response to that, at least he wasn't the only one trying to get Tony to look after himself and Rhodey was not at all above using Tony's crush on the man to his advantage. 

Sam was looking at Tony as if he'd never seen the man again before asking his question. 

"Again?" 

"Yeah, when he healed me, including wiping the codewords from my head and the mess Hydra made of me. Not just in my mind, but internally, bone damage, the mess of the original socket and even going as far to install a new arm. He even lay down warding to help me recover memories that would otherwise be lost. He adds this Ward that's like a helping hand? It sits inactive, but if you try to get better, take steps to heal, it helps you along the way. It can snowball and you can almost feel yourself improving which, at least with me, gave me the confidence to keep going with it. It isn't a magical fix-it, magic doesn't really work like that, healing the mind is the most complex type of healing. 

"Messing with memories is dangerous. Just removing them can cause severe conflicts in a mind, which can then spiral badly. Tony healed decades of shredded muscles, degraded bone and removed the metal struts on my ribs in seconds compared to healing my mind. Wanda ripped that helping hand ward from my mind and I can feel the absence of it.. I didn't realise how much it was there for me and now it's just gone. It's like… best described as a friend, or a therapist, helps catch you when you fall, offers you a hand to get back up. It was warmth and care and she ripped it from my mind so she could make me suffer."

Sam was surprised at how it worked, well, he doesn't really know much about magic but he figured magic healing would be well magic. He supposed that there are rules around everything, even magic. The way James described it though, that sounded really good in the way it helped. If anything he supposed it was better than snapping your fingers and being perfect as they'd feel like they got there themselves. 

Steve had watched Bucky as he spoke, frowning in places as what he was saying was the exact opposite of what Wanda had told him. She removed people's memories often if the mission called for it. Steve didn't understand why removing traumatic memories was a bad thing. Surely the fact they were traumatic memories be worse than forcing Bucky to live with 7 decades of Hydra torture? He's pretty sure that forcing someone to live with traumatic memories is definitely worse? 

Steve looked at Wanda, who was curled up in the corner crying, her eyes wide and full of pain as she was pleading with him not to abandon her. He can't abandon her, they're been through so much together, Wanda was always there for him, always talked to him. Helped with everything. She made living in the future bearable, helped him with things he didn't understand. He just couldn't reconcile the Wanda he knew with the Wanda Tony was discussing. It didn't make any sense. Clint loved Wanda, she wouldn't hurt him, Tony's bleeding wrist just kept drawing his attention..

"When Tony finished healing me over a year ago how, he passed out because he completely exhausted himself, drained his magic down to practically nothing. Because he had wanted to heal me in one session, putting himself in danger, alone in a different country, vulnerable and unconscious. Simply because he didn't like the  _ idea _ of leaving me in pain or with the words. Even though we didn't even know each other back then and I'd fought on his enemies side on more than one occasion. Even with what I did to his parents. He healed me. He helped make and attach the arm too, that's why it can feel so well. I guarded him as he slept to ensure nothing happened to him, I figure it was the very least I could do." 

"Buck, why didn't you tell me Tony healed you?" 

James doesn't even glance in Steve's direction, but he could see him frowning at different points as he spoke, either he was starting to realise how bad he fucked up or his mind was already trying to blame Tony instead. After what Steve had authorised and participated in? Ignored his pleas and completely disregarded his wishes? Decided that he was not worthy of living unless he was forced into the mould of Bucky Barnes in his mind? James couldn't see a pathway from here, at least not right now. He couldn't even  _ look _ directly at him right now without feeling phantom, leftover icy hot pain slicing through his mind. Without remembering being sat in the cafe, looking at Steve's, earnest, pleading face whilst Wanda poured pain into his mind. 

James thinks that he's going to need some time away from Steve for a while, hopefully by then, Steve will realise what he had done. Whilst he's still defending the witch, James just doesn't trust him to be anywhere near him right now. Even with the Ved'ma incapacitated. James is done with the past, all those leftover memories did was give Steve the means to manipulate him. 

So, instead James chose to keep an eye out on Tony and to completely ignore Steve. Watching Tony very intently to make sure he isn't going to drop from draining himself. Steve just looks… forlorn, James thinks, like he doesn't seem to even understand  _ why _ this is happening to him. 

Doesn't understand what's happened whilst he ignored any warning signs? Because James doubts it was normal for your team to become a bunch of yes men, or they were. Tony had mentioned that because the comic books, people grew up with Captain America being the paragon of good and apparently even intelligent people lose all good sense around him, case in point, Scott. An intelligent software engineer who was a superhero in his own right, on probation but doing well, even in a place to see his daughter more. One call from Captain America and he goes to Germany to fight with the fugitives against the people acting under the will of 117 countries. James can't get his head around it.

Or maybe Steve has started to realise that Wanda has done something wrong, one could hope. He still looks baffled, like maybe, he doesn't understand why  _ he _ is being held partially at fault for the damage that Wanda had caused in their minds?

It was Wanda's fingers, Wanda's magic but under Steve's  _ guidance _ and  _ drive. _ Especially for him. Under Steve's direct instruction. Steve's orders to subjugate his will. It was Steve's pleading eyes he'd looked into when her fingers were in his mind. 

Because having an approximation of his old friend back, a version that never disagreed and always deferred to him, was clearly more important to Steve than James taking back control in his life, more important than James healing and being happy in himself. 

Steve had made it clear to James that his own happiness, wants and desires came above his own.

He didn't know how Clint felt about Steve now, but Steve didn't appear to be under Wanda's influence and Tony had implied that the others were. If nothing else, James assumed the archer would be  _ hurt _ that his Captain, his Team Leader, a man who called him  _ family, _ had not even  _ noticed _ as he had spiralled further and further into darkness, anger and pain. James had thought Clint was just an angry, brash and cruel individual because that was all he had seen, but he wondered now, how much was that Wanda? 

Surely they had known each other long enough to  _ know _ something was fundamentally wrong? That even when all the evidence pointed to Wanda screwing not just with his mind and life, but also to that of his family? That Steve still defended Wanda first, even when faced with the magic removed from his mind. James hadn't fully seen what Tony had taken from Clint at first, he saw bits of it, like it caught of the light here and there. Glints of a Dark red, twisted metal with vicious looking barbs that had shredded Tony's wrist. That Tony was  _ still _ bleeding, that said a lot because Tony healed quickly. Whatever that wire was, it had enough juice to injure a creature of Tony's stature. Not that the idiot was maybe any attention to it of course

Clint's face had been twisted in pain and Tony was pulling it free. Tony's hands dripping blood from a dozen or more wounds. He'd known the Ved'ma was fucked up, but that had been something else. 

That Clint would likely know that he came second behind a woman who subjugated people's will, who had used him in some of the worst ways. 

What James did remember of Steve, was that he fought for the little guy. That was something that stood out and he had to wonder what happened. Or, maybe, in his mind, Steve still saw himself as that little guy?or saw Wanda as that person that he must care for. 

Not understanding the inherent privilege not only his current body came with, but his reputation too. Steve was not a little guy anymore. He didn't need to shout to be heard. People all over  _ listened _ and took his words as an  _ authority.  _ As much as Steve was looking for Bucky, James wondered what happened to Stevie. Wondered just  _ why _ he'd latched on Wanda so hard, as someone who must be protected no matter who she tears through. How many chances she got when she didn't even show a shred of remorse. 

When Tony's eyes swam back into bright, shining gold, brighter from the magic he was channelling. Pulling James away from the dark path his thoughts were spiralling in as his gold eyes focused on him, James watched to see if they would glaze. Waiting to make sure he wasn't going to pass out on him. Tony wavered slightly on the spot, but his eyes remained bright and clear as James covered Clint's mouth before he could thank him. Tony winked at him, flashing fangs in a broad smile. James was pretty sure healing Clint had gone better than he had expected. 

"You are the best assistant. Right, who is next?"

Thankfully the other three were nowhere near as bad as Clint and the clashing actions hadn't created as many problems in their mind like they had for Clint. So they were not on the way to actual brain damage, Wanda obliviously had used a lot of her magic on Clint. 

As Clint hadn't been far off from a serious medical situation, Nat was absolutely furious at the witch when hers were removed. As each thread came free, more and more memories tumble free, times when she'd been so sure something was wrong, only for it to be swept away telling her things were good. Better than ever. Most of the control in Nat had been to not ask questions, go with what Rogers and Wanda says. To trust Rogers and not herself and most importantly, spend less time with Clint so she wouldn't notice any problems. Nat was also sporting a concealment charm, high quality too, if it had no bean for the barrier, Tony would never have spotted it. He tossed it over to Stephen who was starting to get a collection. Sam and Scott also had concealment charms, none of them recognised them, their minds had likely been spelled to not see them but to also keep them close. 

Sam mostly had been tipped to ask less questions and just go along with things when they were offered. If Rogers said it was fine, then it was. That was a common theme he was seeing here. Wanda seemed to have styled herself as Roger's right hand man and worked to potentially make his life easier? Instead of a team that argued, like Tony and Rogers had done often, Wanda had given him a team that always agreed with him and Roger's had never questioned it. That didn't surprise Tony much, he knew from how they'd argued over battle tactics on several occasions that Rogers thought his word was law in the field. 

There were also weaves specifically to not notice anything strange, that if something happened, like Clint slowly going crazy or from what Tony could see, Sam had been questioning Wanda. The weave redirected him to Rogers who obviously told him everything was fine, Wanda would never do anything to hurt anyone. The magic in his mind then normalised this so Sam wouldn't realise how wrong it was. He noticed that Sam's were heavily eroding, that he'd been partially breaking free. The barrier had knocked quite a lot free. Slowly enough that he wasn't in danger but enough that Tony still wanted to remove it as soon as possible. 

Tony was very careful as he worked to keep it off his face, but all of this cut a bit too close to home for him, bringing up painful memories of his past. If James and Rhodey worked that out, they would definitely attempt to remove him from the situation before everyone was healed. A few potential nightmares was worth this job. James wanted to see to his wrist but Tony was fine with waiting, he'd stop bleeding eventually and as long as he wasn't bleeding on people, that's what mattered. 

Scott had the least magic on him, it looked like she started with magic to enforce loyalty to Rogers. To stop people questioning him. To not notice things that would normally cause huge red flags in your mind. But from the age, she had not cast on him since Wakanda too, she'd been limited since coming back to America. It made Tony nauseated just thinking about it and he wondered if he had this in his mind before his Magic returning burnt any influence from his mind.  _ That _ sent chills down his spine and was definitely too close to home so he pushed it out of his mind for now.

Rogers didn't ask regarding himself and Tony pretty much acted as if he wasn't there. Tony was pissed, too much of this magic  _ directly _ benefited him. In such a way that he was not sure if it was just Wanda coming up with it, or if he had directed her. He didn't want to be the one to ask that question as for some reason, if it came from him, Rogers acted as if he was plotting. He'd let the Accords Council work, see what they came up with. 

Tony was now bloody exhausted and he ideally needed away from Roger's as soon as possible. He could feel the exhaustion dragging at him but the Hypervigilance from his instincts was more effective than any coffee or energy drink. 

"Right Steph, you taking the Witch? You remember what I told you about the protocol regarding this?" 

Tony waved his hand and a black box appeared, handing it over as Stephen's eyes widened slightly as he nodded. He was not to let Wanda even see what was in that box until they were on her. They'd have to render her unconscious at Kamar-Taj to put the bindings on. They were much, much more effective than the Fire bind Tony had wrapped her in. Even with the Mind Stone's intelligence, it would take a long time to break through them. It would also lock that intelligence in place, Tony didn't want it jumping ship. It should last long enough for the council to blather and Um and ah until they ultimately came to the decision to strip her of her powers. He hadn't gone into much detail about the potential Mind Stone intelligence. He didn't want some well meaning idiot go and try to  _ save _ the malevolent presence that he planned on executing. 

“There are also multiple strikes all over this room, who is listing their strike with the UN?“

He was utterly unsurprised when everyone who had manipulation in their mind stuck their hands up. Much to Rogers disappointment Tony noted. Although the patented disappointed face had no traction today, how did he expect people to react to having their minds fucked with? Tony just can't understand why Wanda was given endless chances, even when it had been proven she believed it was her right to manipulate people's minds. Tony just couldn't understand Roger's motives. 

"I'm sure Wanda didn't mean for the magic to be bad, she was just trying to help and went about it the wrong way." 

No one even bothered replying to that but he could see Wanda nodding whilst doing a good impression of poor innocent crying child. 

FRIDAY would compile evidence for him from this room, and she would edit them to cut out the parts discussing things like his age and she'd cover most of his Woad too. Now he just had a Geas to lay. And James was glaring at him. Why was James glaring at him? 

"Right, I am going to lay a Geas to protect myself, and you lot, if that's Okay? I've let you know something I don't want others to know, and this way you would be incapable of accidentally passing on the information. Which is good, as I don't like it when people do that. It also protects you."

Everyone was good with it, except the obvious pair, understanding that Tony had very good reasons to keep certain things to himself. Having people in the business world, or politics, discover that he couldn't lie would have people on him in seconds. Not that he hadn't learned over the years to lie whilst speaking the truth, it was still something he didn't like getting out amongst humans. Only those he trusted, as in he wouldn't be laying the Geas on his Reapers or Stephen. He trusted the Sorcerer. Tony had more than enough debt on the pair to force it, but he would rather get consent from Rogers. Wanda he definitely didn't need it, she was practically drowning in debt just from that wire on Clint and what she did to his Reaper. The Geas wouldn't even start to even out her debt. 

"Rogers I'll be frank, this shit, that I've had to heal multiple people, which is intensive and extremely resource heavy magic to clean up after you? Especially with what happened with James. It has created a debt. A heavy debt that you need to balance out, I'm giving you an opportunity to do so." 

"What do you mean Tony?" 

"Debts for my kind aren't concepts, they are very real, physical things. They aren't something you can just ignore and hope it will go away. A debt denied can be extremely detrimental to you and I don't have to do anything. I'm giving you an out. I will use it to cast a Geas upon you. It basically means you cannot discuss certain things that happened here with anyone other than those here. Not near cameras or 'accidentally' near people. It protects you from spilling the fact I cannot lie for example. 

"So that none of you can discuss how Wanda's magic was destroyed or how it worked, no ins and outs about the process of Wanda's magic or disposal or how she used it. You can confirm that Rogers got Wanda to cast magic on James. You can confirm I healed him. Also that Wanda had been working magic on each of you to subjugate your will, details of the  _ 'what' _ but not the  _ 'how' _ , that I healed you. Again, the  _ 'what' _ , not the  _ 'how'.  _ Broad brushstrokes. That is all, no technical details that could be dangerous in other people's hands. Plus information about myself will be locked away. Understand?"

Yeah, he really didn't want Rogers blabbing to a billion people about his inability to lie. Not that he wasn't good at getting around it, but it was annoying. Rogers practically sneered at him. 

"I thought you didn't use magic without consent."

"Rogers, I am asking for your consent whilst telling you hard facts. I could just leave that debt. I don't know what it would do, debts work on people differently. You could be cursed with bad luck, or you might wake up tomorrow without the serum. No idea. So, simply put. You do not want to be in my debt. If you haven't worked out what I am yet, which you probably should have by now given your heritage. Simply know this an immutable fact of life. You do not want to be in debt to my kind, so you should accept the Geas or it will become a  _ debt denied. _ Debts to my kind are much more  _ binding _ than what you are accustomed to, try to slide out of it and bad shit will happen. And no, it's not a threat, I won't have to do anything at all. I could also simply sell your debt to someone else."

Tony reached out and wrapped his fingers around the heavy, silvered thread he could see wrapping around Rogers. Edges were blackening already as Rogers desperately attempted to deny the debt. He harshly yanked on it, causing Rogers to stumble forward even though Tony hadn't touched him. Eyes going wide as he felt the weight of the debt. Tony however saw a flickering of something else the moment he touched the debt. 

A flickering around Rogers head and the unmistakable scent of meadowsweet.

It took everything in his power not to throw his head back and laugh as he wondered if Rogers even realised that he had accepted a leash in the shape of a flower crown. 

Wound and wrapped in consent and desire. 

Now, people would easily think his aunt was the forgiving kind. Life however, has a tendency to walk hand in hand with Death. His aunts crowns rarely only lead to one hand. She'd given him just enough freedom to hang himself. 

"What have you done to me?" 

"Nothing, you did that to yourself. It's debt to me so I can utilise it. Rogers, you don't want me to utilise it." 

Tony flashed a smile to Steve that James noticed included a wide flash of his cat-fangs. He was starting to realise that Tony had two occasions he mainly did this, when he was amused or happy enough to forget to hide his cat-fangs, or when he was subtly reminding someone that he was not human. Or in this case, not so subtly, as Tony hadn't picked up the usual human gestures he used to make people more comfortable around him. 

James actually preferred him this way, he liked that Tony didn't feel the need to act human when they were together. It was something he liked, that Tony trusted him with it, it had a knock on side effect that when he acted human now, it left James feeling weird, that Tony shouldn't have to to hide his very nature just to make others comfortable. He knew that Tony still kept some back, his power level for one as he'd felt it fluctuate, but he was hoping to work on that. 

There was a slight bias too, James kind of really liked Tony's cat-fangs, they were one of his favourite features of Tony's and he personally loved the unnerved faces people sometimes replied with. It was highly amusing. Right now, Tony had dropped more of his usual mannerisms since his instinct was pushing him hard, the fangs now were a not so subtle reminder to Steve that he was not dealing with a human that was easily pushed around. Or with a human at all and that there were rules in play that he did not understand. 

"Steve. Accept it. This is not the time to play games, you seriously fucked up and Tony is being kind and giving you an out."

"But Nat, if I do we won't be able to be him punished for torturing Wanda." 

"That isn't even why I'm placing the Geas for fucks sake and disposing of dangerous magical material comes with that risk, it's why most people don't leave bits of their magic in people's heads! One day, someone dangerous is going to find all this crap you've left lying around in someone and you'll regret it."

Wanda eyes widened in recognition and Tony had to wonder if she had already picked up someone. He had assumed some of his family had played a little mischief, but that flower crown that he could now see quite well resting on Rogers's head spoke of something a lot darker. He hadn't picked up anything on the others, but Nat… well, that potentially explained the change in her aura, someone was definitely interested in her but in a good way he believed. From what Tony could tell, those with informed consent, so Wanda and Rogers, were carrying something with them. As was typical with the Fae, they had been given freedom, time and means to hang or save themselves. 

He wondered who it was that had slipped by Wanda's defences, not that he overly cared, he had very little care for her before this beyond wanting her off his territory and wanting her powers nullified. After seeing what she did to James? Clint? The only reason she was alive was because Stephen was planning on taking her and he had agreed to it. Making him bound to that decision. He had not promised that he would not seek recompense in the future however. 

For today he was bound by his words, and the fact that James' arm was a solid presence keeping him at his side. Tony had a feeling that James knew that too. He also could feel that James was getting impatient with his first aid kit. James had worked out ways of managing him awfully fast. Oh! That was why he was glaring, he'd forgotten about the bleeding thing. 

Tony would happily settle for the Accords Council eventually calling him in to remove her powers though. Oh and he would enjoy it. Very much. As they didn't have anyone high enough to remove powers like hers, we'll, no one would be able to outright confirm or deny that Tony had to do it when she was awake. Or in front of her. Because he wouldn't want to risk anything escaping by moving to a different room. No, better to do it there and then. 

He had already advised strongly against binding her powers in his preliminary reports when she first arrived at the compound so he doubted that would come up. What was left of the Mind Stone would find a way around even the strongest binding eventually, even the special binds he'd crafted just for her. Plus, the build up of unused magic could be catastrophic, especially given her erratic control. Also, the temptation to use with the ability to do just out of reach? That would likely degrade her mental condition further. Removing it entirely, she might even be able to heal, not that he overly cared about that, she had in his mind given up her right to life when she hurt one who is  _ his _ . 

Tony would settle for tearing her powers out and destroying them, in front of her, which would be a good punishment in his mind. He had already sourced a shard of Carreg Marwolaeth from the edge of Otherworld ready for the task. A particularly nasty stone that made Mordite look like fluffy cotton candy. Maybe Clint and James could come too. 

"I'm doing this so knowledge of how  _ her _ powers work doesn't spread accidentally. This knowledge is nothing to you, but it can mean terrible things for others and you could accidentally say the wrong thing to someone else. But if you try to have me punished for this Rogers, it won't work and I'm sure James here will press charges against  _ you _ for mental subjugation, assault, mental harm, torture, kidnapping… You get the idea?"

James looked at Steve for the first time in a while and it was so he could nod along with what Tony said. 

"Accept the Geas Steve so I can treat his wounds. You delaying is pissing me off."

Rogers eventually agreed, the push from James turned him pale but he nodded his consent. Tony had more than enough debt on Wanda that he didn't need nor care about obtaining her permission for something like this, and he didn't even look in her direction to ask about it. Should he wish it, there was more than enough there to easily drag her down Underhill and carry out her sentence there. He liked his current plan however, it amused him. 

Everyone seemed to be expecting something fancy which amused Tony, chanting or maybe tattoos, well, except Stephen who knew how to place a Geas. Tony just snapped his fingers and swapped the obligation created by cleaning up this cluster fuck with his incredibly specific Geas, that amusingly, no one even asked him to list the contents of. Silly thing to do when dealing with Fae. The very thick contract with what was included in the Geas dropped into his office automatically. 

"Try and get around it, I'll know. Get another magic user to attempt to break it and I'll know, and it will hurt, a lot. I don't generally play by the pettier rules. But I can, and I can get downright nasty with it. So, don't fuck up, yeah? Simple." 

He was too tired and drained, sore from channeling intense levels of magic and absorbing so much pain, his hands were sore and his wrist was actually really hurting him, the wounds were taking an annoyingly long time to heal. His instinct had dialed back slightly, not completely but it was no longer a beating drum in his mind. He just needed proximity for a good half day. It was better now though, especially as no one had actually attempted to approach James since he had placed himself as a barrier, but really, he didn't bother picking up the human mannerisms again anyway. It's not like anyone in this room actually thought he was a human anymore and he just wanted to be himself for a bit, he was tired. So just getting to be him sounded good, preferably away from some of these people. His phone trilled, which was likely his mother, he suspected she had heard about this. The contents however were not what he expected.

FRIDAY had investigated the cafe that Rogers had visited to obtain the video file, and Tony had wondered why they'd heard nothing from the staff or customers about someone begging Captain America not to subjugate their mind, his mother had apparently investigated whilst he had been busy here, and the result was not good. She had dragged a confused Thor with her too apparently. 

He rubbed his uninjured hand across his face and James used his distraction to grab his injured wrist and start inspecting it. Usually a few cuts like that wouldn't bother him and would have already healed, but that barbed wire had been a nasty piece of work, as such his wrist was still bleeding and it actually hurt enough that he was biting his tongue to ignore it. He had channeled healing magic through his palms, so they had mostly healed over as a side effect, but they were pink and quite tender. He'd had no choice really, he couldn't exactly bleed on the people he was healing could he? 

"Shit, I really wanted a nap after all this." 

James immediately looked interested but he was more focused on steadily cleaning the wounds with a lot more care that Tony had earlier and Tony put his concentration in to not leaning against the wall and dozing, or letting on how much those damned wounds hurt. He suspected James would be cross with him if he knew what they reminded him off. 

How Wanda had created that bind, Tony wasn't sure he wanted to know. 

Whilst his instincts were certainly keeping Tony from passing out, which is what would probably have happened if he'd been in a safe place by now he suspected, actually he was sure of it. It didn't remove the exhaustion that weighed on him heavily. It just forced him to remain awake. 

"What's wrong?" 

"Rogers, how exactly did you and Wanda remain undetected in that cafe?" 

"Wanda had her shields up." 

"Great, you don't even know  _ how _ you've fucked up and mother is on her way. Who, by the way, happens to care  _ a lot _ for James." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's random fact of the author!  
If it isn't obvious, I blooming hate barbed wire, I got hit in my face with some as a kid and have a scar that overs my entire eyelid and in both directions. Luckily, being as pale as an A4 sheet of paper with EDS(effects collagen), all my scars look kind of like stretch marks, that silvery, shiny things. I've got a few others too because the fields near the horses that I visited as a kid had loads of ancient, awful barbed wire.
> 
> Also, I hope this chapter cleared up a lot of the weird actions the Rogues have been doing!
> 
> I'm so looking forward to leaving Mixed POV land, weirdly the trickiest part has been switching between Steve and Rogers! I do kind of like this, its good for showing different sides without having to write like 7 chapters per chapter. I think for fast paced conflicts with loads of moving parts, Mixed POV works quite well.
> 
> Fy Sidan - Vi Seedan  
Du - Di  
Cariad - Ka-ree-ad


	52. Exhaustion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every so sorry I vanished there! I've been forced to keep my right arm straight for long periods of exceptionally boring time. Has had me mainlining YouTube videos in an attempt to actually keep it straight whilst idly considering fashioning a rudimentary splint out of household opjacts, or one of the wooden training swords, to stop me bending my elbow. 
> 
> Hopefully it will now allow me to write more than 700 words before yelling and falling over in the corner after shooting itself.

**Mixed POV**

Tony received a bunch of confused looks at his proclamation, not that he overly cared as he was utterly knackered. James and Rhodey being the only other people in the room to have met his mother in human form. 

James was more surprised than anything, he hadn't realised Tony's mother cared about him so much. He had noticed however that Tony was starting to list to the side and it looked like he was keeping his eyes open by sheer force of will. Tony had definitely had expended a lot of energy healing, and took on far too much pain without resting in-between.

James knew that getting him to leave right now was useless so instead, he snagged his belt and tugged him backwards, using surprise and how ridiculously light the man was on his side of the equation. Leaving him with a slightly confused Tony in his lap, but at least he was resting and would stay there if he kept his arm around him. It also made cleaning and bandaging his wrist a damned sight easier. 

"You know I don't actually need a bandage Snowflake."

"Is your wrist still bleeding from the creepy psychic ghost wire that attacked you?" 

"Does that really count as bleeding?"

"Yes Tony. When blood is exiting a wound, it is bleeding and requires medical care." 

With that James just tugged his arm away from him and quickly and efficiently bandaged his wrist whilst keeping him in place. Tony wasn't even sure what was happening right now or how he had ended up here. 

Steve looked utterly unimpressed with this development, whilst pretty much everyone else was amused, if not a little baffled. 

Rhodey wasn't hiding his amusement at all, he was outright laughing and heavily approved of James tactics of Tony-managing. The man had turned it into an art form. 

"He's got your number Tones." 

"I don't even know what's happening right now." 

"You need to rest, I know you aren't going to go until this is sorted, this way I can at least make sure you sit instead of forcing yourself to stand." 

Tony yawns, flashing his cat-fangs again as James finished up bandaging his wrist. He wanted to check on his palms too as Tony had roughly cleaned them with a wipe and then instantly disregarded his own discomfort like an idiot as he focused on everyone else. Tony was listing towards him, and the man was in serious need of rest. So James just pulled him down and he was too sleepy to fight it, not that Tony actually wanted to fight it by the looks of it. He happily made himself comfortable whilst James muttered about him being a cat. 

"Rest, Kotenok."

Tony's reply was mostly muffled by the fact he was talking into James chest. Rhodey couldn't believe how utterly  _ dumb _ his idiots were. They even had sappy names for each other in different languages, how do you get to that stage without noticing anything? Rhodey had no idea how these idiots could be so sickeningly adorable and still thinking the other was just interested in them being friends. Come on! Although he had to admit, seeing Steve's face at the display was worth sitting through the utter sap. He looked like he'd eaten a damned box of lemons, was his friend liking Tony that bad? Although this was an amusing way for the good Captain to find out. Rhodey also noted that Steve seemed to think this was over, he had a feeling that Tony's mother was going to disavow him from that notion rather quickly. 

When Tony hadn't moved for a good minute, James checked both of his hands, the wounds had healed, but the skin was pink and new, they also looked more than a little sore so he was careful as he cleaned them properly and Tony was pretty passive as he did so, which told him just how exhausted he was otherwise he would be complaining that he can't get infections or something, anything to avoid basic wound care. 

"So, uh, your mother is coming?" 

Tony nodded vaguely in Scott's direction, even though he had his eyes closed now. Before anyone else could question him on what the fuck is happening, a huge black crow flew through the wall as if it were a perfectly normal thing to do. Tony idly wondered if she'd met up with Vision yet. The Android had been traveling a lot recently to find himself. That these trips just so happened to coincide with the Rogues, or specifically, Wanda's arrival was an open, very obvious secret that only the Rogues hadn't caught on to yet. He hoped they would meet soon. Especially as Wanda was getting an express ticket to a Kamar-Taj Dungeon wearing something he had crafted. 

The pair of them could have fun flying through solid walls and scaring the crap out of everyone. 

"Holy crap, that's the crow I keep seeing around that base! I told you I wasn't going crazy Sam, how did it fly through the wall! That is so cool… Oh fu…dge." 

Tony snorted at Scotts run on sentence as his mother transformed in front of the grouping of people. Scott was actually turning out to be one of his favourite people and he'd all but decided now that he was going to steal him. Sam was quite cool too, he asked questions and didn't just accept things, he wanted to understand what was going on and Tony could get behind that. Plus, Rhodey and Hope liked them. He had some hopes for Clint and figured he was going to find himself in therapy pretty soon. Tony was trying to work out who had picked at Nat, he had an idea, if he was right then she was going to become rather interesting and definitely someone he wanted on his team fighting the Titan. Tony was hoping to drop Rogers on Fury after this, but that all depended on his Mother. Whilst not one of the holders of Steve's lease, like himself, she was good friends with Blodeuwedd and Arawn. 

Tony was also quite happy with himself that he had thought ahead and included things like this in the Geas. He wasn't about to let an opportunity to have a Geas on all of the Rogues go to waste after all. 

"Hello Mother." 

"Hello darling, you certainly did go easy on them but mitigating circumstances are something I can understand. Hello James dear, we are sorry we couldn't get here sooner but it was probably best that my son here handled it rather than us." 

She was all warm smiles to James, even gave him a hug, that Tony might have been included in because he was dozing against James chest and was still being firmly held in place by James incase his anger came back. Tony still didn't quite know  _ why _ James could easily hold him back, and it had not taken the super soldier long to realise he could just maneuver him with surprising ease, and promptly began to use this to his advantage. Usually into making Tony look after himself, pulling him out of the workshops, towards food or showers. It was frankly ridiculous. Now James had him basically pinned against his chest. Not that this was a bad thing, Tony liked his current position quite a lot, he was quite comfortable and James was a human hot water bottle. Even if the presence of the Rogues meant he couldn't actually sleep, resting with his eyes closed was definitely something. 

The others in the room however got a face as calmly neutral as anything Nat might have donned from his mother, which actually unnerved the ones who were not unnerved by the fact she was a blind crow that flew through a wall seconds ago. His mother held many titles, had many jobs and should Roger's find her washing his clothes in the lake one day, Tony would not be surprised. Catching her eye was rarely wise and she never lost someone who her sight fell upon. For now, alive was much more interesting than dead from the Patroness of Revenge, he could feel that much. If Arawn put him to work then Tony would utterly not be amused and would not be getting involved at all, he had trained many of those who worked for Arawn, even those who collected souls and aided transition. He would not train Rogers in anything thank you very much. 

The oncoming threat of the titan and his use as ground troops was likely to temper his mother somewhat. At least for now. Otherwise he would probably be dragged Underhill by that leash the second he entered the room. 

The strange lady had looked like a calm, elder mother type just. moments ago but now Scott swore that she looked barely old enough to have a young child, let alone a grown adult son that was hundreds(?) of years old! Although he couldn't pinpoint a moment that he changed. Tony kept his eyes shut as he spoke, and wasn't quite aware in his exhaustion that he was nuzzling down, practically curled up in his lap. Scott who had thought the pair had been cute before, well they'd blown that out of the water. 

"How many people at the cafe are in hospital?"

"Why would people…" 

"Oh come on Roger's, you really can't be that blind! Wanda's little  _ 'shield'?  _ The one that lets you sneak around. Did you ever think to ask  _ how _ it worked?" 

Tony grudgingly opened his eyes and was hit with a fresh wave of exhaustion. Rogers response didn't exactly help matters. Most of the rogues, bar Scott, had seen her  _ shield _ in action but decided that staying silent would be prudent. 

"It just kept people from looking at us. That's all, stop trying to make out that she was evil just because you don't like her Tony." 

Tony just ignored the second part of that, because accusing him of bias was laughable when they'd been attacking and singling him out for actual years. 

"But  _ how _ Rogers? Did you never ask how? You're the team leader, you should know how." 

"I don't understand." 

"She went into the minds of all of them and messed with their memories. I'm not sure how many other ways I can say this, messing with people's memories like that is dangerous. Screwing with people's minds is bad. There are ways she could have gone about it that are better, but she chose mind invasion everytime. I'm not sure how many more ways I can get you to understand fucking with people's brains is a bad thing." 

"24 people in hospital, suffering varying degrees of severity from mild dizziness-" 

Rogers did the very stupid thing of interrupting his mother. Rogers was already on her shit list. Saying it was  _ 'worth it' _ for the  _ 'mission' _ when said  _ 'mission' _ wasn't anything Avengers related, it was to fuck with James mind. Who seemed to be sensing where this was going as he slackened his hold after tapping Tony's leg. Which was permission in his mind if he so needed it. He also felt _him _pushing closer, making his anger closer to the surface. 

James also noted that when Tony's mother was angry, she became stock still and her pale eyes seemed to burn. He wasn't sure how Steve didn't feel it. He did loosen his hold on Tony, if he didn't release some of the pressure somewhere, things could get dangerous. 

"Well that's not bad, we need her ability Tony, she's important and irreplaceable and if some civilians get a bit dizzy, it's worth it for the mission." 

"Roger's. If you value your life. Do not _ever_ interrupt my mother again." 

"Why are you calling her that, you mother was ahhh-" 

Steve was cut off when the tip of Tony's blade was pressed against his throat, not the Scythe this time, a smaller blade, but still a Black Reaper blade. He had however used more of his preternatural speed this time to make a point, and crossed the room from where he'd been sitting to slamming Rogers into the wall with enough force the wall cracked inwards in a vaugly Rogers shape. Not using any magic, other than summoning his blade. He could feel the others, even Natka staring at him in shock. Natka was leaning more akin to mild horror, she likely had thought she had a scope of his speed and strength earlier, but if he was this fast when  _ exhausted… _ Rhodey looked more than a little amused as he took in everyone's faces. 

Tony practically hissed in anger at Rogers, he had reached a point where he built up enough anger for the blonde super soldier, that smaller and smaller things were threatening to tip him over. 

"You lost the right to speak about my mortal parents when I died in Siberia to Maria's voice. You do not get to talk about Howard or Maria ever again, do you understand me? I hear you utter their names then on their death my blade will find you." 

Pressure built up around Tony as he spoke before punching Steve in the chest, leaving him gasping as if he'd been in a burning room and breathed it scalding air. So he was smart enough to nod at Tony, with more than a little fear. 

Tony looked at the man critically and noticed that he seemed to have realised Tony wasn't the easily shoved around person he remembered and when angered, potentially quick to violence. His mother was smiling happily to herself. 

"Kotenok." 

James didn't have to say anything else, that was enough and Tony backed up, raising his hands and then walked backwards towards James. The Black Reaper blade was nowhere in sight. He'd been about prop himself up next to James. James noticed this so easily tugged him back to his previous position before he could react. James arm slipped around him again, holding him in place which let Tony relax again. He didn't need to hold himself in check as much as James was doing it for him. Or at least that's what his exhausted mind told him. It made a sort of sense, James could hold him in place, so if James was holding him. He could let go and the tension bled out of his muscles.

Plus, Tony could swear he heard Rogers grinding his teeth, obviously uncomfortable with the level of familiarity that he hadn't even known about between Tony and James until today. Not knowing how tactile Tony was with anyone who would tolerate it, Fae were a very tactile species. It was not something he got to indulge in often. Venom was a good cuddler however, he'd woken up more than once with Deadpool hugging his pillow, mildly confused about where he came from before using the man as a pillow. James was super soldier warm and toasty with soft hair. As such he definitely won. Humans usually found it weird when he flopped down onto them, this time around he just found himself some very peculiar humans. 

Tony then carried on speaking as if all of that hadn't happened. Leaving more than a few people blinking at his sudden mood changes. Except his mother, who was back to staring very, very intently at Rogers. 

"Before you interrupt my mother again Steve. Some have symptoms such as dizziness, others have partial amnesia, 2 have lost all their memories that we are hoping to help them retrieve, 6 have even lost the ability to form long term memories at the moment! Hopefully they could gain this back and 1 was catatonic. The amount of healing that will be involved is major and this is just an event we know about. Considering that your  _ mission _ was a private endeavour to steal the free will of another person, I think that ability is not worth it, don't you? You will sit down with my mother and you will recount every instance she used these 'shields'. Do not lie, avoid or fudge because she _will see." _

His mother handed Stephen a file with all the reports from people at the cafe as he was taking charge of Wanda, as per her Accords contract if too many strikes were hit. He'd actually thought it would take her time to build up the requisite strikes, not garner them all in practically one day. She would be assessed by a mental health expert and a magical expert, now Thor had returned, he would then recount the visions to the council. Tony fully expected that some time in the next few weeks or months, he and Vision probably, would be visiting them. He had warned the council about taking too long to deliberate. Too long and he would step in as himself in a different authority, one that the Accords Council, or humans in general had no power over. 

The binds he had crafted were extremely good, against Wanda alone, they would be perfect. Tony however was the first to admit a billions or trillions of years old malevolent entity, that survived the destruction of not just the previous Universe. But also the Multiverse. Survived the void and again survived the big bang, then lived through untold numbers of cultures was probably more advanced than him. Tony was good, he was damned good, he was more powerful than he let on but he was not a universal constant. The binds were build with that entity in mind, using Vision as a base, they would last a long time, but not forever. 

"Now. Steve Grant Rogers, before we get better acquainted, so you know, I hold your Tether." 

Rogers didn't so much shudder as his mother spoke his name, he went ramrod straight and his eyes went completely wide. His mother was holding a small silver flower, meadowsweet. Tony could tell Rogers recognised it as he became as pale as an A4 sheet of paper. 

"There are many things we could place on thee, but we have decided that you shall be our soldier in the upcoming battle. By chance, give you the space to learn and change, but do not think for an instant that you are safe or free. Now, hand out." 

Rogers had looked as if he was about to argue when his arm moved on its own volition. Tony enjoyed the confusion and dawning horror on Rogers face. Likely feeling the weight of that crown he accepted now. 

Tony knew that Rogers would find his mother quite exacting, and he suspected that his first mission would be to find every person Wanda had affected. That he was only able to leave the compound at certain intervals would not be seen as an excuse. That she wrapped a length of brambles around his wrist. When she was finished, small purple flowers bloomed. Gwinwydd Echdynnu. Direct translation, 'Extraction Vines'. Nasty little flower that, one of his aunts more vindictive little blooms. With it and the flower crown, she could easily render him back to his preserum state at will and force him to earn the privilege back. 

"Now, Mr Rogers. We are going to get to know each other very well, know that when you exit this room, no one will see this flower or the effects it has upon your person. Discussing them will cause it to grow, they do so love attention you see. I am merely delivering this on behalf of that who gifted you the crown you wear. I suggest that you learn some manners, for even if I find myself at the lake with your garb, you are also indebted to Arawn that death will find you no respite."

Rogers looked at Tony, confusion and a hint of fear. If he thought he would help save him from the wrath of his mother he had another thing coming. Being conscripted to clean up his own messes was a kindness and he had little drive to 'help him.' if anything it may do him some good. For now however, Tony had no interest to watch Rogers and the Rogues be taken through, step by step, just what Wanda had done to others in their presence. He had a feeling she would excuse Clint, the others were not bound as tightly, so he had a feeling they would be expected to listen. Whereas Rogers got to do the work. It would be a start, his mother was notorious for taking a rather long time with matters like these. 

Tony yawned again, his plans for tonight where well and truly scuppered, but after all this, he wasn't quite ready to be parted from him, his instincts were all over the place and stuck firmly on high alert. He wondered when they were planning on calming down. He passed on to Rhodey to see to Clint, Stephen would deal with Wanda and he knew it would be several hours before the others were released from the room. Longer likely for Rogers. 

"Ready to go Fy Sidan?" 

Even though they didn't actually have plans to go anywhere together, considering they'd easily missed their reservations, and Tony was way too tired to go Firewalking across the ocean. However, James answered immediately as if it was planned. 

"Definitely"

Rogers moved to block the door to stop them from leaving together he supposed, as his mother watched on, looking highly unimpressed with the show of bravado. That was not going to serve him well. 

"Tony, you can't just go yet, we still need to talk and you aren't taking Bucky anywhere." 

That really was not going to earn him any points. 

Tony just sighed, head thunking onto James chest because he is already so tired and Roger's is sodding exhausting on a  _ normal _ day. Right now Tony wanted to introduce him to a few magical implements he hand. Although, he could easily make them available to his mother, should the bracer fail to impart her point into his thick skull. Something that linked Rogers dreams to Wandas past actions could be interesting. 

James, seemed to sense his exhaustion with Captain Stick up his self-righteous arse, so he responded for him. Which was nice, because Tony was just trying to stay awake enough to successfully Firewalk them to the correct location and not accidentally land in the canteen. Or the lake. 

"Steve, he isn't  _ taking _ me, I'm  _ willingly _ going. Shockingly, after the 2 hours of what you just put me through, I need to lie down. After fixing all of your fuck ups, so does he." 

"Why don't you two head to bed to recuperate, James I'm sure you can keep him actually resting for at least 5 hours? More if possible to replenish when he has spent on others ill begotten deeds. He'll complain, but he needs it, I will just finish up here with everyone." 

Tony could hear his mother's smile in her voice at the thought of finishing up, and knew that the rogues were likely very unnerved by it. It almost made up for the first part. 

"Hey. I'm pretty sure I'm an adult that can decide how long I nap for.." 

"Sure thing Kotenok, and you can rest as little as you want, but if you stay for 5 hours I'll do this." 

James ran his metal fingers through Tony's hair, scratching pleasantly across his scalp and producing an immediate reaction of Tony groaning, if he was capable of it, James thinks he'd be purring as he becomes completely pliant on his chest. James is very capable and very willing to fight dirty like this. 

"OK, mean, but you win. I will do as I'm told Fy Sidan. Ready?"

"Tony, I'm not moving until we talk like adults!"

"Please Kotenok, my head is still tender and the shouting is really not helping."

"Of course. Bye guys."

Tony blinks his eyes open to half wave at the people in the room he did not despise, just as James shoots the others a highly amused smirk, that Tony thought was very, very Fae. Loki would have been proud of that smirk. Tony throws his arms around his neck, he's quite cuddly when tired, mostly because that voice in his mind telling him to not do X is usually the first to pass out. 

They burst into black flame and then they're gone. Leaving a bunch of very stunned people behind who were only just starting to realise just how little they actually knew about Tony and his scope of powers, but that James obviously knew a lot. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adding useful pronunciation! As well as the link below, Welsh is 100% phonetic. (Gaelic is meant to be, or was, I think. But now it hides letters in its coat and punishes you for getting it wrong. My Gaelic speaking friend and I occasionally rag on each others languages. Welsh stuffs all the letters in your face according to him xD) If there is a letter, it is spoken, and when you get around the peculiar rules like Y for instance, the sound changes based on where it is in the word. F is V and FF is F. 
> 
> My speech impediment actually makes getting my mouth around some Welsh words tricky, but I also have this issue in English, so feel free to just go 'Welsh word' when I occasionally use them if you are not overtly interested in this. 
> 
> Fy Sidan - Vi Seedan  
Du - Di  
Cariad - Ka-ree-ad
> 
> I do use occasional other words from the Brythonic and Goedelic family, for example Sidhe is pronounce She. Because Gaelic. There was that singular Scott's Gaelic word, but honestly I prefer Brythonic and I'm horribly biased in that Welsh can be beautiful and occasionally adorable. Take Cwtch for instance. My favourite word, it's like a cuddle but 'more'. 
> 
> When choosing a term of endearment for James, Sidan was awesome.
> 
> We also have others like 'Blodyn tatws'. Which is 'Potato Flowers. Or 'Sosej' which is 'Sausage.' Cariad is what I call my hubs, Fy Sidan means 'My Silk' because I actually just realised I didn't add that on any of the chapters. Some words are titles I've left untranslated because I plan to reveal them, so if you sneak onto Google Translate, shhhh.


	53. Questions and Fire

**James POV**

James blinks, not recognising the room that he'd been brought to and wondered if this was where Tony had intended they'd go or if it had gone awry due to Tony's utter exhaustion. It hadn't exactly been Fire_ walk _ing, they'd been sat and then dropped onto a soft surface in a dark room. 

"Bed, tired." 

"You already and the monosyllabic stage? I'm guessing this is your room?" 

"Yes, I probably should have asked, it's just I need sleep, you need rest and I… I need to be in your vicinity, that she did that and I was unable to help, I… my instincts are running on high." 

"I understand Kotenok, I want to stay near you too." 

"You do? After I failed? Fy Sidan, This _ Never _ should have happened, I should have rejected allowing them on my territory, I should have dealt with them immediately. I should ha-" 

"You make me feel safe. I think I need a bit of that after everything that happened today. You couldn't have predicted this, I blame them, not you." 

Tony shot him a wide smile, very sleepy, but obviously very happy about something even though he could see it was at least a little forced. Even though he could see that he still blamed himself for what happened. He wasn't entirely sure how to make him understand that he didn't blame him. Not at all. If anything Tony had been on edge and James had been telling him not to worry about Rogues. He had never thought Steve would stoop so low, that he would do that to him. Their friendship had been strained, but that was because James was employing reasonable boundaries, he even talked it out with his therapist who told him he was being reasonable. So he had expected that Steve would apologise. That he would want to get to know him. This was a wake up call. 

The way Tony had _ recklessly _ apologised to him, had been more startling than some of the other things that had happened in that meeting room. He still remembered it, he could still feel it and he had no idea what to do with it. The fact he didn't blame Tony didn't seem to matter or effect it, that Tony not only apologised, but completely believed he was at fault. He could feel it in the apology, weighty because of the value Tony put on it now he had a chance to poke it with his mind, he could feel the depth of which he believed it was his fault and it was staggering. He was hoping to speak to Tony's mother at some point soon, about what to do about it. 

"If you want a shower, feel free by the way." 

"Mind reader." 

He smiled at that as Tony jerked him out of his wandering thoughts, Tony had a knack for predicting things people needed and after having that Ved'ma touching him, he needed to be _ clean. _

James had a ridiculously hot shower, scrubbing himself down multiple times until he was practically pink and ready to actually dry off. He found a pair of sleeping trousers that looked as if they would mostly fit him in the cupboard, assuming they were Rhodes and he wouldn't mind him borrowing them, Tony's would look ridiculous on him given the height disparity and the effort of going to his apartment just seemed line far too much. Tony was also meant to be resting, so Rhodes trousers would do. 

By the time he moved back into the bedroom, trying to dry his hair as quickly as possible, but considering that it had grown quite a bit now he had a decent diet and that he'd decided to keep it long. It simply wasn't going to be drying quickly. 

Tony hadn't actually managed to do much more than get about half way to his pillow, the exhaustion from expending a lot of magic, plus multiple healing and pain drawings definitely had him beat. He was surprised he hadn't actually passed out yet and wondered just _ how _ or why he was still holding out as tired golden eyes blinked rapidly at him. Hoping that Tony hadn't been forcing himself to stay awake waiting on him. 

"I probably shouldn't have washed it, but I had to get clean after she touched me.." 

"Hmm, come here, I can fix it." 

"You sure? You're about to pass out." 

"That's why this little bit extra won't matter." 

James isn't sure about that, but knows Tony's determined face by now, plus he's realised by now, that Tony will use practically any excuse to get his hands on his hair. If it could make Tony feel better too he's willing to let him use even more energy when he should be resting, he got the feeling that doing _ something, _ anything would help alleviate the guilt he's carrying. Even something small like this could help. He'll just have to watch in case he passes out. 

So he sat in front of him as Tony used his back to steady himself. James felt the answering hum in his chest that told him Tony had summoned his Fire and then he started combing his hair with his fingers. There is a comfortable warmth emanating from his hands that not only left his hair dry, but spread to his head too, softy with the warm hum of the Black Fire that made his head feel much better. Chasing away thoughts of the Ved'ma and replacing them with soft warmth. Like a hot water bottle, head massage and that feeling when you just wake up from a good nap where everything is fuzzy and warm. It was a lot of things. Things that had him feeling surprisingly good and sleepy. The day had taken its toll on him. 

"That feels nice." 

"That's good, because I like playing with your hair." 

"I might have noticed, even on the edge of exhaustion. Now, sleep or your terrifying mother will have my hide." 

Tony was well on his way to actually dozing off, sat up, leaning against him. So James decided it would be best to maneuver him under the covers and Tony had enough presence of mind to summon his sleepwear, swapping out his jeans and short out, which did actually make him completely pass out as the proverbial straw that broke the back. James suspected that getting up to change would have exhausted him much more, this way was faster and the other would probably have resulted in him passing out in the wardrobe. He'd also latched onto James like a limpet, which was adorable and required a little maneuvering to get comfortable. 

Tony's bed was also very comfortable and ridiculously huge, the man was very warm and as such James found himself dragged down into sleep barely a minute after Tony, even though he'd been so sure that he wouldn't be able to sleep after what had happened today. He vaguely felt the bed shift and a familiar warmth settled over his legs. Then another, smaller warm, furry creature wrap around his head. 

  
  
  


He was warm, which was good, he hated it when he woke up cold, it reminded him so much of cryo. So he moved in closer to the warmth to chase away the thoughts of cryo, which, considering he didn't have any nightmares last night, was amazing. His mind swam a little close to wakefulness which is when he started to realise things that are out of place. 

Like the feel of skin under his hand, unfamiliar bed sheets, that he was in a different bed all together. He suddenly blinked his eyes open and was faced with a bright, blue, yet comforting and familiar light, the low hum of Blue Fire, and the fact that his face was actually on someone's chest… that was new.. and then everything came back. Slamming into his mind with all the grace of a freight truck. 

Yesterday, the plan had been going out for food somewhere like he and Tony enjoyed doing, it was great, he was getting to try new things, they were going to Germany. Instead of getting to have awesome food, his head was put in the blender by a Hydra Ved'ma, courtesy of his _ 'best friend'. _He could still see Steve's earnest face as he'd begged him to listen. How Steve had ignored him because the Ved'ma told him that it wasn't the 'real Bucky.' How she had sifted through his worst memories, selecting them and forcing him to live through them over and over and over. All the while he felt himself speaking, Steve hanging on his every word, smiling and laughing whilst he'd been hanging on for dear life. Holding onto the anger. 

The Ved'ma hadn't done what she'd said she would do, which was a relief in a way. He didn't want to forget about everything after the fall, he didn't want to forget his friends, his _ life. _He loved his life. 

In his sleep, Tony must have felt something, his distress or anxiety at the memories as he was immediately tugged closer by a very strong arm and then even in his sleep, Tony's arm shifted, his fingers sliding into his hair. Gently carding through in a way that let him just focus on that instead rather than the horrible memories. The way Tony's fingers moved through his hair, even in his sleep, it was something that James had linked with safety and protection. 

That's a better memory, Tony had felt something was wrong. He remembered getting a text from Tony before they even left the cafe asking if he was okay, barely a minute after Wanda had screwed with his head. He had sent several more after, never outright asking again, but looking back James could see the pattern. James had replied however the Ved'ma had demanded, but looking back he could tell Tony wasn't convinced, but was unsure. Which was probably why he had finished the amulet that was now a warm, comforting presence around his neck. 

Tony had then tore into the room on pure rage and fury, knowing something was very wrong before he'd even entered. All it took was a single look when after he had entered the room to understand. James could see it in his eyes that all it took was just one look and he knew it wasn't him. Something that he was so glad about. Steve had looked into his eyes for 2 hours and had seen nothing, had seen what he had wanted to see. Had seen 'Bucky'. 

During those 2 hours, James had been terrified he would lose himself entirely to 'Bucky.' The name had made him uncomfortable before, now it filled him with fear, dread and panic. Everytime Steve had kept on using it, even after Tony had proved what Wanda did, it made him flinch. No matter how hard he tried to hide it, he flinched. Each time Tony had noticed, tried to distract him, with the constant background of fingers carding through his hair, of safety and protection. 

Tony knew him enough that it all it took was one look. He knew he was trapped, before he opened his Sight to See what had been done. 

James had felt Tony through the Fire, he heard an echo of his words. 

'For this. There will be pain.' 

He could feel Tony hanging on by his fingers against the incandescent rage, the only thing that had dulled it was the guilt. He would have to find a way to stop that. Could feel Rhodes too, with _how_ angry he was. 

Tony had felt his pain, fought his way to him, and seeing Steve get stomped and batted out of the way had given him fuel to keep hanging on. There had been a number of times yesterday, in those two hours, when he had nearly let go. Some of the memories she had chosen, it was too much, but he had held on. 

After that, James' main memory of any further interactions were completely dominated by the feel of fingers gently carding through his hair. Every pass helped erase the feel of the Ved'ma. Helped take his mind from the nightmares. Gave him something good to focus on. Anytime he stepped away from him for whatever reason, he still kept himself as a physical barrier against those in the room. Made it very clear that to get to James meant they had to go through Tony. Who was not trying to appear human in the slightest. 

The Rogues had finally started to realise just how _ badly _ they'd fucked up, they still didn't have a clue really. They'd had a small taste of what Tony and Rhodes could bring to the table. He might have taken some amusement at that. With Tony's instincts running high, it meant his magic had been low. James found it very amusing when people realised just how much of a powerhouse Tony and Rhodes were, and they hadn't even seen Tony run Carol's Drills. Or seen him spar with Rhodes. 

Tony had pushed himself to complete exhaustion however, taking his pain and then dealing with all the other people with Ved'ma fucked with? Healing was taxing and he'd just ignored his own body. The man needed to learn to look after himself better. 

James concentrated on his breathing, trying to think of only the good parts of yesterday, Tony had protected him, his hand running through his hair. This was possibly the first time he could _ see _ the light in Tony's chest properly, with nothing in the way. He'd been too exhausted last night, well, yesterday afternoon, to notice properly. Now he was well rested and very curious. 

Tony hadn't put his glamours back up either, it had surprised him so much when he dropped them in front of the others yesterday, that he'd ended up actually smiling, despite the pain. In amongst such a tense situation, Tony had stopped, on more than one occasion, to do something just to make him feel better. Even when he had been so angry he had nearly burned, if only Steve realised just how many times he had come close to a much more violent outcome.. which had been a surprise, that Tony had been so angry at what Steve and Wanda had done to him. 

He pulled attention back to the light in front of him instead of the insanity that was yesterday. For the first time, he can see the twisting path ways that seem to stem from the blue light, surrounded by a seven pointed star. It was much larger than the one on his forehead, with the blue light shining at its centre. It looked as if the Woad had _ grown _ outwards from there. Like roots of a tree or vines. It looks almost like a blue stone emitting light, just _ fused _ to his chest. 

He moved his hand up, tracing out of the twisting lines with he reaches the star holding the Blue Fire, but he stops just before touching it. He wondered if it would be like touching the Blue Fire when they were in Wales? He'd felt connected to everything around them, even the pull to the Fire he carries. Or, would it be different because this was Tony's Blue Fire? Plus, should he? It's literally _ inside _ of his _ chest… _

"You can touch it. It won't hurt you."

He jumped slightly before flushing and hiding his face in Tony's shoulder. He'd been so sure that the man was asleep, if he'd known he was awake he definitely wouldn't have done that. His breathing hadn't changed, he'd shown no sign of waking up either. Not many people could get the drop on James like that. 

"How long have you been awake?" 

"Only about a minute." 

"I didn't wake you, did I?" 

"Na, I feel quite refreshed actually given we slept for… 11 hours. And we're up at 4am Wow, I don't think I have ever slept for so long, and nightmare free. Huh. I'm only a little achy too, but given my energy use, that's not a shock." 

Tony chuckled but he couldn't help kind of agreeing on the nightmare front, he'd didn't think he'd ever slept for so long. He'd definitely never slept so long after a horrible experience like yesterday. Nightmare free too. He'd expected the night after that to be terrible. He'd experienced enough nightmares when he'd been awake, and yet he'd slept… really well actually. 

Although he wondered how Tony seemed to _ know _ the time, he couldn't see a clock and the windows had been blacked out by FRIDAY. Tony's question pulled him back to the room and reminded him of what he'd nearly done. 

"So, why did you pause?" 

"I was more thinking you might not want me too? I mean, it's in your _ chest. _ It's your Fire and it's literally _ inside _ of your chest. _ " _

So James was kind of stuck on the _ 'inside his chest' _ part. 

"Feel free, Fy Sidan" 

Tony's eyes were still closed, but he was relaxed, he noticed. He wasn't agreeing to it reluctantly and he didn't have that pained look on his face when he'd described how the Fire had found its way into his chest. Which gave a shot of confidence to his curiosity. 

He propped himself up a little bit, now he wasn't worried about waking Tony. So he could get a better look at the 7 pointed star, which he guessed made sense as it had been a 7 point convergence. If he remembered correctly, it was a septagram, also known as a Fae star. He moved slowly, giving Tony an out before his fingers skimmed across the edge, feeling where skin gave away to something else was quite strange, but not something he wasn't accustomed to really as he thought about his arm. 

It was hard but softer at the safe time. Like there was a hard barrier that suddenly gave way as if it didn't exist, allowing his fingers to actually dip into the Blue Fire. It wasn't quite like the electric feel of the Blue Fire he'd felt before, it wasn't like the Fire at The Grove. It had a similar hum to Tony's Black Fire actually, soft and warm. Clinging to his fingers as the Blue Flame stretched up, out of Tony's chest, reaching up to his wrist with a slow, lazy climb. 

He didn't let his fingers slip that far in, because this was in a person's _ chest _ and it was kind of freaky. Extremely freaky. Tony's Blue Fire however had no such qualms and reached up from inside his chest, more wound around his fingers and curled around his wrist. It still surprised him that the different types of Fire had different personalities. 

It was different to the Blue Fire at The Grove. That had been excited, happy and thankful that Tony had returned. There was some familiarity to that, but this felt warmer, less electric and more soft and welcoming. The Fire reacted similar to the Fire from The Grove, when James didn't move, the Fire perked up. Shifting faster and skating along his wrist, then came that connected feeling again, he wondered if Tony felt that all the time. It didn't crash out very far, instead of feeling everything in The Grove, here it was just Tony. 

"It likes you." 

"It does?" 

"Hmm, I noticed it in Wales, how the Fire reacted to you. Curling around people's fingers is normal, but it seeks out your pulse point, see. That means the Fire likes you." 

"You said the Blue Fire is the flame of the fabulous beasts, is that what this is too? I know you said one came when you were in the forest.. This feels a little different from the Fire in Wales." 

"Yes and no. She used The Blue Fire to save my life, she breathed Fire on the dread blade, their Fire is pure creation and destruction you see, pure magic, so the blade was obliterated and none of it remained. Even the vile blades the Fomóire carry can't hope to stand up to Blue Fire. It's why I construct all Reaper Blade with a little Blue Fire actually. After the sword was destroyed, I was still dying. Life force, magic, it had been slowly bleeding into the convergence. So she continued to breathe the Fire through me, through the Bluestone that had formed from the Fire bleeding up, out of the convergence. 

"She breathed that Blue Fire through me and directly into the convergence, where it then surged up to meet inside of me. All 7 points redirected for that moment, and poured up to meet her breath in my chest. 

"If it bound to me, I'd live with it forever. Make it mine. That I'd be able to carry and use the Fire. For some reason, it must have liked me, because it made me the living personification of the Blue Fire too. My Fire that I carry is a little different to the world Fire, they're more like siblings? It was born when I became the personification of the Blue Fire, which is the Lifegiver. 

"It's why I carry the Dienyddiwr's Blade in my hand, whilst I carry the Lifegiver in my chest. Merchant of Death, Guardian of Life. Everything in Balance."

Tony bought his own hand up and ran it through the Fire, with a contemplative look on his face. 

"What if you hadn't?" 

"The other way around, I would have become bound to the Fire." 

"That sounds like the same thing?" 

"No, I would have become part of the Fire, I would have lost my physical form and sense of self. That was the more likely option, until me, no one who had stood in the path of the Fire survived in their current form. No one knew a person _ could _ become a personification of the Blue Fire. CertainFFires were seen as having to much sense of self to form bonds There are many people who personify something, take Mab for instance. She is the personification of Winter and Survival. Fire has always been more… picky over who it chooses, let alone allowing a person to personify it. I am the first person to carry the Mantle of Blue Fire. 

"It's a great gift, joy and responsibility to become any of the Fires. Let alone one of the Triad I carry with me. The Purifying Fire is almost as old as the Lifegiver Fire. The Unifying Fire was born when my magic bound with the Blue Fire. No one has ever become the personification of it, I would feel it, no matter what world they reside on as like the Blue Fire comes from the fabulous beasts, the Black Fire comes from me. I picked up the Purifying Fire when someone else tried to kill me actually, the Fire was set but instead of burning it bonded with me. That Fire chose very well in Rhodey. 

"I think I survived because I was born here maybe? Born of the Firelands. My age? But we never knew why I lived. No matter how much Dian searched, mother refused to let him keep me for long." 

"What did it feel like? And I want the rest of that story about someone trying to kill you at some point. Why do people keep trying to kill you?" 

Tony chuckled at that. 

"Of course, I get involved where others sit by. Draws attention. Some people didn't like the Blue Fire having a physical presence and believed Purifying Fire would fix it, instead, the White Fire liked me so it stayed with me. I get on quite well with most Fire, pretty bad thing to wield against me really. 

"The Blue Fire felt like… Everything. You know what you felt in my Grove? That.. But _ more. _ I could feel every single pathway on earth, every single fabulous beast throughout the Realms, and then everything that carried even the largest to the tiniest amount of flame, which is everything born or grown on earth, everything that lives on Earth. Humans, to animals, to plants… _ Everything. _ Complex humans to a single blade of grass. It was amazing, and agonising, my head just couldn't contain it all, but I knew I _ had _ to. If I let it slip, for even a _ second, _ then the Fire would consume me. It was a trial, usually those who underwent it were much older and had more time to prepare."

"Holy crap that sounds terrifying. How old were you when it happened to you? "

"I was the equivalent to 8 I'd think. Maybe being young is why I survived where all those before me became the Fire? I don't know. After seeing how close it made me to humans, very few people volunteered anymore. Even the draw of power was not enough. I was a cautionary tale. When it took, it completely healed me from the year I spent with Molaich, and then my magic bound to it. It wrapped around my heart and breathed life into me, even though so much of me, my essence, had drained out into the convergence. The Fire surged up to fill that space. It's why I can call it, manipulate it. If I am well rested and energised, I can also create it. Not as much as a fabulous beast obviously, but enough that I impressed them." 

He didn't know what to say, these were things that just were not in his scope of experiences and he didn't want to just offer platitudes. 

"It doesn't hurt you now though, does it?" 

"No, not now, the connection to everything dialed down and I learned to control it. So now I can touch a vein of Fire and know everything that touches it, spreading only as far as I decide. I can touch a person and feel their Fire. Not all at once, no pain." 

"That sounds better. I'm glad that she saved you. I don't want to imagine what things would be for me if I didn't have you in my corner." 

Tony tilted himself to face him, the woad marks on his face, trailing down his neck to meet what he could see of his chest… There wasn't really a patch of clear skin. It all seemed new and ancient to him, at the same time. It's like every time that he sees them, little things jumped out at him, from the thick blue band across his eyes, to the trailing roots and symbols around his neck. Some he recognised, others he didn't. The Woad made the gold in his eyes stand out so much more and the way it moved with him. It reminded him of those tiny glimpses he got when they Firewalked over long distances. Tony jarred him from his thoughts and he realised he'd been staring. 

"Well you do, I mean, you have me in your corner for as long as you want me." 

"Then looks like you're stuck with me." 

"Oh no, what ever will I do." 

He flashed those cat fangs which made James grin. 

"I like your cat-fangs." 

His ability to make Tony blush still surprised him when it happened, given the man's age. But he loved it, he ducked his head as pink swept across his face, looking down with brief glances at James. It was ridiculously adorable. 

"Really? Cat-fangs, I've..ah, never actually had them called that before." 

"Yeah, they're one of my favourite things. They're cute." 

"I've _ definitely _ never had them called that before. Rhodey thought I was a vampire when he woke up, you know? Thought that I'd turned him into one to heal him, that he'd never see a beach again." 

He was definitely going to rib the other Reaper about that. 

"Mind if I ask you something, feel free to say no.." 

"Go ahead, so far you have a good effect on me. I've not had my glamours down for so long before, even when I stayed behind the mists. Mother thinks you're a miracle worker by the way.. But swap first." 

He was confused about what he meant by swapping until he basically got poked into moving and was maneuvered until Tony's head was resting on James chest making him into a pillow. He really is sure now that Tony is actually part cat by the way he pressed into him. As he was tilted forward, James can now see more of the Woad on Tony. Going around his neck and shoulders and across to down his back. In the same place as on his chest, is a Woad blue, completely filled in septagram and it chills him to think of it going right through him st some point. 

"Go on then." 

James blinked, trying to remember what he was actually planning on asking before he had gotten distracted by Tony's Woad. That was it. 

"I was wondering if you'd tell me your other name?" 

"I've been waiting for you to ask you know, I don't tell people often, people can summon me with it if they know how to pronounce every part correctly, but you're different." 

"I am?" 

"Yes, I trust you with it. You would not abuse it, spirit of a Bone Inspector remember. And it's Cadeyrn. Some friends called me Ryn before Scythe became more popular. It's been a while since I've heard either from someone, other than mother." 

"Cadeyrn?" 

The reaction was immediate, like it rippled through him, his hand tensed on James chest as he pushed himself closer. He wasn't sure if it was a good reaction or not, he hadn't expected that much that's for sure. He got a pleasant tingle down his spine every time Tony said his name, but this was definitely more and he wasn't magically inclined so he didn't think there would be anything like that. Not a full body reaction. He was breathing harder by the time it petered out, like he'd been running. 

"I didn't know it would do that, I'm so-." 

"I'm fine, no apologising to Fae remember. Plus, I like my name when you say it. It feels… different for each person when someone says our name you see, no two are ever really alike. The intent behind it counts too, a person who disliked me, yelling my name could make it hurt for instance. Its all about intention. 

"I wanted to know what it felt like coming from you. I've not heard my name from anyone bar mother in a very, very long time so a strong reaction is normal. I've been very careful about who knows my name, so I don't hear it often. Gives it more power when it is freely given. Even those that know our names are usually careful about using them, it's why we end up with so many titles and other names, why people call mother The Morrigan, The Carrion Crow. Why I'm called The Balance. Why even family calls me Scythe or some variation. We all tend to have different names for each other. I know you won't give it out, you'll protect it." 

It was a heady thing, the trust that Tony just handed in his direction with such ease. Tony was on his left side so he was in a good position for the arm wrapped around him to slip into his hair, well James did promise if he slept longer than a few hours.. Plus he liked the noise he made and how he instantly became pliant in his arms. He seemed to actually prefer his metal arm too. 

"So what does your name mean? I like Ryn, it suits you." 

It wasn't the same reaction as Cadeyrn, but Ryn has Tony sucking in a breath before shuddering. 

"Hmm, Oh, Battle King or Little battle, Mother would fly across battlefields you see, she was pregnant with me when she flew across a skirmish between my father, Neit, God of War and Molaich. Just as he won, she fell abruptly from the sky and went into labour right there. They were too far from the mists, so my father's warriors cleared the space around her from Fomóire. The trees laid down cover for her and then I was born."

"Wow, you don't do things by half do you?"

"Nope."

"Is your father still around, I've met your mother she's awesome, yet terrifying."

"No, he was killed in Dédenach Maige Tuired."

"That's awful, I just thought… Your people are mostly immortal, it's weird to think of them dying."

"It's weirder for them, live so long and death becomes an abstract, until it isn't. Many died before the Exodus. I've died so many times as a human plus with my line of work, I don't have the same terror as some. Pretty much all immortals, all long lived beings, all fear that death may one day find them. More than mortals even. Our kind don't age so much after we reach adulthood, not like Asgardians, they're long lived. We're like the Greeks, immortal, but there are ways to douse our lights."

"Huh, I never thought about it that way. That immortals would fear death more than mortals. Makes sense though." 

"Long life can breed complacency in many things. Any other questions?" 

He thought for a moment, he had a lot, tons in fact. But he didn't know if he should ask them. He wanted to ask him what he looked like beneath his glamour that made him appear human, if he looked like the few glimpses he got in the Fireworld. As did most conversations with Tony, it was like that start of a research binge. He'd used up pretty much all of his left over bravery today asking for his name. 

There was another thing he wanted to know now however. 

"How do I become a Reaper?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony's parents are not from the pit of my brain, but everything around Tony specifically is where I start running off with ideas. Just in case anyone was wondering!
> 
> And we'll get back back to all the fun I'm sure Steve and Wanda are having later, but I figured this might be a direction that is appreciated xD


	54. Remember to Breathe

**James POV **

_ "How do I become a Reaper?"  _

Tony tilted his head up at him, shock evident on his face but he's smiling too, practically lit up over it. James hadn't quite realised how  _ much _ Tony wanted him to join him and Rhodes. But he can see it on Tony's face, heck he can feel it, the Blue Fiery aura that surrounds Tony is brighter and flickering faster, almost dizzying under his Sight too. He had actually thought that Tony didn't really have any strong feelings regarding him taking up the Mantle. He practically never spoke of it, and never about him. The closest he got was discussing his Black Fire. Even during training, they didn't discuss it. 

Although, now he comes to think about it. James thinks he's an idiot. Rhodes, and  _ all _ the people in the diary, spoke at  _ length _ about how Tony didn't want to pressure anyone into becoming a Reaper. That he didn't want to be like some of his people in their attitudes and treatment of humanity. That he never wanted to  _ influence _ their decision. So, of course, he wouldn't discuss it. Sometimes he's a bit slow. Thanks to his Sight he can see Tony's aura just flooded with colours that he has no idea how to explain, but he gets a strong feeling that Tony is very, very happy with just the idea he wants to become a Reaper. 

"You want to become a Reaper? I had thought that maybe you didn't want to, that something was blocking your path. What you said yesterday… Did you truly think that you were not worthy of the Mantle?" 

Tony looked so genuinely confused, as if there was no reason in his mind that would even make James  _ not _ worthy of it. Not a single shred of doubt. That look alone was shocking and eased something inside of him, but... still, it weighed on him. He wasn't like Rhodes or Tony.

"Well, look at Rhodes, he's amazing, he's fought and protected people for most of his life, he's proud and strong. It makes perfect sense he'd be your right-hand man. But then you have me…" 

"Why do you say it like that?" 

"My hands are drenched in blood. I'm just a weapon of what Hydra made me. Killed all kinds of innocent people. I'm nothing like Rhodes, or like  _ you, _ you've fought in so many battles, leading people. You protect people, find people, give them a home. Put your entire life on pause to be human when you couldn't help directly anymore. Over and over, no matter how much pain it caused you. You've saved the literal universe., the Multiverse! I don't even know how many times!" 

Tony frowned and went to open his mouth to speak a few times. As if he was searching for the right words, or gearing up to say something. When what looked like pain flashed across his face but he wasn't sure why, until he spoke. 

"I was made into a weapon once."

That had not been what he expected. Not at all. Nor the visceral feeling of  _ pain _ that came with it. Tony's entire aura, that burning bright Blue Fire, it darkened and shuddered, and despite the easy look on his face, James could see the pain on a level that his human mind struggled to understand. See how his Fire was hurting.

"What?"

"The Fomóire. Do you remember when I said that their MO was slavery, full dominance and all that crap? I got hit by something called a WishHex. Nasty things. It was way, way before even the first battle, in one of the skirmishes, I was barely 500 years old. Niahm was a slave to Molaich and we were trying to save her, it turned out that she was bait. For me. Molaich had a bit of an obsession with me you see, after he failed to kill me as a child. We've been bound by fate since my birth on the field of his dead. Constantly clashing til one of us does. In the middle of the battle he suddenly sent his troops on a number of suicide runs at me, I knew something was up and tried to fall back, but he'd separated me long enough to release the WishHex. It wiped out his own troops, thousands of them sacrificed, blasted them into atoms as it attached to me. Wrapping me in void chains."

Tony visibly shuddered at the mention of the chains, even his eyes seemed to darken from their usual bright gold. James couldn't help feeling bad for bringing the conversation to such an obviously painful direction. This obviously wasn't something Tony discussed often. 

"It's a bit complicated, but do you remember me saying our people can have different facets, like different sides but entirely different personalities? Sometimes even at odds with each other?"

"Yeah, I remember that."

"A WishHex has many uses, but it can be used to lock us into one form, it's terrifying for my people, agonising. But, I only had one form at that time, I am bound to the Firelands, this realm is also known as the Fixed Realm. So I was fixed in a way… I still am in a way, Balance is more than a title my people gave me."

"I'm guessing that it didn't just 'not work' on you though?"

"No, that would have been great. Except for the pain, the Void is a part of Underhill. You know I said everything is in balance there? Underhill is of Magic, Will and Intent. The Void is the absence of these things. Being bound to magic the way I am, void chains had an extra kick. Probably why he used them."

"That sounds awful… What did it do?"

"You know I'm always careful about my anger? How yesterday it took less and less to push me to that edge? I must walk a careful line of venting, but not getting lost in it. This is why, and it's not something I'm proud of, he's not something I really like to talk about often, even though I do feel bad for him. The WishHex forced my polarity to change through anger from the pain of the void. I was me, but I wasn't.  _ He _ is the embodiment of Rage and Fury like  _ I  _ am the embodiment of Fire and Balance. I am Bane, he is Chaos. Under their control, he became a lethal weapon. They'd set him on a battle and just stayed back because he killed everything in his path in his rage. He was young, suffering, bound and forced to obey, he didn't understand, he felt an echo of my pain, so he raged. He was a weapon of mass destruction that makes anything humanity has created seem paltry in comparison."

Anytime he thought he understood Underhill and its people something else tended to throw a spanner in the works. James also was thinking this sound disturbingly familiar. The chains, void chains, well they sounded a lot like what Tony had removed from Clint. The barbed wire. That he'd also had his will taken away. James was left wondering just how much of yesterday was uncomfortably close to Tony's past? Yet he carried on anyway, healing others and disregarded his own health. Not mentioning just how much it must have reminded him of this painful time in his past. 

"But it wasn't you.."

"And you weren't the Asset."

"True. It was still my hands, so I understand that. When you said Void chains… it's making me think of that thing you pulled from Clint."

Tony rubbed his hand down his face, the bandage caught his attention. Although he suspected that the wounds would have healed by now. 

"Was hoping you wouldn't make that connection." 

"Is this why you hate mind control so much? The control on him, it was on you too, wasn't it?" 

"Was hoping you wouldn't make that one either. I hate mind control for many reasons but yeah, it reminds me of my time under Molaich, and his. What we were forced to do. Atrocities carried out by our hands and blades. It wasn't the best start in life for him and the chains..." 

Tony shuddered again just at the memory of them, and James knew this was thousands and thousands of years ago. That it  _ still _ brought such a reaction out of him. These chains must have been terrible. James had seen glimpses of what had been wrapped around Clint, flashes here and there... and his entire being had rebelled at even the slightest glimmer. His stomach turned, head spun, like his very being was screaming that it was  _ wrong  _ on more levels that he was capable of understanding. That was just a glimmer when Tony had ripped his hands apart to pull it free, it had latched onto him in a vicious attack. Wrapping tightly around his pulse point, sinking deeply into his skin and tearing at his flesh to get deeper. It was just, wrong. It was hard to explain the visceral feeling of horror, wrongness, corruption, acrid, rotten, loathsome, vile… no word he could think of truly fit how wrong that wire had been. And Tony had allowed it to tear into his flesh over and over just to free Clint. 

"I'm sure someone else could have healed Clint."

"Maybe, but he  _ trusted _ me and I could let him continue like that. I'd like to think if a person with the ability had found me when I was chained they would have released me. I broke the chains, eventually..."

"How long were you like that?" 

"Far, far too long...." 

Tony tried to pull the bandage from his wrist, but the angle and that he was mostly lying on one arm made it tricky, so he decided to lend him a hand. Tony stilled as soon as he reached over and it didn't take long to shed the bandage. The skin underneath was healed, but he could see where the gashes had been, the skin still looked slightly pink. That had certainly taken a long time to heal compared to his palms, but then he supposed he was channelling healing magic through his palms. James figured that he should move on, Tony looked much worse discussing these void chains and his time in captivity than he had about when he bound to the Fire, when he'd nearly died at 8 years old for fuck's sake. 

That, and he had trailed off. Which was definitely strange, Tony usually had a story for everything, even hard, painful ones. Each one meant something, learned something. No matter how bad it seemed, Tony found the silver lining. Thinking of that time in his life, it made him  _ quiet.  _ Which actually told James more than he probably could with words. In a way, James was happy Tony hadn't given him a number, knowing exactly how many years he was trapped and forced to fight. 

"So, you and your other person don't get on?"

Tony practically grabbed the slight topic change with a shade of desperation. 

"It's hard to put into human terms, it's not so much that we are different personalities. Mother has 3 aspects for instance, they each have a different purpose. For me, I am the Balance of Life and he is the Fury of Nature when the Balance is risked. I am Control and the Deciding Act before death, he is the Unmasked Rage of Battle. I am Cold Iron, Bane and he is the Chaos of which he was born in, both of us, wrapped and warped in the pain of the void. My titles are my own, we don't share those jobs. He has a purpose, just like I do, but he is safer integrated. He doesn't understand many things, refuses to speak to me, so he prefers to sleep now. I think he earned it, no matter how we don't get along. He remembers what I do, but doesn't know how to react. It's complicated. 

"I don't think he understands me, and he interprets that as disliking, but if I argued with someone, or got angry, he wouldn't understand the difference between an argument and anger to kill. That was all they allowed him to do in a way, I've been hoping as time went on that he would understand more, but releasing him fully has not had great results. He didn't understand that I would try to protect him and hurt, so he would get mad at me. He would attack a person I argued with and be hurt when I came back and saw what he had done. 

"He isn't bad, Fae don't deal in absolutes of good and evil. That's a human concept of rigid finality that utterly can't stand up to immortality."

"I think I understand, but you still don't have control when he is out? You shouldn't take on blame for what he did. I don't think he should either. Neither of you had a choice. He's been through so much, it makes sense he's hurting. You too." 

Tony dropped his head down, looking anywhere but at him and James had a bad feeling. That this was going to get worse. Somehow.

"They didn't just put me up against my people James, they used us against many people, different worlds, realms, too many to list and even then it wasn't just that. They put me up against Reapers."

James froze at that, because he  _ knew _ how protective Tony was about his Reapers. How much Tony had cared for every single one over millennia. How much he put into them, how he cared for them, in every part of their lives. They were his friends, they were his closest family. 

Now… Tony's overprotective instincts suddenly made a lot more sense. In a very grim way. No wonder his protective instincts were ratcheted up to a hundred yesterday. It had probably cut too close to home seeing James like that. It also explained why he was so ready to ascribe guilt to himself, he could feel it around Tony like a thick, heavy fog 

Tony had been forced to kill those he pledged to protect, teach, and guide. Those who were his. Just from how much training and guidance Tony had already done with him, how much Tony invested, and that was when Tony had actually believed he hadn't even wanted to become a Reaper. 

He was also utterly failing at turning the topic to something less agonisingly painful for Tony, he could feel the pain through the Fire in the complicated mashup of Fey emotions. Complex in ways he couldn't conceive, but singular. Feelings that somehow had such depths of pain, guilt and the feeling of complete and utter  _ failure _ that he could barely comprehend it _ . _ Which, again, explained why Tony felt so bad at the idea of failing. 

"Fuck, you shouldn't have had to go through that. Even so, you didn't fail Tony, you survived." 

"It… It was a long time ago, and I failed, seriously. Those I pledged on my honour to protect died on my blade." 

"You survived, you didn't choose to kill them, you had no free will, it was your body. But others will and intention. It's a miracle you came out the other side Tony… it's great you still train us, we trust you. To me,  _ you _ are  _ safety _ , I know you'll protect me, if I'm hurt you'll heal me and if I'm in danger, I know you will fight everyone in your path to get to me because that's what you did. Then you gave me choices, let me choose, let me consent, let me ask questions even though the answers have been painful to you, just to make me feel better about being a Reaper. That you want me to be one, despite my past. Tony… Ryn. These are big things. "

Tony shivered again at the use of his name and was looking at James with a mixture of utter shock. 

"I don't know what I've done to make you see me like that. Not sure I can live up to it. I will always try, the last thing I want is you hurt Fy Sidan. It's why I want you to know this. I might feel bad for him, but he is not safe. I don't remember any of what he does. When he is in full control, I go into a... different space. I'm usually coming back to pick up the pieces."

James knew somehow it was more than that, could feel it. Even though Tony was keeping his face open, James could see that it was a… 'not good' place he went when the other was forward. Tony wasn't so much lying, but he definitely was not telling the full truth. Which, considering how much awful stuff Tony had already told him, he really wondered where Tony actually went. It was the same feeling in his aura when he first mentioned the void chains, so definitely 'not good'. James wasn't about to bring that up, however. It was obvious he didn't want to talk about it and Tony had already visited possibly one of the worst parts of his history just to make him feel less alone. 

"Eventually, I crazed through the programming after they pushed me too far when he had fallen back. Pushed him too far that he actually hid behind me. I broke the chains. But the damage was done. So, don't look at me like some paragon of good. Through him, and as myself, my hands are drenched in the blood far, far too many. People who had probably never affected the balance, people who hadn't earned  _ either _ of my blades. 

"That side of me... It's still there,  _ he's _ still there. Just more under my control now. As I said, he works better integrated, we don't usually agree but sometimes he agrees to fight beside me instead of against. Against Rogers was actually the smoothest we've ever worked together, I was able to fall back a little and let him forward. Maybe it reminded him about what happened to us. Not a full switch, but close and he was surprised I allowed it, and then approved of my hit to Rogers temple. Still, if he is ever fully forward, don't go near him unless you can knock him out. It's best not to try. Don't  _ ever _ mistake him for me, Reapers have died that way. He usually changes my glamour, but you can always recognise him by his blade. You've seen my bane twisted blade? His is chaos twisted. Red with black. He doesn't talk much either, he doesn't see the purpose, it annoys him if anything. Really, he just isn't sure what to say and fears punishment for saying or doing something incorrectly, the fear makes him angry."

Tony was as serious as he'd ever seen him before, almost pleading with him, so he easily agreed. 

"I'll avoid him." 

"I'm not saying that you have to be fully comfortable with every aspect of The Winter Soldier, but don't be too hard on yourself for your past James. You're a survivor. I know you're worthy of the Fire for one very simple reason."

"What's that?"

"Because you carry it. The Fire doesn't just choose people at random. It isn't like some magical lottery. It always has its reasons and if you carry it, you are worthy of it. If you were unworthy, it would leave and your Fire is very, very happy to be with you. There is so much of it, it's amazing."

"Huh. I never thought about it that way."

"My fault, I should have told you. I got so worried about thinking I was forcing your hand into becoming a Reaper, that I've made you feel you weren't worthy of it."

Tony looked pained at the prospect, torn that in attempting to avoid something, he caused something worse. James felt pretty awful for that, it hadn't been Tony that had made him feel like he was not worthy of the Fire, it had been himself. Plus, this conversation had been much, much harder on Tony than himself. He got that feeling that he had in The Grove, that Tony did not usually talk about this. Like never. 

"I don't think it's all your fault. Pretty sure I'm at fault here. Or at least three quarters. I talked myself into thinking I had to become worthy because I wasn't yet. That I was lacking. I really would like to though. I read everything I can get my hands on.

"You are making good progress trying to read my entire library, it's impressive, you definitely have the spirit of a Bone Inspector. And if you are sure that you want this, then I will tell you what happens. You aren't just doing this in reaction to yesterday though, right? Because you're safe from the Witch now, and being a Reaper means more fights, not less. You can't stop being a Reaper, other than dying. Like me, you'll always carry the compulsion to restore the Balance. Rhodey mentioned the compulsion, yes?"

"Yeah, he explained it. And the only thing from yesterday that made me decide, was you telling me I was worthy of it. I mean, It's  _ your _ Fire,  _ your _ Reapers. I wanted to… I wanted you to actually want me to be one if that makes sense? Not that you were just stuck with me because of magic."

"Well I do, have for a while now. Been looking forward to seeing what powers you pick up at first. You're our Battle Wraith."

"Huh? Is that a good thing?"

He ducked, flushed again. Which James was taking as an improvement to the silent staring that he had fallen into after discussing the void chains. 

"So… Me and Rhodey kind of snuck in to watch Carol putting you through training drills. We wanted to see how you fared. The way you moved across the field. You flow across the field, not a single task Carol set that you didn't finish. I have a few friends who are actual Battle Wraiths and you put them to shame. We both are dying to see what you'll be like with your Fire unleashed."

Great, now  _ he _ was the one blushing. He hadn't realised that people would watch his sessions. He'd enjoyed it more than he'd thought he would, he'd worried it would remind him too much of Hydra. But he'd been itching to fight the entire time he was in Wakanda, he'd just refused to admit it. He'd jumped at Carol's challenges, wanting more, taking everything he'd learned at Hydra and using it for himself had been liberating in a way. Even his therapist had been cool with it, he'd expected for her to tell him to give it all up. She'd told him that it was OK to love what he was good at. Since then he'd had Tony's training sessions which usually ended with him on the floor barely able to move, but he loved every single one. Getting to that point of exhaustion, left him feeling like he was floating. Completely relaxed. 

"I love Carol's challenges, it's like I can finally..." 

"Let it free?" 

"Exactly! Is that the Fire in me?" 

"It could be, it wasn't a feeling I had until after the WishHex, I thought I'd never fight again for a while, but it was like something scratching in my skull. Like if I don't shift for too long. He pushes closer, feeling tense and it isn't just him, if I don't release a little pressure he will push closer, but even then, it's part of me too. I don't let it pass to my Reapers. It is the one thing I hold back. Not really had anyone who could understand because of that." 

"Yeah, it's like that, after I just felt free. I didn't know if that made me a horrible person though…" 

Tony reached up to brush his fingers through James hair who tilted his head towards his hand. The touch was grounding, it made him feel present, himself. Never to be used by Hydra again, but that he could use what they taught him for things  _ he _ chose.

"I don't think you're capable of being really horrible James. You're one of the best people I know and I would love it for you to become a Reaper. To make your blade and fight beside you. Rhodey will be thrilled." 

"He would? You two have spoken about it then?" 

"Oh, so many times. He's been watching your training sessions with awe. Every challenge I find, every weapon I put in your hand, you bring everything. You throw yourself into the pure joy of learning and training in a way few others do. He's been dying for you to remove the bind as I'd have another sparring partner equally as committed, so he can nap. He's planning on building a hammock and everything." 

Tony chuckled at that and James was just utterly blown away. He really had not thought... 

"Huh, I really thought the two of you didn't really think about me becoming Reaper too…" 

Tony looked guilty and pressed his head into James shoulder. The man really was part cat, he was sure of it. 

"I am sorry for that."

Tony covered James's mouth as he was about to say he didn't have to apologise, feeling it settle almost in his hand. He swore he could  _ see _ something, silvery and opalescent. Lighter than the other, this was more defined rather than the desperate outpouring of the others from yesterday. It was still shining, and somehow he knew Tony was looking to balance it out. 

"Hopefully I can do better now? Make up for what I've failed at. It's actually really simple. I will say a few words after I coax your Fire out of dormancy. Remove the bind. Then, it grows, straight away you'll notice some changes, your senses will skyrocket and I'll stay with you until it evens out as it can be overwhelming. Then I can't tell you what happens as everyone is unique but I will be there to guide you every step of the way, bound through the Fire. 

"All abilities of The Reapers stem from me you see, so I'm pretty well versed in them. Although most Reapers tend to develop differently. Your Fire is unique and the grouping of abilities can open pathways that I have not thought of. When Rhodey's senses equalised, he actually burst into flame straight away, completely on fire, whoosh, it was hilarious. No prompting or anything. Like it had got tired of waiting. 

"I helped him not set the entire apartment on fire and we painted the scorch marks on the ceiling the next day. He is the personification of the Purifying Flame, quite amazing. You won't get all your abilities at once, usually 2 or 3 at first, maybe 4, the most was 6 straight out the gate but that was very rare. Then more will come to you as you grow, but people tend to get a few when it's first unlocked. Usually a Shift form, an Evocation and a Sense when your abilities unlock. But it is individual, it can be different.

"Rhodey unlocked his Panther form, his evocation was the White Flame and Pyromancy and that affected his senses. Your strength, speed, durability will also increase. You already have access to your Sight so we won't have to worry about that unlocking, although it may strengthen. I have some guesses of what abilities you might unlock, but telling you could mess up the process. Make could make you focus on them so that you stress yourself out, or miss something else. The last thing I want you to be is stressed. Whatever you develop will be perfect for you, that is what matters."

That sounded kind of scary, but the good kind of scary, and he was actually excited to experience it. Even the overwhelming bits. Or the exploding into fire bits. 

"That sounds crazy, but good in a way? I'm just worried I'd do something wrong.."

"Impossible. There is no right or wrong. The unlocking is just you starting to discover yourself. I aim for you to have some fun, especially if you get a shift form that lets me run with you. Rhodey sulked that I was faster than him."

Tony grinned widely at the prospect of running and he found that the excitement was oddly catching, he wondered if the serum would change anything, his senses were already pretty enhanced. 

"Would my serum affect it? My senses are already pretty high." 

"I doubt it, I don't know for sure. But the senses I'm talking about aren't just the normal 5 and you'll find the serum is barely on a scale of comparison to being a Reaper. You will be  _ of _ Magic, James. The Fae have been altering and gifting humans for a long time. We are very, very good at it. You've already surpassed Rogers just by starting training with your Fire bound. A human coming up with a serum just can't compare to tens of thousands of years of Fae gifting humans and even more before. You will also find that your training will change when your Fire is unbound, as in you might wish for those days because I will constantly step up your training to just above your level. 

"I want my Reapers to have the best chances of survival, so I throw my entire self into the process. The job we do is important to the entire multiverse. I am also quite powerful alone. Father was a God of War and Passion, Mother is a God of Magic, The Night, Prophecy and Revenge. I'm The Balance, The Merchant of Death, Guardian of Life. The Upholder of Battle Magic. The Dienyddiwr of Underhill. The Patron of Reapers. My Reapers are a part of me, you have the potential to find power in all of these titles and some others that I have. In all magic that I hold."

"Wow, okay, yeah I forget sometimes you know. Just how powerful you are, because of how much you hold back around us. How much you put into appearing human. You know you don't have to do that around me right? You can just.. Be" 

That got a smile out of Tony. A softer, more tentative one than he was used to seeing but he still flashed his fangs. 

"I'm starting to realise that. It's… not something I'm used to. But, for you Fy Sidan. I will try. If only you will tell me if something makes you uncomfortable." 

"Of course, I will tell you. It is you though. You make me comfortable and feel safe." 

"That's definitely not something I'm used to hearing. Been doing a pretty sad job of it lately." 

"You're doing a great job, you found me, saved me. Made Steve see what he'd done, fuck, you marked Wanda an enemy of your people just over what she did to me. That's big, then I slept without a single nightmare." 

"That was the least I could do." 

James frowned, figuring that he wasn't going to get this through to Tony anytime soon. He wasn't about to give up though he just knew the best tactic with Tony when his mind was set was usually to take an indirect route. 

"So, you don't think the serum will cause problems? I was worried it would screw with it. Mess things up." 

"Highly unlikely. We can push our senses out to feel  _ more,  _ it's hard to explain unless you have felt it. For example, we knew how many people were in the room last night before we were in the connecting hall. I knew there was something wrong with you far before I stepped foot in that room. We could feel the witch prepping her attack, what she planned to a certain degree, the magic she was readying. Rhodey has heat vision as he's  _ very _ adept at pyrokinesis and it enhanced his sense for heat. So, there will be more. I don't know what, but there will be much more. Every Reaper has a unique mix of my abilities and they usually throw their own spin on things."

"That sounds pretty cool. Rhodes seems like the person who would master anything in his path with extreme efficiency."

"Hmm, he's our anchor."

"Anchor?"

"He is stability, he will help keep us ourselves. Me and you, we have a lot of Fire in us, been weapons in other people's hands, lost our sense of self and know death keenly, from both sides. Cryo for you, the Bonding for me. I have a wealth of Blue Fire and you have a wealth of Black Fire. He is the Purifying White Flame. He will anchor us to keep us from burning too hot."

"You really have been thinking about this a lot, haven't you? About me becoming a Reaper? For how long?"

"I wondered from the second I saw your Fire, but it wasn't until we started talking more. When we started swapping nightmares, not… many people understand me, no matter the species. I'm too Fae for Humans, too Human for Fae. To ' _ Other' _ for any others. Then you came here and your Fire felt different from what I first saw it in Wakanda. Not just more, but  _ brighter _ and then we got to know each other better. The more I knew, the happier I am happy that my Fire found you. You make me feel happy Fy Sidan, that is something I value highly. I don't have to worry about keeping up the human mannerisms around you, you have given me the option to drop it completely, I have more glamours down right now than I have up, I'm… It's hard to explain Fae emotions, but to have Rhodey and you as my Reapers? This makes me happy."

"Oh, you make me happy too, you know. I had just decided to stay in cryo for good when you came along, I'd just given up, I was tired. I had no hope. I didn't think it was possible to get rid of the words. That I'd never be free. Then you flew in and changed everything. I don't know how I'd have survived Wakanda without you, then coming here, I didn't think it was possible to be a person again. To enjoy things. To have friends, to enjoy myself doing what I'm good at without  _ guilt. _ I wouldn't have any of that without you. I owe you my everything, I didn't think I could  _ be _ happy. "

"You don't owe me anything James, and you did all that, I'm just along for the ride. To help you when you want it, support you when you don't. It might sound silly or sappy shit, but my life is better for you being in it."

"Mine too, and it might be sappy shit, but I kinda like it."

"Me too, but don't tell anyone. Especially not Rhodey. He'll taunt us forever, and considering the increased life expectancy of Reapers, that's a long time."

They both laughed at that, he did especially so because Rhodes would definitely do that. Because Rhodes knows about his little (not so little) crush on Tony and he definitely ribs him over it, often. But he lets him talk about it too which is worth it. He doesn't mind so much, as long as he didn't actually  _ tell _ Tony, everything was fine, he could deal with his crush just fine. He was happy with what he had. He got to have this, Tony curled up against him, it's more than he'd even considered. He liked his tactile Fae, not just because he was very warm, like a hot water bottle either, whilst that was a bonus, waking up not feeling the bite of Cryo. He'd always been a tactile person before the war, but he wasn't sure how to reach that anymore. He second-guessed himself and didn't even know when touch would be good or bad. Tony seemed to be able to read that and bridged the gap for him. 

"I hope the others return soon, there are a few Reapers active, that when Earth appeared to settle, the ventured further than I could follow. I can travel far from the Fire but I must always return. Reapers are of my Fire, but you don't need it to live. They travelled out, seeking threats to the balance. They write often, it would be nice if they were to return before the Titan arrives. The Gruagaich didn't say they were required, only the three of us, but it would be nice to have them. "

"Wait, when did the creepy ghosts say that? I don't remember that."

"Birth, Life and Death; Past, Present, and Future; Earth, Sea, and Sky."

James just blinked as he ran it through his mind again and suddenly he wasn't sure how he had missed it. Three. It was an incredibly important number, Tony's explanation on the Bone Inspectors told him that. Triangles are  _ strong, _ Triads are  _ strength.  _ Wow, he was slow lately. 

"You said that you couldn't use the first information they gave you?" 

"Because I will let no one take your choice from you, James. I will not allow even the fates to rush your hand."

"But, what if I didn't work it out and the Titan came?" 

"Then I would have found a way around it. This isn't the first time the fates have attempted to push me, pressure me into forcing a potential's hand. It's the hardest push yet, going as far to create prophecy of you. I _have_ never, and _will_ never force a potential's hand. Nor allow another to do so. I wait for you James, not the other way around." 

He was left blinking and the sheer conviction and strength in that, now he has an idea of how the Rogues felt when Tony held them in place with a look, when he spoke like that. It was easy to forget Tony's power but when he showed it, he felt his conviction in his bones. 

"Wow." 

"Plus, you want it and have decided now. It is part of the unbinding, a very important part. I can see it in your aura that you have made the decision." 

James was still kind of caught up on the defying fates so he could have a choice thing. Deciding that he should move on or he was really going to get stuck on that. 

"So, what do I have to do, is there like a long preparation process or something?" 

"Nope, you've been watching too many movies." 

"As you're the person showing me said movies, that can't be my fault." 

"True, but no lengthy process, if you want, we can do it now." 

"Now? Really?!" 

"Only if you're ready. I don't want to rush you." 

"No, I'm ready. I've wanted to say yes for so long, I'm just happy I can say yes now." 

"Well then, I'm going to go brush my teeth as I feel yuck, we'll be stuck for a little while as things even out, a speedy breakfast then we can start. You never know how long that could take and trust me, you don't want to be hungry during." 

He was pretty sure he was far too nervous to eat much, but Tony recommended having something plain in his stomach, so he ended up with toast. Tony cleared their days and the apartment went into blackout mode he hadn't known existed. Shutters covered the windows that briefly glowed bright blue with sigils. As they slipped into place, it was like the missing parts of a circuit that when added, completed it. Sigils flashed to life along every wall, all linked together as they lit up one by one in both directions, until they met up at the door. The door was the most complicated by far and James didn't recognise anything as they slowly faded to a deep blue. 

He did text Rhodey though. He couldn't get his head around it that this was actually, finally  _ happening. _ He was more than a little giddy. The man replied, even though it was extremely early. Rhodey's only advice was pretty useless, at least he thought it was. 

_ 'Remember to breathe.' _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eek, my arm has been playing up so I'm sorry for the lateness. I'd usually go and see my doctor for prolonged flaring, but my doctors have told me to avoid any medical appointments for the foreseeable future because my immune system is a wet noodle. The next post is a nice, big one those that is very James centric after another dose of Tony's past life and means things Indo to the poor dear.


	55. The Third Reaper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is holding up under difficult times, as our house has 2 people with crappy immune systems, we're under a recommended 12-week isolation. Which, is pretty standard operating practice! I have all the skills not to go loopy under such conditions. Although our shopping is complicated, the loo roll Apocalypse has spread to potatoes, pasta, rice etc. Luckily I don't eat much and every 3rd day I don't eat. I hope other vulnerable people have enough foodstuffs, hope you all are safe and healthy. I know I have a few Chronic Illness pals reading my fics, so I hope you're all doing well!

**James POV **

He was sitting on the sofa, waiting for Tony to join him, he still had no idea what was actually going to happen. Tony and Rhodes said it was simple _ -ish, _ but he couldn't imagine something as  _ huge _ as this would be  _ simple _ . 

Plus, Rhodes and Tony were so used to the insanity that their measures we're just bizarre, for Tony, a 'few years' could be anything between 2 and 2000 for instance. So 'Simple-ish' did not tell him much at all. Tony couldn't tell him much more than he already had, however. As each Reaper burned their own path. He really hoped he didn't explode into fire as Rhodes did though. 

As Tony then turned up with the familiar Blue Woad, James relaxed. Which was comforting in a way, he'd come to associate the paste with a few things now, all of which were good. Not just the changes, but the feeling of the brush on his skin, the concentration Tony put into each Ward and the tingle as the Black Fire dried the Ward and made it permanent. James had always wanted to get a tattoo but never had had the chance, it was strange but his skin felt bare. Each Woad Ward made him feel close to being whole.

Tony had also been slowly dropping his remaining human barriers over breakfast, James had assumed that after yesterday, most of them were already dropped, but at the same time, James was not surprised to find more. It was as if Tony was peeling back the layers, getting closer and closer to Cadeyrn as he went. James was sure of it, and he was also sure that he was doing it very slowly. A bit at a time, as if he was waiting for James to tell him to stop. 

He moved faster now, much smoother too. Not like a human traversed a room, it was hard to explain. Flowing like water would be a good description of Tony now but even that was not quite there. Closer to how Drest or Goose moved. James understood why he hid more now, just watching Tony walk around his apartment and James could tell that he was definitely not human. The level of awareness of his surroundings was higher. Most humans, even severely hyper-vigilant humans took in data of their surroundings and disregarded some of it. It was a necessity, just how their brains words, with the help of his Sight, James could tell Tony took in everything and likely things that were not in the spectrum of human sight. There was obviously much more to the human act that Tony put on for their comfort than even James had considered, that Tony trusted him was important to him too, also James was also interested in the differences between Human and Fae. Intellectually, logically, he knew that Humans and Fae were very different species, but seeing and experiencing it was different. He wondered if Loki and Thor masked much of their true personalities, he'd have to ask Loki next time he saw him.

For now, he returned to his mix of trepidation and Tony-watching. He hadn't realised that Tony had been walking so heavy-footed, even though it should be obvious. During training, he flowed, danced and moved with a level of grace James had not expected. Rhodes said sometimes that it was like Tony barely touched the floor. That was how he was walking now. 

Tony was much brighter too, to his Sight. His Sight picked up the change in strength first. That warm, ethereal Blue Fire wasn't just moulded to him. Now it spread in all directions, it was much higher, but it also reached out around Tony. James could actually see if he was about to pick something up because the Fire stretched out to it first. 

Also, James could feel a subtle hum anytime he was near him now. It was subtle and James had a feeling that there were certainly more layers. It was like a lower, constant version of what the Black Fire felt like. Instead of feeling the power when he used it, it was now  _ constantly _ there. 

James could  _ easily _ point Tony out in a room, without looking. Now, when he closed his eyes, there was a Blue after-image from where Tony was. He could even see it moving with his eyes closed.

Tony also felt even more like a predator in his mind. There had always been that feeling, ever since Tony had turned up in Wakanda, his brain had told him that Tony wasn't human, that he was dangerous and was a predator. James wasn't quite sure what it said about him, that even back then, when he hadn't known Tony, other than what the team told him, which was not good. James had found that feeling comforting. It was what made him trust him. What made him put his trust in a stranger, to go into his mind even after 70 years of having his mind fucked with.

The Winter Soldier was a predator, he had not wished to admit it back then, but he was. The idea had scared him, made him think he was broken, dangerous, that he should be put down before he hurt someone. 

Then Tony had waltzed in, pinging on his senses, it was like something saying that this person, he  _ understands.  _ Seeing that another person like him could bring so much good into the world, it had started him off towards accepting that side of him.

Steadily, that feeling was now increasing, and he knew this was one of the things Tony was unsure about showing near him or any human really. James could see it in his face when the feeling increased in small increments. He tried to show Tony he was fine with it, more than fine really, it made him feel less alone, he knew words would not work, so he strived to do so with his actions. Knowing that Tony was also reading his aura back, hoping it made him more confident in this matter. Tony was even more tactile too, surprisingly, not that James was complaining at all. So he figured that if he didn't pull away when Tony dropped those barriers, that it might help. 

There was probably more he wasn't picking up on right now, as James was currently riding high on excitement and nerves, but the overall feeling was that Tony made him feel even better, safer and more at home the more barriers he dropped. Made James more comfortable in his own skin somehow. He already associated the man with protection and comfort, but now that had increased even further. 

"Ready?" 

"As I'll ever be." 

"OK, lie down as it's easier for me to have a flat surface."

"Oookay?" 

"You'll be getting one of these." 

Tony tapped the Blue Woad septagram that surrounded the Blue Fire in his chest. Which was when James actually realised that anytime Tony showed him his Fire, he raised his hand to his sternum. He'd never realised it before but he guessed that the placement stemmed from Tony, where the sword cut right through him.

James lay back, lengthways on the huge sofa and Tony shocked him for a second by following him and sitting comfortably on his legs like he was Cara. The Woad balanced on the sofa next to him. Then Tony leaned over his chest and summoned Black Fire to his fingers, but not like any other time before. This time, instead of summoning his Fire and just holding them to his chest, instead, he ran his fingers back and forth across his chest. Swiping back and forth in gentle motions, like when he summoned the Blue Fire from the ground actually. 

After a few passes, small Black Flames appeared on his chest. Chasing Tony's fingers as he carried on sweeping back and forth. A pool of Black Fire steadily collected and remained on his chest. Flickering higher and more excitedly than any other times he'd seen it. Moving fast as it chased Tony's hand. After a few more passes, Tony drew a circle with his fingers and the Fire increased. A few Flames stuck to Tony's hand as he pulled back, chuckling slightly as he encouraged it to join the others.

"Is that mine?" 

Tony ran his fingers through the Fire again, the Flame seemed to be happy for another chance to chase his fingers, immediately began to climb his hand, skating across and around Tony's wrist. 

"Yup, you can feel it if you want, it won't go anywhere for a while now I've called it forward." 

Which is exactly what he did as Tony had to encourage the Fire to go back, he was sure however a little stayed at his wrist as he moved to pick up his woad paint, Tony brushed the Fire up slightly to clear a spot to work. It took a few tries as the Fire immediately followed Tony's hand back every time, which had Tony chuckling. Tony then seemed to pause for a second, opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. The Fire then fluttered further up his chest, leaving the patch clear. 

"What was that?" 

"Hmm, oh I just asked your Fire if it would give me space to work. Your Fire is quite confident and very bossy." 

Huh. Okay. He had not known Tony could  _ speak _ to Fire before. He ran his fingers through the Fire, it really felt different to Tony's. Which was soft like fur and warm, like it was humming across his skin with a little electric buzz. James noticed that his really did feel like silk, smooth and cool in a way, but not cold. Like it slid effortlessly across his skin. 

"Why does mine feel so different from yours?" 

Tony ran his fingers through the Fire that had collected on his chest again, smiling as he did, which was surprisingly not weird, it felt strange, but good. He could tell that his Fire definitely enjoyed the attention.

"Because whilst the Black Fire all stems from me, your Fire, is  _ yours, _ Fy Sidan Du. What does mine feel like to you?" 

He ran his fingers through the Fire that Tony then summoned into his hand, even though he didn't need to. He knew exactly what Tony's Fire felt like from the first time, when he came to heal him like soft furs brushing against his skin, leaving this humming buzz to sink into him, it made him feel warm, dizzy and a little giddy. Since then, he'd felt his Fire many, many times and it never got boring. Each time set his skin and senses as buzzing as the first time when Black Fire slid across his skin. He wasn't so sure how to put the feeling into words. 

"Like… warmth, soft furs but more somehow, like this hum to it? I'm probably explaining it badly, it leaves me dizzy, but it's a good dizzy, kind of like Firewalking..." 

"I don't think you explained it badly, no one has gone into that much detail before. I like it. Yours has this… addicting quality, it's completely impossible to run my fingers through it just once… Soft like silk." 

Tony ran his fingers through his Fire one last time before he got to work. His Fire definitely seemed to like the attention as it chased Tony's fingers again but managed to avoid the space he had cleared, whilst still doing what it wanted, which had Tony laughing again. 

James is pretty sure he wouldn't be able to freehand something as complex as the 7 pointed septagram he can see on Tony's chest, but somehow Tony does. It barely takes a minute as he expertly drew the perfectly straight lines. Looking at it, James is pretty sure if he had a ruler he wouldn't be able to do that, not as get it perfectly balanced. Probably not even with a stencil. He likes the look of the Woad on his chest too, he doesn't look as… blank now. 

After he finished the septagram, he expected Tony's Fire to brush over it, like the few Wards he has on his arm, instead he coaxes his own Fire to do it. At first, he was worried that nothing would happen, but then a huge amount of Fire came to Tony's hands. More than the Fire that had been happily flickering on his chest, it flooded out like a wave, crashing over the septagram and splashing across his chest. 

"Wow, is that normal?"

"There is no  _ normal _ with this, everyone is different, but that is a lot of Fire before you've even had your Fire awoken from dormancy, let alone to be unbound. I've never seen this much Fire with a bind still in place, certainly not whilst still dormant. It's good. I think that I'll have to be a little closer than usual when I wake it and release it, that way I can step in a guide faster than usual. Okay, now rollover. Remind me to actually introduce you to Rhodey's Fire at some point, it's quite  _ excitable.  _ Your Fires will certainly get along. We'll find out how ours get along soon. _ "  _

Tony shifted, allowing him to roll over. He was a bit unsure at first because he didn't want to squash the Fire at his chest… which was definitely one of the strangest things he had ever been worried about. As he turned, however, he felt the Fire slip  _ into _ his chest and start to pool on his back. Which was handy he figured as he settled, felt really freaking weird, but handy. Getting comfortable lying on his stomach as Tony suddenly dropped down on his legs again. Making himself comfortable and using him as a seat. 

When they were both comfortable, he felt Tony resting the Woad on the small of his back a few seconds before he felt Tony's fingers sweeping his Fire up his back again. Even though he couldn't see, he somehow knew that his Fire was playing at winding Tony up. Tony didn't seem to mind, seemed quite happy with it actually, but then he supposed that Tony was quite acquainted with different Fires personality quirks. After a few seconds, he then feels the brush again. He repeated what he did to his chest, but like the one on Tony's back, he can feel this one being filled in. It's oddly relaxing to have someone painting on you and it seems over too fast and he feels his Fire answer Tony's call, once again, loads of it came. Splashing down his spine. It's odd to think of Fire 'splashing' but it's the best way he can think to describe it. The whole thing had him much more relaxed than he had been before.

"Closer?" 

"Hmm? Oh, for Rhodey he just lay on the sofa and I sat near his head with my hand over the septagram, he still torched my sofa though. Not that I mind in the slightest. You, however, have much, much more Fire than I have ever seen before, so I don't want to take any risks. Tell me if you get uncomfortable though, then we can try a few other ways until you feel comfortable. You being comfortable, relaxed and relatively stress-free is very important, as stress can cause complications." 

After that, James sat up as Tony directed him. Legs folded as he tried to think relaxing thoughts. The running hum of excitement kept derailing him that for a few seconds he actually lost track of Tony until he felt the sofa dip behind him. Tony had one leg tucked underneath with the other hanging off the sofa. He then slowly shifted closer and completely pressed his chest against his back. Close enough that Tony could actually rest his chin on James' shoulder. So that's what he meant by closer, he half hysterically thought to himself, he can barely think with Tony's breaths tickling his ear as Tony got himself comfortable. The comfort and protection feel that Tony gives off then seems to wrap around him, like a physical thing, that steadies him and restores his equilibrium. Allowing him to relax back, secure and safe. Tony hummed when he relaxed so he figured he did good, even though he didn't actually  _ do _ anything.

Not that James is complaining about this in the slightest. Not at all, this is much nicer than what Rhodey had explained but that might be his crush talking. Tony is a warm solid presence behind him, his hands resting on his hips. His nerves are happily levelled out under a warm feeling of safety.

"Ready?" 

"As I'll ever be." 

"Now, at the moment your Fire is still dormant. That's why you only really feel it when it responds to mine or Rhodey's Fire. Why it only pooled on your chest when I called it, why you can't actually control it, even though it helps you and you work with it, it's still mostly asleep. So, the first thing we are going to do is to bring it out of that state, wake it up so to speak, by using my Fire. You will feel your current Fire, still bound and low and mine mixing. It can be a little overwhelming and that's okay, just breathe through it, don't fight it. When you get used to it being active, then we will move to the next stage, okay? It doesn't matter how long it takes, don't feel like you have to rush, just relax and let your Fire get to know mine a little." 

James nodded, glancing down at the Fire at his chest that was moving back and forth excitedly. He could tell that it was definitely happy, that it was excited about waking up and what was going to happen. Tony then took a deep breath and he's utterly distracted again as Tony practically nuzzled into his hair like a cat before whispering to him to breathe. Suddenly there is  _ a lot  _ more magic around them, like Tony unleashed the floodgates and now it's everywhere and he's gasping. Like the entire room is full of it and it's all pressing in on him. 

"Breathe Fy Sidan, it's ok, it's your Fire and mine, they won't hurt you, just breathe and then nod when you want me to carry on." 

Damn Rhodes and his actual useful advice of  _ breathing.  _

"Concentrate on my breathing and then focus on your Fire, feel what it's feeling. Still very bossy, but it's very happy with you."

He leaned back into Tony, slowly trying to match his breaths until he can finally breathe again, he has to keep reminding himself to, because it's like it's  _ everywhere _ but eventually, he is able to breathe through it. The sensation is amazing, he can  _ feel _ his own Fire like never before, cool and soft like silk, and extremely happy to be out and running. Tony's Fire is with it every step of the way. Following it diligently as his Fire basically zips around ecstatically.

After he can actually breathe for a good minute without feeling like he's drowning in magic. Tony constantly telling him to take his time any time he starts to worry he is messing this up. James feels confident enough and then he manages to nod. Tony hmms and sits for another minute, just letting their Fires continue to run together before he slides his hand from his hip up to the Fire that remained pooled at his chest. Gently pressing his palm over the septagram. Then James is struggling to remember to breathe for much different reasons than the mix of silk and fur sliding across his skin almost insistently. The Fire also picked up the change and he can feel it pressing up against him again, Tony's Fire right behind his own with a heavy, comforting presence.

The Fire at his chest twists around Tony's fingers like the Blue Fire did to him, shifting quickly to wrap around Tony's wrist as he heard Tony chuckling into his shoulder. Not for the first time he wonders just how  _ alive _ it is, he knows that Fire can feel things, he'd felt that for the first time in Wales and since then he seemed to have gained a sense for the emotions of Fire. Different Fire definitely had different personalities, his felt lighter and more insistent than the heavy, comforting presence of Tony's. He knew Tony's Fire liked him, it was like the more he paid attention, the more he knew, the more the Fire allowed him to see maybe. 

He feels the Black Fire at his chest flicker more and moves as the warm electric zing of Blue Fire and the fresh breeze like feeling that he guesses is Tony's White Fire is added to the mix at his chest. Finally, the shifting warm furs of Tony's Black Fire joins in too. He can feel more than he can see. With his eyes, he can just see Tony's palm flat against the septagram. With Blue, Black and White Flames flickering around the edges. Feeling it? It's like he's surrounded by these four Fires now. Three from Tony all wrapped around his own. When he starts to get used to the feeling again is when Tony starts speaking. James isn't sure how he always seems to know when to move on, but he's grateful as he's not sure he could  _ talk _ right now. He's practically running on the sensory overload as he attempts to actually listen to what Tony is saying.

He's not quite whispering, but his voice does seem to have dropped down a register. It's like it has an entirely different quality, intoning, insistent, descant. It's like many things to do with the Fae, it's hard to put a human word to it. It's heavier, has more layers and meanings than he could even begin to untangle. There is a building steady thrum of power that increases more and more with each added word. 

James can barely register the words themselves, can't so much  _ hear _ them but he can  _ feel _ them. Feel them skate across his skin, sinking deep and into his bones. He can feel everything and the shifting mix of Fire seems more insistent now, flickering faster with a base hum of excitement that sweeps him along in a rush of magic and adrenaline. 

It's like Tonys isn't actually talking to him, even though he can hear him this time. The words are in English so it isn't like when he spoke to his Fire earlier. James, however, knows that he's talking to the Fire, knows that it's more than simple words. The words feel heavier, wrapped in power and more meaning than he could hope to put words to. Tony's chin was still resting lightly on his shoulder so he could feel him speaking too. The barrage of different, constant and steadily building sensations makes him feel like he was going to fly apart, but between Tony's hand at his chest, pressing James back into him and that he was still wrapped securely in Tony's heavy Black Fire, he feels safe and held in place. That he can't fly apart with just that light pressure over the Woad septagram, pushing James back towards him, holding him firmly in place. 

He can still see Black, Blue and White Fire mingling beneath the press of Tony's palm. Leaking out around the edges as the mixture of warm fur and cool silk excitedly flickers and shifts around his hand. The electric hum of Tony's Blue Fire, so different, yet similar, to the world Fire and the cool breeze of the White Fire all comes together perfectly.

Release your strength and come to me

No need for pain, you are free

Let these words compel your heart

All pain and sorrow will depart

Dead men have no tales to tell

Your blade will ring their death knell

Hear me now, with this plea

Take the Fire and set it free

After that, things got a little weird. 

Well, weirder, because his skin was already singing with a flood of new and different sensations that he could barely think to put words to. 

It was like something was being… pulled from him. From deep inside his chest, from his heart and the very core of his being. No, pull wasn't the correct word. Coaxed? That was better. Like Tony was sitting on the floor trying to coax Goose out after someone stepped on her tail. At first, there was a shifting feeling, then it became more insistent. Then there was a click, but it was like a noise that resounded through him, like someone hit a tuning fork that was somehow perfectly keyed to his very being. 

It felt like his entire self reacted, harmonising with that tune and suddenly the apartment completely fell away until all he could feel was the Fire. 

It should have been terrifying, but Tony had such a secure hold on him he just felt safe and connected to him. That he was still about to fly apart but couldn't because Tony effortlessly kept him tethered. It allowed him to just feel in a way he likely would have been too nervous to without that secure hold. 

Slowly, he started to feel differences in the Fire. He could feel Tony behind him still, but it was different. James couldn't feel skin against his own, couldn't feel his own skin. In this place, all there was, was Fire. He saw these silvery, opalescent strings wrapped around him. Felt more and more of his Fire slip-free as they were slowly ignited by flickers of Blue Flame from Tony.

Who, right now, looked like a huge torrent of Blue Fire. Cresting across the ceiling and an 'arm' of Blue Fire wrapped around him, holding his chest whilst the other deftly removed the shining bind piece by piece... Tony's Fire wasn't so much in a human shape. No visible body parts or anything like that, Tony was simply a pure conflagration of Fire in this space and he was bright, vibrant, practically incandescent. With so much Blue Fire, he can see shifting hues of blue, some so bright they're practically white and others are as deep and full as Woad.

There were other Fires at Tony's core, White and Black Flames twinned in his chest and James wasn't sure how he knew this, as he was in that same position before this Fireworld had folded over him. Tony was pressed as close as possible behind him, he was facing forward, yet he could  _ see.  _

James could  _ see _ the difference now, between being the personification of a Flame and being bound to one. Tony carried the Black Fire and White Fire within him, kept them safe and they loved him for it, but he was entirely  _ made _ of Blue Fire.

A distant flicker caught his attention next, which he assumed was Rhodes. Like Tony was with the Blue Fire, the Lifegiver. Rhodes was a huge torrent of Purifying White Flame. James could see this as clearly as he could see Tony, even though he really shouldn't be able to. Rhodes was several walls away and behind a Ward circle that wrapped around the entire apartment. But he was there, James could see that pure White Flame burning with excitement. Now there was so much White Flame in one place, James can see that White isn't an adequate word to describe it, it's shimmering like white gold, with shifting, bright, shining hues of an opalescent stone in the sun. It's White, but as the colour white, it's also  _ all _ the colours. 

He also knew something intrinsically, like it was now hardcoded into his very being. Into the Fire. That Tony and Rhodes Fire would  _ always _ be there for him. No matter where he was or how many walls separated them. All he had to do was reach out and their Fire answered.

Then tiny flickers far away, so many of them started to pop up on his awareness. Past Reapers something whispered into his mind, as he'd just been added to a family tree that was huge, even those who had passed on were there to welcome a new member. They weren't made of Fire like Tony and Rhodes. But then he knew that they were the physical embodiment, to personify either of those Fires, that it was a very rare thing to be able to witness. He had no idea where this information was coming from, but it was there and he didn't even consider doubting it. There were even brighter Flames, far out. Brighter than the Reapers of the Past but not the huge torrents of Flames that were Tony and Rhodes. They must be the Reapers that were traversing the known and unknown worlds. 

All of them, past and present, all stopped what they were doing to turn to him, lend their Fire and to welcome him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's little verse, that after altering I will promptly avoid reading ever again lest I destroy it from cringing (my writing process is weird, insomnia Philly has a lot of confidence whereas normal Philly has no idea how I even write some things. Insomnia Philly is also very free with the exclamation points, it's like weed whacking them) is from another song!
> 
> Those who may not know, I listen to a lot of music as I write, and my playlist is all over the place. I like repetitive, not quite droning, but music that feels heavy in a way. Some songs have verses that imprint on my brain if they have this, but the lyrics are about mermaids eating people (seriously, listen to this song, it's brilliant.) So like with the Dahm the Bard piece, I had to tweak it to fit what I required.
> 
> This song was one of the original bricks this fic was actually built upon, because I thought the verse had a certain quality I can't put into words.
> 
> [Siren's Song - Dread Crew of Oddwood](https://youtu.be/QSSNa3egioI)
> 
> Also, I had a few requests for my bonkers writing playlist, it is all over the place, loads of different languages. I also happily take suggestions! One band I recently found called 'The Sidh' have a song my husband just pauses at many times he hears it because it is baffling, I love it, called "Shake that Bagpipe" 🤣
> 
>   
[Corvixa's Writing Playlist on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5WJoeiHLCsS1MPf46m45yz?si=_zcwhrpFSqeskAssa_XkaQ)  



	56. Burn and Burn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I already rechecked this chapter last week. It just needs a quick proof.
> 
> Somehow adds 2000 words.
> 
> I don't even know how this happens. I blame Tony and James being all snuggly.

**James POV**

That small place inside his chest, where he'd been able to feel the Black Fire whenever Tony of Rhodes did something with it, the small Fire answering them, that made him feel  _ good _ . 

Now, that Fire  _ expanded. _

Gleefully building to meet the others that welcomed it. Exponentially cresting until it's pushing out and out until he feels it everywhere, until it fills him up and he's overflowing. It keeps on going, and all the Fire around him reacts, greeting it, encouraging it to grow. He can feel Tony talking at his shoulder but can't seem to hear anything, so he assumed he was speaking to the Fire, encouraging it further judging by how it reacts around him. 

The Fire built so much that he's not sure where  _ he _ is in a physical sense, as it floods the apartment and possibly further, leaving him dizzy with the feeling. That he is the spreading Fire but that it is also an entity itself. One that is happy to run with him, spread with him. Meet others with him, because Fire hates to be lonely. A lonely Fire can die, alone and cold, but together? Oh, that Fire can burn and burn and burn. 

It feels like everything is spinning, moving, shifting, that if Tony weren't holding him so securely, he'd be clutching the floor like that first time he drank too much and the room span until he was sick. 

It was all that, but without the nausea or foggy feelings that alcohol brings. If anything, everything is  _ sharp. _ Clearer, when he hadn't known it had been blurred before now. He is starting to get what Tony meant about his senses. It's left the serum in the dust already. It was nothing compared to  _ this.  _ He's staggered by the sheer enormity of it. It's like he's got a thousand times as many nerve endings in his skin alone. Everything is just more and more. It doesn't stop there too. It's still building, pushing further, growing until it's bursting from him and even then it doesn't stop. He knows somehow that this is just the beginning. 

He can't hear Tony speaking again this time, but it's different. He knows he is, that was where the information must have come from. He can't hear or feel anything, but the words splash across his mind on a mixture of Blue, Black and White Fire. He still feels tethered, but he can't feel anything with his skin. It's weird. 

_ 'Breathe, that's it. You're doing brilliantly. No rush. Let yourself enjoy this. Let the Fire burn.' _

It was like permission to let go, that he didn't need to focus on moving to the next stage. He didn't need to push to control. Just to be Fire and let the Fire be itself, which affected everything around him drastically. He had been holding the Fire back, not intentionally, but he had been because now it was joyous in its freedom and the feeling was catching as he felt Tony's laughter mixing with his own on streams of Black and Blue Flame. He felt Rhodes White Fire greeting and encouraging him. That same, constant presence of comfort and steadfast loyalty that Rhodes always seemed to project.

_ 'That's it. You've got it Fy Sidan Du.' _

James isn't sure how long he's like that, seeing and not seeing, feeling and not. Running whilst sitting safe, free whilst being held and just getting to  _ be _ in a way he's never quite managed before. Like he'd been moving to this place his whole life. He could almost taste every step, every leap, every pitfall, the good and the bad, the pleasure and pain, all of it and how it got him here. Stretching through time as if he was looking down a long corridor. 

There was so much his human mind simply couldn't comprehend and put into words, but still, he  _ understood.  _ Or, he was starting to understand. There were emotions so layered and complex he couldn't hope to entangle them yet, next to instincts that were block concepts of words that held more meaning than he could conceive of. Of protection and exhilaration. His human mind didn't know where to start, and yet as he looked, more of it seemed to make sense. Not entirely, as if he had moved beyond human understanding, however, there were miles to go. It took James a few minutes to realise that that was  _ Tony. _ He was letting him see him more clearly than before, more than even the glimpses in the Fireworld. 

Sight slowly came back first. Opening his eyes, even though he didn't recall closing them. Even in the dim light of the apartment, sunrise was still waiting for them in a few hours, and wow he can feel that too, so that's how Tony and Rhodes always knew the time, they  _ felt _ it. He could feel dawn approaching. The apartment was only lit by the fireplace that was barely burning, just slightly above embers. Tony had told him that the light would be too much for him at first, and he believes it now, because the apartment looks brightly lit. He can see  _ everything. _ Colours moving and shifting around like air currents. Dust motes were catching and refracting light a thousand ways from the fire. He had thought the serum enhanced his eyesight; there was a gulf of difference.

The strange wooden tree that ran flush against the walls and up to the ceiling in the corner of the room, is now blindingly green with shifting, moving parts that seem to stretch and bend in impossible ways. James quickly looks away and figures he'd ask Tony about that later. He had thought the tree was  _ decorative.  _ It definitely is not, the sheer amount of magic quickly swimming around it is mind-boggling. His Sight seemed to have powered up several levels along with his vision. It's amazing. The world is  _ beautiful.  _

Hearing is next, even though the room is quiet, he starts to hear small things from the other apartments, and suddenly there's so many different sounds. It's unexpectedly hard to untangle them all. Building into a discordant tune of sheer, overwhelming noise that he not only hears but sees and feels. Which makes him start to panic as he hears his own damned heartbeat begin to pick up. The sounds were crashing over him with no control whatsoever. His own breathing and erratic heartbeat adds to the discordant mess of noise, that it feels like everything was clashing along with his other senses. 

Tony's voice slices through the tune and wraps around him as he's speaking next to his ear. He still can't feel him, can't feel his chin resting on his shoulder, but he knows it's there. Leaving him tethered and swaying. 

"Concentrate on my voice, on my breathing, my heartbeat. Bring yours in line with mine. Try and stay in the apartment. There we go. When you've got that it'll carry on, take your time, there is no rush. You won't hear everything all the time, and you can push the radius out, or keep it tight within the room. You're doing great." 

Tony's voice is still lower than usual, strange and has an almost… hypnotic, susurration, intoning quality. Words are layered and dense with meaning he can't quite decipher or reach. It gives James something to focus on, and he grasps hold on it. Almost like he can feel himself holding onto the words in his mind. As if he could physically hold them long after Tony has finished speaking. 

As he focuses on that, so even when Tony stopped talking, the words are still there somehow. He attempted to hyper-focus on his and Tony's breathing. Calming his own to match Tony's. Onto his heartbeats next, which follows the breathing, leaving him calm and lightheaded. The rest of the building seamlessly falls away again. His breathing completely evened out, and his pulse became measured as the adrenaline and panic slowly seeped away as if it was never there. Tony hums happily, and suddenly he  _ feels _ his beard scratch across his shoulder, just a flash before it's gone. There is something indescribably intimate about having someone pressed up against your back, whispering praise in your ear that James is utterly helpless against it. He can't  _ not _ focus on it. He can't  _ not _ feel each word sink into his skin, that is still humming from the magic flitting happily around them. Feeling quick flashes of sensations before they slip away. 

"Good, good, you're picking this up very quickly, born to this. Absolutely amazing." 

Taste picks up next strangely, the toast from earlier, the cloying honey from the tea he drank with it. He runs his tongue across his lips and tastes more of it. He had not been that much of a fan of the strange tea Tony stirred honey in before, it wasn't bad per se, it was liquid because he was out of purple juice right now. However, now it's incredible _ , _ and he's chasing every scrap of it. The smell of it comes through next. He hadn't really noticed that honey even had a smell before, other than  _ sweet, _ but now it smells of this earthy sweetness. The embers in the fireplace come next, exploding across his senses, he can smell the heat! It's strange, he doesn't know what to compare it to, but he can smell warmth. Chased up by the scent that Tony always carries with him of metal, but now it's layered with magic that smells like blackberries and honey. 

That mixes up with his taste, and he swears he can taste blackberries and honey, surprisingly a lot like the purple juice. It's like his senses are mixing up, trying to explain all the extra information as his mind adapts. The sensory information is simply too much for a human mind and human senses. He thought that it would remain confusing, but instead, he can practically feel his senses changing, adapting, learning how to interpret all of this new information. 

James definitely understood why Tony wasn't concerned about the serum now, more and more as each minute ticked by, those enhanced abilities of his became obsolete. The serum  _ enhanced _ human senses. The Fire doesn't enhance human senses because human senses simply can't understand everything around them. So it's almost like they're evolving,  _ changing. _ As if he'd been living his life in 2d and suddenly it's in 3d. Rather than an upgrade, he's getting a whole new version.

Proprioception seems to be next, mixed up with touch as his skin lights up like a damned Christmas tree, at least that's what it feels like. He feels every brush of fabric from the trousers on his legs, the sofa beneath him, his own hair shifting across his back, being disturbed by Tony's breathing. He can feel every part where Tony is touching him, from his folded up leg beneath him to the press of skin against skin and Tony's arm wrapped around him, ending with his hand against his sternum, Tony feels almost fever hot compared to the soft, enveloping warmth from the fire, it would be so easy to lose himself to the sensory flood because everything feels so damned good after decades of cold, pain and suffering. 

He nearly falls and trips down a path of remembering that cold, dark past, but Tony somehow seems to  _ know _ where he was heading. Seems to catch him before he even has a chance to fall. Tethering him to the present, to the warmth, just by making comforting noises in that same deep, hypnotic voice, so close to him. 

"Stay with me, James, stay here. You don't have to go back there, just let yourself feel for a bit sweetheart, there you go, you're doing amazingly." 

"I'm sor.." 

"Hey, no apologies, you are doing brilliantly, remember to ask Rhodey about his first time. Apart from the Fire thing, it took me ages to put him back inside his body. There is no judgement here. There is no set time or way to do this, take your time and just breathe with me Cariad." 

He hadn't realised his breathing had picked up again until Tony was guiding it back to being slower, his hand on his chest guiding him back to calm as his other hand was tapping gently on his hip in the rhythm of his own heartbeat. 

With that, he suddenly becomes keenly aware of Tony behind him. His Black Fire is now a substantial presence in his mind, just like Rhodey's Black Fire is across the hall with Carol. He can still feel them in his mind as the personifications of Blue and White Fire, but it's like there is an overlay of Black Fire. 

_ 'Unifier.'  _

With that information, he can see it connecting them. Binding them.

From there, his senses slipped out again, his mind starting to automatically log people in the building as the Winter Soldier would, where they were, if they were asleep or not. Wade is in Nathan's apartment, why at this time he has no idea, and Eddie is sleeping, and he can feel people below them too-

"Easy there Fy Sidan, pull back a little bit. Bring yourself back into your body, don't run before you can crawl. What is it with my Reapers and the running?" 

He struggled to pull back into the room, not knowing how he'd gotten out of his body or even when he'd left. Attempting to hyperfocus on Tony and it seemed to work slightly, but he can almost feel a sense that was never there before, pushing out, seeking, hunting.

"How?" 

He felt a little desperate, but Tony's calm reassured him that this wasn't a huge mistake, that he could help him. Tony kept his left hand on his chest, holding him securely and slipped his right hand into his own. 

'There, can you hear me?' 

He blinked a few times because he heard Tony talk, but he didn't feel him like all the other times. In fact, he can feel his mouth against his shoulder, and it definitely didn't move. He attempts to think back in the same direction, hoping it would work. All this confusing magic stuff still has that edge of new, confusing and ridiculous, whilst being incredibly awesome.

'Wow, are you in my head?' 

'No, I'm talking through the Fire again, and it's easier like this for me to show you things. I'm going to show you how to pull back, but you need to look into my Fire, can you do that? Follow the thread of Black Fire, if you can feel it behind- you're picking this up fast. Natural with Black Fire. Now. Watch me push my senses out and then pull them back. "

It was bizarre, like there was a double image over everything he was seeing, but also over his senses too. He wasn't sure how long they spent like that as he reigned control of his senses. Of this new sense. Eventually, he found himself back inside, well, himself and it just felt different now, it was like he could feel the edges of himself. Where he began and ended and where the world started, tethered in place securely so he couldn't fly away. Tony hummed again, which he was beginning to see as high praise. 

"Open your eyes." 

What was strange was that he didn't remember closing his eyes again and he really hoped he wasn't on fire, like what happened to Rhodes. If he exploded into fire and scorched the ceiling, he'd never hear the end of it. He opened his eyes tentatively, to Tony's deep chuckles as his neck. 

"You aren't on fire, but you've pulled all the shadows in the room to you, see? Every single one." 

He wondered how Tony knew about him worrying about being on fire as he blinked down at himself and sure enough shadows practically clung to him. He was swamped with them, and the room looked bizarre without them. Tony still had his hand in his right hand, and he moved it, taking his hand with him to skate over the shadows and feeling them, feeling that they were solid, but not. 

"You can pick up intentions, feelings through the Fire of other Reapers when connected like this if they are strong enough. Makes working as a unit much better when you learn to read it and get quicker at connecting. Right now, I'm facilitating the link. Eventually, you'll be able to reach out and meet Rhodey or me halfway. Can you feel that, the edge of them?"

"It's like… they're not solid, but I can feel them. It is like I could… I don't know, pick them up maybe? Like they're... Heavy." 

That got him another pleased hum, and no he was not preening under all the praise. Not at all. 

"Umbrakinesis, shadow manipulation. One of my favourite abilities. Very, very rare." 

Suddenly Tony slipped a bunch of information into his mind, and it was almost like he was moulding the darkness like clay and Tony showed him in his mind how to pull the shadows around him and how to return them. 

"There is so much more we can do with this, but focus on calling them first, learn to carry some with you too, they're handy." 

Tony flicked his shadows, and they returned to where they came from so James could practice pulling shadows towards himself. That was when he felt something strange, along his metal arm. Tony was still holding his flesh hand, but he suddenly became much more aware of his metal arm, or rather, the Black metal on it. 

"You put the metal from a Reaper's blade on my arm, didn't you?" 

Tony chuckles at that, dipping his head slightly until he could feel him talking against his skin. 

"Hmm, it was a spur of the moment idea when I was healing you, can you mould it? I layered it, so maybe you could manipulate it one day. I thought the steel colour would remind you too much of the other arm and I had a gut feeling." 

"Is this my Reaper blade? I definitely prefer it to the other arm, the Black is a lot better, and now I can feel it layered..." 

"No, no, I'll make that for you when I know the tenor of your Fire better, we'll work on creating the metal together soon. That blade will be completely unique, and you'll practise with some more of my blades too, find out what blade calls go you. I already have some ideas. I will take your Fire and blend it into metal to forge your blade.  _ This, _ is different, I've never done it before, but I had a feeling, and you'll learn to follow these feelings. We all have a touch of prophecy in us from mother. If you can mould it, you can push it out into a blade though and then pull it back. It can be whatever you will it to be. I will make your Reaper Blade after I get to know your bossy Fire better." 

It was weird, and it was like he could feel something stretched over the metal of his arm. When he moved his finger, it was like the metal rippled even though it obviously didn't. His Fire also reacted to being called 'bossy' rippling happily and surging around Tony who chuckled in response. Tony's Fire was warm, comforting, encouraging and heavy, and it wrapped around him as James Fire zipped around Tony.

"Was that the idea when you put it on?" 

"I didn't know, and it was an impulse. My main thought was that you might prefer the Black. You at least need to have a strong gift in umbrakinesis even to feel Reaper Black, and it's scarce, even in my line. That you can already feel it? You will be very proficient in this, I can tell. I had hoped that the impulse meant you'll have umbrakinesis at least someday. I've been wondering if Rhodey might get it, but so far he hasn't. No one has ever developed it right out of the gates like this before." 

"At least?"

"Hmm, yes and I can't tell you about my guesses until after you display then, let's see if you can get a feel for the metal. Play with it, poke at it, that's what a good portion of these training sessions are, having fun, learning what's changed." 

"I think I'm going to enjoy this." 

"Good, that's my intention. Now give it a go, don't worry if nothing happens, or if something completely different happens. The first session is a total free for all. Everything is good."

He tried to move it, focusing on his arm and thinking about it, whilst feeling silly. He could definitely feel that the Black metal was different from the vibranium. But he didn't quite know what he was doing with it, which was when Black Fire practically exploded from his skin. His vision completely wipes out with Black Fire as the conflagration explodes out in a fraction of a second. He didn't know how big or far it went, but it felt like a lot.

"Calm Fy Sidan, it's fine, we're both fireproof, and I happen to love Fire, let's bring it in, you with me?"

"Yeah, I'm not freaking out at all. Just setting your apartment on fire. This is  _ totally  _ fine."

"It's okay to freak out, after Rhodey torched my sofa, I laid down some Fire protection charms in this area. Also, you're more important than my furniture. This Fire is beautiful, James, now, watch and follow me."

Suddenly Blue Fire exploded behind him as he turned his head slightly towards Tony, he could still feel Tony flush against him, but he couldn't see anything other than Fire. He hadn't known Tony could do that, but then he  _ was _ that Fire.

"Wow, that's gorgeous."

"I'm glad you think so, ready to bring it in?"

He stopped admiring the Fire and focused on the centre, he still felt as if he was about to freak out, but Tony distracted him every time. Muttering encouragement in his ear, a constant stream of praise and advice whilst still helping control his breathing, Tony's hand on his chest kept him firmly wrapped around him and fingers laced through his own. Tony was stopping the panic before it could even build up and guiding him on what to do with the Fire. The apartment steadily came back into view, and the lack of damage was pleasing to see.

"Wonderful. Rhodey manifested into White Fire, and now you have manifested into Black Fire, amazing. I had hoped you would have some skill at Pyrokinesis. Many years ago I dreamed that some Reapers would become Fire like me someday, but it never happened. Fire needs other Fire, or we can get lonely. Never once did I imagine two Reapers would become Flame Keepers. Or that someone would take on the mantle of my Black Flame."

James blinked, just trying to wrap his head around what Tony was saying. He wasn't saying he could manipulate Fire as he'd assumed. He wasn't saying that this was just Pyrokinesis. No, he was saying that he was like him and Rhodes. That he was The Unifying Fire like Tony was The Lifegiving Fire and Rhodes was The Purifying Fire. He could feel the happiness from Tony and how it affected the Fire around them, the Black Fire felt different now, he felt close to it before, but it was different now.

"You two are very strong, even for Reapers. I'm very impressed."

"That's amazing, am I… really?" 

“Are you the Black Flame? Yes, you are."

Tony didn't seem to have a shred of doubt as he stated it, like the sky is blue. 

"But… how? Why me?"

"Why am I Blue Fire? Why is Rhodey White Fire? Because that Fire chose us to bond with, to become, to burn with. My Black Fire has never chosen someone. Not in nearly eight millennia, you are its choice."

"But I'm sure there are better choices.."

"I don't think so. You are a unifying force, the heart. You care for those around you effortlessly. Look at your Fire, does it seem unhappy with its choice?"

That was an easy no. It was delighted, ecstatic even. He could feel the Black Fire much more keenly now that before, his own, Tony's and Rhodes. The strings are stretching forward and back. All of them felt like they came from him. Like he could reach out and touch one and feel that person's heart. He wondered if that was what Tony felt like with the veins of Blue Fire. Instead of stretching across the Earth, it's stretched across time and realms to all Reapers with Tony as its roots. 

"Now you can definitely manipulate my Black metal."

He felt a little relieved at Tony's shift in topics. He wasn't sure he was ready to dive into the idea that he was worthy of a mantle as significant as becoming Flame. He could feel Tony quiet, steady confidence in him, but also that he was willing to wait for him. Not pressuring him as he leaned back in a silent thank you. Tony tightened his hold in a quick hug before talking again. He felt closer now somehow, maybe the Fire, maybe it was because he tilted his head closer to his neck so he could feel his lips moving as he spoke now. The constant contact was steadying and grounding.

"Want to be the only other person in existence to know how I make it? That was the feeling I've been getting, that I'd have someone to share it with, but I couldn't tell you until you had both Umbrakinesis and at least the ability to manipulate the Black Fire. Your Bone Reaper spirit is perfect for secrets of the Reapers too. You've kinda blown my hopes out of the water. I didn't think you'd get both on your first day, see what I mean with how everyone is different?" 

Tony let go of his right hand as he nodded, still slightly dumbfounded, and despite the fact they were so close together, a silly part of him mourned the loss. Tony flicked his fingers, and this time he  _ saw _ him pulling the blade from his workshop, which was super trippy. He'd seen Tony summon things in Black Fire loads of times, but connected with Tony, and maybe his new connection to the Black Fire, the root of Tony's magic, he actually saw where it came from. Tony raised the small dagger so he could see it, and then he placed it in his right hand and it felt..  _ strange _ . 

"Look into the metal and tell me what you see.." 

He was about to say how the hell do you _look_ _into_ metal, but Tony was still guiding him with Tony's hand now overlaying his own. This finally explained what Rhodes had told him quite a while ago. 

That Tony would teach him things in a  _ brain-melting _ way. 

It took about 15 minutes of quiet encouragement and guidance and double layering images over the world before he could start to pull apart the weave, because that's what it was, somehow it was the Black Fire tightly weaved with shadows with a Blue Fire core. 

"How did you even think to make  _ metal _ out of shadows and Fire?" 

"Complete accident resulting in several, very large, explosions, Mother was not best pleased with me, but in my defence, I did rebuild the Night Palace after, and much better too. It was a good accident too, because all Reapers have the Black Fire, even those who can't manipulate it. All of you carry that spark that comes from me. It means that the blades are hard to dull, and they're exceedingly hard to break. If it does begin to dull, all you have to do is run your hands over it, and I'll teach you how to do it. The Black Fire will then heal and sharpen the blade. Extensive damage might require myself to rework the blade, but it's quite rare. Hmm, what's that.." 

Tony drew his attention to something inside of him before James flipped out on never blunting, healing  _ blades. _ For him, that's heaven. He loved blades. Also, he needed to know more about the exploding palace. Why did Tony's mother have a palace? How big was it? How did Tony just flippantly discuss blowing up a  _ palace, _ like it was no big deal!? Really, there was  _ a lot _ of information there, and he had questions. 

He put it aside for now and looked for what Tony meant and saw a pair of grey eyes, they were identical to his own in colour but just looking he knew that they were not human. He wasn't sure how, but it was like a shadow moving behind them, a threat level, something that had his senses lighting up in ways he had not learned to interpret yet. Whatever it was, he could  _ feel _ how happy Tony was. He was humming with excitement for some reason. 

"What is it?" 

"What do you see?" 

"Eyes... The colour is mine, but I don't think they're human." 

"That's because they aren't. That... is your shift form." 

"What is it?" 

He has no idea what it is, but Tony's excitement is catching when they're still connected like this, his voice low and he's practically vibrating with enthusiasm behind him that leaves him feeling giddy. It was like a looping circuit, building up and up as it goes. 

"Want to go for a  _ run? _ See the forest how it's meant to be seen? You've already surpassed your first lesson by a mile, so think of this as a treat." 

He doesn't need Tony's excitement for that. Treats are practically a programmed response for him now as it usually meant Tony would whisk him away to somewhere, or to do something in the middle of training if he had surpassed Tony's expectations quicker than usual. 

Usually, the treat was magic, books, food of some kind, or, travelling somewhere around the world. Rhodes was the same. Both he and Rhodes perked up immediately if Tony said 'treat', even if they were barely able to move after training. Tony had called them puppies on many occasions because of their reactions.

"First? What's the treat?" 

"This is the first of many lessons, did you think I'd just show you things once and leave you to muddle through on your own? Well, there is a lot of practice when we aren't like this, but all your powers stem from me, so I can use this connection to help you master them... More interested in the treat, aren't you? "

He can feel Tony chuckling behind him, and then suddenly Tony pulls them backwards into the Fireworld that seems to be different now. Before, things were hazy, but now he can see places perfectly. He can also see the image of the forest that Tony is holding in his mind. 

What's strange, however, is that the places in the distance, that he had always assumed were areas in-between their destinations, now are very obviously  _ not. _ The buildings are very obviously not earth architecture, and he barely has a second to register that they're not of Earth before the Fireworld folded away around them. Instead of the familiar explosion, he sees it fold and tuck back into Tony, where the Black Fire lays coiled around his heart.

It was curious, for such a short journey, usually, James didn't see the Fireworld at all. When it was close like the compound Forest, it was just a step away, so they moved in a blink and James saw nothing. Just a feeling of warmth and happiness in his chest that left him with a boost of energy, bouncing on his toes. This time, he saw it as if they were travelling a great distance, even if it was only for a few seconds. He can't help wondering what else has changed? What places was he seeing? What world did those houses belong to? He adds them to his list of growing questions he is going to pounce on Tony with.

He should also be cold he thinks as he takes in the forest, it's early December and the two of them are wearing pyjama bottoms and not much else. His feet are bare on the cold, not quite frozen dirt and the wind is whipping around them. It's still pretty dark, and somehow he knows that the sun will rise in 24 minutes. How does he know this? He has no idea.

It's still very dark, especially this deep in the forest. Or, at least it  _ should _ be dark, but James can see  _ perfectly, _ and the forest feels even more  _ alive _ in a way it never has before. His skin is so hot it's practically burning where he's still attached to Tony. Although now they're stood up, Tony isn't using his shoulder for a headrest for obvious reasons. He is still leaning against his back, waiting for James to take in the forest with his new senses.

"Are you keeping us warm?" 

"Nope, that's you, as soon as I brought up the forest, you wrapped us in shadows to keep us warm. Very effective use of shadows that I had not thought of. I can usually handle the cold, so I never thought of this, but it is nice to be warm and wrapped up like this." 

He can't help but preen a little at the pride in his voice as Tony gestures to the shadows wrapped tightly around them. He hadn't spotted them at first, but now they're very obvious and strangely, he can  _ feel _ Tony running his fingers over the shadows in a strange way. It's as if he's acquired an extra sense that is similar to feeling something on his skin, but not. Tony is obviously impressed. Even if James has no idea  _ how _ the hell he did that or even  _ when _ he did it, he figures it is his first day, so that's fine. 

"Can you find the eyes again?" 

It doesn't take long, here in the forest they seem closer, excited somehow. 

'Watch me here again, right?' 

Bright golden eyes are suddenly there in his mind. Then Tony slowly moves away from him. Keeping his hand on his septagram until the last moment, but the connection stays somehow. He can feel surprise from Tony that he hadn't expected that.

"Well, that's different and should make this much easier. It usually takes longer for a Reaper to learn to maintain the link, especially without physical contact. I use Shadows to shift, Rhodes used Fire, it's up to you what you use, you can use Fire or Shadow. The idea is to wrap yourself in magic to slip forms."

"Is this, uh, painful?"

"No, no, our shifts are magic and stem from my mother. The popular fictional images stem from old curses. Curses are harrowing ways of shifting. I can tell you more about the different kinds of shifts later. Ready?"

The shadows slowly began to pull around Tony after he nods, even with James new Umbrakinesis, Tony vanishes from sight just as a double image phases over the shadows, strings of silvered magic wrapping around Tony. Even with the overlay of the  _ 'magic vision', _ he can't actually  _ see _ Tony anymore, but he concentrates on the feeling of it, along with the information Tony slipped into his mind. It probably has a fancy name, but he doesn't know it, so he's calling it  _ 'magic vision' _ from now on, and it's Tony's fault for not telling him an actual name. He smirks at the idea of telling Rhodes his name for it so they can wind Tony up. 

He gets a feeling from Tony, like a questioning eyebrow raise, but through the link at his amusement, so he quickly hides it and concentrates on Tony's shift getting a feeling that Tony was rolling his eyes. He understands now how this link could be handy for quick communication in battles.

The Shadows suddenly clear and a huge, absolutely fucking ginormous, pitch-black wolf is stood, right in front of him. It's bigger than  _ Cara, _ way,  _ way _ bigger and he'd thought the sketches in the book were not in scale with the humans next to the wolf. They were. If anything he thinks they drew Tony's wolf form smaller, or they were very tall humans. James is a respectable 6"4, but this wolf is  _ big.  _ No one is going to be mistaking him for a dog, that's for sure. Tony barely has to raise his head to look him in the eyes. He doesn't need to hop onto two legs to be taller than Tony.

Tony taps his chin lightly with his nose, and he realised that he was gaping. Clicking his mouth shut quickly he swears Tony looks like he's laughing at him. His bright, golden eyes are shining with amusement and mouth open in a very dog-like grin. But from a giant wolf with huge, sharp teeth.

"How did you become such a big wolf when you're so tiny?" 

OK, so maybe he kind of deserved a freezing cold wolf nose to the stomach for that brain mouth filter failing? He did yelp however and jump back, because even with his shadows, that was cold!

The tip of the wolf's ears _easily_ comes up to his face, and he figures that he's _at least _5"8. He blinks, waiting to be scared, because a giant freaking wolf is standing in front of him. With enormous, very impressively sharp teeth. James is still utterly calm, surrounded by that feeling of warmth and safety that Tony gives off, the golden eyes calm him, and the whispered words in his mind says _'Direwolf.'_

It takes a little while to lure his forward, but Tony helps with images and wordless encouragement, with feelings of pride and happiness. They're still linked when James  _ paws _ finally dug into the earth, sending up all kinds of new smells. Rhodes had told him the first shift feels utterly bizarre, because you're getting used to a whole different way of experiencing the world. That had not even remotely prepared him. He was sensing a theme in that Rhodes is just too used to the crazy that he underestimates everything. 

Tony feels shocked that the link remained throughout two transformations. He would think about it further. But right now he can only think about the forest, his silver-grey fur with dark patches for camouflage, good for hiding in some environments he imagines, but the silver almost  _ shines _ in the moonlight. Unlike Tony, who actually looks like he is made from shadows, like all light is being sucked in. James's left arm? Leg? Front paw? This is confusing. Whatever it is, it's pitch-black like Tony's fur. He wonders if it has anything to do with the Reaper metal on his arm. 

Tony's golden eyes look vibrant, shining out from the pitch-black as he tests his new limbs. Tony sat patiently and watched, until he determined that James had apparently had enough time to get used to being in an entirely different body. 

Apparently, Wolf-Tony is an inpatient little shit. 

James finds that he is not even remotely surprised by this information. 

Tony suddenly launches at him out of the blue, sending them both skidding across the forest floor before jumping up, turning and running. The wolf part of him registered the game long before the human part even caught up to the fact he wasn't standing up anymore.  _ Chase. _ Chase, and he's running before he even had a chance to think about it. 

Tony has the definite advantage. His black fur makes him practically invisible in the dark forest. The connection is still there, however, linking them and it's a sparkling silver thread, so he follows that instead. It's tricky at first, running with four legs, then he hears the whispers again, which he now knows is Tony. That took him an embarrassingly long time to work out. Telling him to pull the sides together, not to be the wolf and the human, but to be a whole. Unless he wants to keep tripping over his own legs, Tony adds that part whilst laughter painted itself across the link.

It takes him a while, and he keeps getting distracted by all kinds of smells and more than a few times when he got distracted, Tony pounced on him again out of nowhere, pinning him before skittering away to more laughter in his mind. He's not sure he'd ever heard Tony sound so completely carefree before. He feels lighter in some ways, his Black Fire moving quickly, happily, like for a little while he doesn't have to worry about witches, infinity stones or Thanos. 

That for a little while, he can just  _ be,  _ just  _ run _ . That James is part of that had him feeling great, Tony deserved this after everything he had done for him, after saving him from the witch even though it brought up his painful past. So James is happy that he is responsible for that laugh, even as Tony leapt out of nowhere again as they tumbled down a hill. Pinning him before happily chuffing and darting off, back into the dark forest.

It's a steep learning curve, but being speared from the shadows, getting pinned by a giant wolf and chasing flashes of fur are definitely good motivation. 


	57. Linked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My arm and brain conspired against me, I also agonised over this chapter and post it whilst hide under a rock and poking the "post" button with a long stick.
> 
> Not for usual reason, I'm not sure how well it came out.
> 
> But if I rework it any more times it will end up like 12k, so I hope you guys like it!

**James POV **

Running through the forest as a wolf is utterly different from how he saw it as a human, he's run this route many times before, knows the forest like the back of his hand. Or so he thought, but there's all kinds of things he'd never seen before. He's also mostly ignoring them because dammit he will catch up with Tony. Damned wolf brain is _ weird _. He tried to focus on catching us as he would normally, but different information seems to be available now.

Things sound different, things look very different but what is most distracting is the scents. He had a pretty sensitive nose before this, enhanced after Tony released his Fore, but wolves seem to smell things differently. There's layers that he never considered and he just caught the scent of a rabbit and nearly ran into a tree because all of his attention zeroed in on it.

Which, shockingly, Tony took as a perfect opening to leap out of nowhere and send him skidding in the mud again. Rhodes had told him that Tony's bizarre running style flowed to his other forms, but James hadn't quite considered it like this. He knows Tony is having fun though, after all the recent crazy, he deserves that. Plus, James is having fun himself; he just needs to plan better on how to come up on Tony.

It takes a few sharp turns, but he manages to get in front of Tony. Tony was fast, but James was bigger, he had longer legs, and if he kept to even ground, he knew he could overtake him. James also found out he can still pull the shadows towards him in this form. Hiding his shining silver fur that was giving Tony the advantage with his coat was virtually made from shadows. If it weren't for that link, he'd have a nightmare finding Tony with his pitch-black fur. Tony has also had a lot more experience running in the forest as a wolf. 

James snaps twigs and slips occasionally, not much, but he definitely makes some noise. It wouldn't be that noticeable if not for how Tony flowed silently as if the forest was parting for him. Working with him.

Well. It's Tony and what he knows of Tony himself and his family, and Fae in general… The forest might even be working with him. Which is clearly an unfair advantage, he thinks as he cloaks himself in shadow.

He finally gets into a position where he can spear Tony, grinning to himself as they crash and tumble into the bracket. When they finally came to a stop, he jumped up, excited that he caught him. Receiving a head but/nuzzle combination in congratulations. 

'Well done, Starlight.' 

He yelped slightly, hearing the voice flitter across his mind. He knows it's Tony, but he sounds… different in his wolf form. And he'd kind of forgotten Tony could do that with the running. 

The running kind of took over everything, and he's still humming with adrenaline and excitement from it. He unquestionably comprehends now, that when Tony says the word _ run, _it means more than just running. It's running, chasing, forests, nights, scents, prey, it's enough to sidetrack a human brain easily.

Tony's wolf voice was definitely deeper. It had that same intoning quality to it that Tony has used to awaken his Fire. He tried speaking back, hoping that Tony can actually hear him as he's just talking in his mind. He thinks about sending the words through the Fire and feels a little ridiculous before remembering he is currently shifted into a direwolf. Really, that kind of changes a lot of what might have been 'ridiculous'.

Speaking through Fire isn't frankly that weird in perspective when he currently has _ paws. _ And a _ tail. _

'Starlight?' 

'Hmm, Reapers tend to choose names for their shifted forms. Morcant named me. I'm Shadow in this form. The brighter parts of your coat pick up the moon and starlight in a fascinating way. You can choose a different name, though.'

'No, I like it. Starlight. What's Rhodes shifted form?'

'He has two now. His first was a Panther he named Stealth.'

'The second?' 

'About eight months later he shifted into an Eagle Owl he hasn't named yet, I was quite impressed, very rare shift, like you as a direwolf. I've not had anyone to _ run _with like that for a long time. This is my main shift, I have others, but this is my true other form.' 

It's funny how a word can have… just _ more _ to it now, even now it's like there is more to it. Layers he hadn't discovered. Because _ run _ doesn't just feel like a word in this form. It's like a revelation. Words aren't merely words with means but layered with sensations and feelings, sounds and even tastes. With a word, he can feel what it is to _ run, _ different types of _ running. _It's almost like a different language that's in multiple dimensions. 

Tony suddenly takes off again, and James pulls the shadows around him and follows suit. It's easier this time, and it's like his mind isn't arguing between human and wolf this time. Now he's just himself. They run, and it shocks him just how much distance they're covering in these bodies. They're built for running, sleek and powerful. He manages to surprise Tony by coming up from the side, then barrelling him over as they crashed into the forest floor again. Skidding and tumbling in the mud and bracken and he resoundingly had him pinned this time. 

James could hear his laughter through the link as he pulled the shadows around him to shift back. He was suddenly looking down at a very human Tony beneath him. From this form, the human form seemed... peculiar, and he was much larger than Tony like this. His wolf had been larger than Tony's wolf, so compared to human Tony? He was huge. 

"Do you need help wolf pup?" 

For that James dropped himself down on Tony, who was now pinned by a wolf that was _ considerably _ larger than him and he just carried on chuckling as if he found this situation hilarious. James chuffed in response. Feeling lighter than he had ever before after the run, his body was humming with endorphins. 

Tony slid his fingers up through his fur, around the thick collar to behind his ears, and it was still strange to think he had _ fur! _ He felt Tony's magic showing him what he needed to do to switch back to a human. 

Still calling it Magic Vision and James is sure he can get Rhodes calling it that too. Rhodes is just as bad as Tony and himself for all the acting like a stern colonel. 

It was undoubtedly quite a bit harder than shifting into the wolf, and for a moment he'd been worried that he would be stuck as a wolf. Until slowly, very slowly, he felt something start to give. It was_ a lot _ slower than when he had shifted the first time, but Tony guided him through. Seemingly uncaring that he was covered in mud, lying on the floor in the forest in his pyjamas, in December. He even had mud on his forehead somehow. James wasn't entirely sure how mud on fur potentially translated to mud on human skin, either way, Tony was wearing a lot. 

"That's it. Just let it come. Shifting back the first few times can feel like it's taking ages, but you're doing fine. That's it, you're doing great, don't beat yourself up, this is your first day, first shift and you're doing amazing Fy Sidan." 

What felt like an _ age _ later as Tony kept up a steady stream of encouragement, he was breathing heavy, and his body felt strange to be human again, things smelled strange and looked weird. His hands felt strange without his paws, and his skin felt hypersensitive and bare without his thick coat of fur. Everything was weird. 

"There we go, the strange feeling will fade, don't rush yourself. This might help. Different sensation to focus on."

He was confused, wondering what Tony was even talking about as his hands shifted from where they had been resting on his shoulders. Not that he had actually noticed, so caught up in the feelings of the _ weird _ and _ strange _. Tony slipped one hand to skate across the back of his neck whilst his other moved to James' head. His fingers we're sliding through his hair, scratching his scalp lightly as James finally opened his eyes. Ah, so that was what he meant by 'different sensation', and it did really help. It was so much easier to focus on the contact than the overwhelming feelings of weird and strange that pressed in around him.

James was still hypersensitive compared to before his Fire had been released, everything felt 'more' now compared to just yesterday. 

"You just wanted an excuse to get your hands on my hair again."

It was good. This felt amazing as he tilted his head towards Tony's hands, focusing purely on the feeling. Hearing Tony chuckle as he did so. 

"So you want me to stop?"

He could get used to this, he mused. His body just seemed to feel everything so much more, and he was thrilled to stay on the forest floor as long as Tony kept doing that. He now understood Tony's reaction to the same now, if this was what he felt, if this was even _ close _ to what Tony felt. Tony's tactile nature suddenly made a whole lot more sense and why it was so easy to distract Tony with contact.

"I definitely didn't say anything about stopping. Definitely no to the stopping. Why would there be stopping?"

Tony chuckled at his babbling causing him to blink his eyes open again, following the pattern of not realising he had closed them. Again.

"Hmmm, definitely not stopping. Is it helping? Things starting to even out? Feel less weird?"

James nodded as he looked around. The forest still looked _ different, _ he was seeing things that he just hadn't noticed before, but it no longer carried a feeling of ' _ weird' _now. His skin didn't feel strange without fur, and his hands just felt like pretty normal hands again. He was still riding the adrenaline and endorphin high, and things felt good. Amazing even.

All of his new senses were still picking up on things he'd missed as a human, new smells, new sights, the forest overall had a completely different feel to it. James could feel not so much a presence or a personality, but there was… something. Something he didn't quite understand yet. Something he didn't know how to reach yet. A comforting, waiting feel, that it was happy to wait for him, because Forests like this weren't the kind you could just burn down. It had time. It viewed time differently. He hadn't realised he'd gotten so caught up with information from his sight until movement beneath him and Tony's pleased hum pulled his attention back to him. 

It was only then that James actually noticed his position and obviously how close they were. He wasn't quite sure how he hadn't even noticed before now! He was held up on his elbows, bracketing him and he still had Tony pinned to the ground beneath him. Even though he didn't seem to be in any rush to go anywhere, he still felt utterly ridiculous for not even noticing until now. It didn't help that the position was one that he was more than happy to be in and gods it would be so easy to just…

At that pretty much that exact point, before the thought even had a chance to solidify in James mind... As Tony's eyes widened slightly, then he remembered that his intentions could carry through with the magic connecting them. He should have known that link was going to result in him screwing up.

James' eyes widened right back, and he was scrambling for an excuse or something to say, just something but his brain was caught up in the panic. Before he even gained the ability to string two coherent words together, Tony spoke. Which was when Tony's words derailed his thoughts even further. Or rather, Tony saying his _ name _ utterly derailed him.

"Oh James, Fy Sidan." 

The usual zing of magic when Tony said his name wasn't so small now. He's not sure why, amplified possibly by his newly awakened magic maybe? The cause barely registered as he nearly buckled from his position right there. Only barely holding his upper body above Tony. Instead of a pleasant electrical zing, he felt like fire zipped down his spine. Warm, soft and oh so fucking _ good _ as it spread, leaving him feeling fuzzy. He wondered if that was close to what Tony felt when he said his name. James' thoughts are slow too. He's pretty sure he's meant to be thinking about something else right now, but it's just out of reach.

James's breathing came in shorter and quicker as his head dips, leaving him close to Tony's ear as he remembered how to even _ talk. _ He couldn't not slide his cheek against the scratch of Tony's facial hair. Each point of contact was sparking in his mind. 

"Should be careful, I can do that back to you now, you know."

"Then, why don't you?" 

And James not sure what is precisely _ happening _ right now, he should probably get up. Getting up would be the sensible thing. The apologising for the pinning thing too. There is one massive problem with that plan. He doesn't _ want _to, and Tony's hand is still running through his hair. 

There was also the issue of the direct challenge in Tony's voice, that zings through him. It makes him bolder than he might have been and he can't let a challenge like that slip by. Not when Tony was looking at him like _that _he noticed as he pulled back slightly. Head tilted, a smirk playing on his lips as his eyes were shifting in golden hues. Challenging him, he couldn't back up. Answering said challenge, and he remembered what Tony said about names. Just speaking a name had power, but what you thought of the person was part of it too. How you felt about them, what you were thinking about at the moment.

So, James was entirely blaming this on the high from running and the challenge Tony was directing at him. He'd never backed down from a challenge yet. He wasn't about to start now as he leant down again. His breath was already causing Tony to shiver slightly with how close he was, he lowers his voice and practically whispers his name, hoping to put a little more into it than usual. 

"Cadeyrn." 

Tony's reaction is as immediate as his was, even more intense than the last time. James had thought Tony's reaction had been powerful the first time, but that was nothing on what he was feeling now, he mused as James pulled back. Just enough to watch as Tony's breath hitched in his throat, and his hand tightened seemingly on reflex in James' hair and the back of his neck. It was keeping him close as Tony's eyes flashed completely to gold for a few seconds. As a manner of revenge, it kind of sucked as he couldn't _ not _ watch, and having Tony arch his back into him is possibly the sweetest torture he could have devised. 

"Please.." 

No, that is it, and that breaks any control he might have had left, James right hand slid into Tony's hair whilst his metal hand skated over his cheek, tilting his head because he can't resist that as he brushed his lips, almost gently as he's not sure this is even happening right now, soft and tentative. But the noise Tony made, was needy and pushed him further. It had James throwing caution to the wind. His world narrowed down to just them, his metal hand possessively holding his chin as he pressed harder this time, both of them clashing with a desperation for more and sheer need as they pushed closer. Trying to eliminate any space between them even though they're flush, hot and plastered to each other. With James' own Magic wrapped around them, keeping the chill from the forest floor away from them still riding the endorphin rush from running... 

Tony's fingers splayed against the back of his neck, urging him on and it's so easy to forget they're lying on a cold forest floor at all when noises like _ that _ slip from Tony's throat. He decides he fucking loves this link and a small chuckle from Tony makes him think he picked up on that.

When they actually break for air, gasping he doesn't waste any time trailing kisses and an occasional scrape of teeth that draws more of those deep sounds out of Tony that he'd decided needs to hear more of. Moving down to Tony's neck as he tilts his head, baring his neck beautifully and he _ finally _ gets to follow those deep blue lines down to his collarbone as Tony's hands clench and grasp. Then he's pulling at him, drawing him back up to kiss him again with more force this time and he meets him with the same. 

The amount of times he'd thought about this, the perfect time or the ideal place, yet he wouldn't change this. Still running high from Tony's challenge, encouragement, the run and on magic itself, such a heady mixture has him pressing his leg between Tony's and scratching his fingers across his scalp, pushing until he tilts and becomes beautifully pliant in his arms. Pulling his bottom lip with a gentle scrape of teeth and the answering gasp granting him access to deepen the kiss. 

The next time they managed to come up for air, Tony was kiss swollen, and more importantly, his eyes had wholly shifted to how he'd seen in the Fireworld. Pure, shifting golds with cat-like, yet fully blown pupils. He just couldn't help himself from swiping his metal thumb over his lip and the way his golden eyes practically flashed with heat in response. How could someone look so stunning smeared in mud, James has no idea, he is going to be the death of him, but what a way to go. 

"Kotenok, you're so fucking beautiful, wanted to do that for so long..." 

"I thought it was just me..." 

"Not at all, we could have picked a warmer location, though." 

Tony blinked, glancing around as if just remembering that they're on the forest floor, covered in mud. They both chuckled at that and James took it as a compliment that he'd made Tony forget where he even was. He was clearly trying to drive him mad as he practically nuzzled into his neck, he could feel his lips moving across his throat as he spoke, and it took effort to hear the words fully.

"Well that can be easily solved, but you'll need to eat soon, after shifting and running." 

"I'd probably agree to anything if you keep doing that." 

His chuckle is deep, and it does things to him, and Tony's magic flared around them, more substantial than James' magic. Shifting and pressing close and making him shiver slightly at the sensation as it slid across his skin. It was suddenly flooding his senses as he felt that the mud was quickly washed away. Just as suddenly the warm fire heated up and there was a feeling of falling for a brief second before he felt his back hit a soft surface.

It took him a few seconds to recognise the sofa from Tony's apartment. James' not exactly sure exactly how Tony did it, Tony had Firewalked with him many times, but James has no idea how he went from pinning Tony to the forest floor to lying on the sofa with their positions reversed. Now Tony was above him with a smile that matched that laugh. If James has to put a name to it, he'd say it was a very _ Fae _ smile that matched his flooded golden eyes.

"FRIDAY, Order some food for us and have them leave it at the door." 

He nodded, although right now eating had to be the furthest thing from his mind as his hands came to rest on Tony's hips, his fingers skating practically innocently over his skin. He can't help but notice his eyes are mostly black, surrounded by gold, still with no white at all, as he drops back down. Tony rested his forehead against his, Tony's hands moving to sink into his hair which still felt as good as it had outside. James hands tightened reflexively, a bruising grip he was about to apologise for, but the wrecked sounds and the way Tony practically dived for his mouth has him doing it again instead. 

It wasn't long later, or maybe it was, the concept of time wasn't exactly on his mind when he was finally getting to feel what those fangs felt like on his neck when the door was suddenly knocked very loudly. The growl that slipped from Tony was like fire, hot and shooting down his spine, which apparently didn't help Tony's ability to stop apparently. 

"I know you two are in there! I want to meet my new Brother. I felt you port back in!" 

Tony had evidently gotten himself utterly distracted, alternating between kissing and biting his collarbone. Leaving him to attempt to answer apparently, and when you have a Fae very interested in making you come apart piece by piece, it was more than a little tricky to come up with a coherent sentence. It took a few attempts actually to focus enough to work out what to say.

"Were busy, doing magic lessons.." 

"I felt you guys finish, come on, what are you doing that is more important than this?" 

This time Tony did manage to reply, and in retaliation for the continued kissing when he tried to talk, he increased the pressure from his metal hand, giving Tony an evil smirk as he tried to speak. Two could very easily play that game.

"Things, and Stuff." 

James was pretty sure he won the coherent response award.

"Come on, guys. I've been waiting so long for James to become a Reaper too." 

Tony dropped his forehead to his again, and they knew they were both bested.

He watched as Tony's eyes slowly shifted back to their more human guise, James wondered if Tony had even known his eyes had changed. Instead of just getting up, however, he leant down for one last devastating kiss that left him dizzy as Tony grudgingly got up to head for the door whilst he slowly sat, grumbling on the sofa. Thinking up all the ways he was going to get Rhodes back for this someday. There would be many he decided even though thinking was a bit tricky right now. He would recruit Peter and Harley for pranks. Maybe also get all the kids, Rhodes was a sucker for the kids.

He felt as Tony deactivated the ward circle, the screens sliding back from the windows as a pressure he hadn't noticed was there released. Suddenly he could feel more than just the room, his senses picking up on more. Almost like when he had slipped from his body when Tony released his Fire. He wondered what that would have felt like without the circle.

James concentrated on keeping himself inside, well, himself, and the barrage of information slowed into a trickle. It was still all there, but he controlled it now. He noticed Tony giving him a proud-looking smile too, so he figured he did good.

"There we go. Finally! Gods, you look a mess, how long were you guys in the forest, your hair is ridiculous. Why did you leave your food out here?" 

Rhodes tugged on Tony's hair as they made their way over to the couch. Tony was carrying a box of what smelled like food. Suddenly he was ravenous.

"We were busy. You know what it's like on the first day. Things can take a while to equalise before I drop the circle. You'll be pleased, he also has pyrokinesis, a few other things too. Very powerful like we thought."

"Sweet, what colour did it manifest as?" 

"Uh, Black.“

Rhodey, utterly oblivious, dropped down next to him on the couch, asking him questions about how his Fire developed as James tried to remember how to speak like a normal human being. Tony had forgone sitting on the chair himself, and instead had perched on the arm of the chair right behind him. Sorting through the box and handing him food with a pointed look that meant he should eat. If James were less befuddled, he would be laughing at that look coming from Tony.

"Did you set the apartment on fire? How did it show up?"

Every single question was also a serious challenge because of Tony. Being sat on the arm of the chair to his left, he was very close with multiple points of contact. With Tony's fingers lightly, ever so lightly skating across his back. Entirely out of Rhodes sight as Tony was focused on the other Reaper as he tried speaking. 

"Nope, you still have that accomplishment. I definitely sort of exploded? There was definitely a whoosh, huge fire! But not whoosh the apartment is on fire." 

Down his spine. Fingers were slipping through his hair, nails gently scratching his scalp. All out of sight of Rhodes. Alone, it wouldn't be so bad. Together it was sweet torture. 

"I felt it when you released the magic, felt like the two of you flooded the whole damned building with power together. Practically felt like the entire damned compound! You weren't wrong when you said he'd be powerful Tones. The two of you together are ridiculous." 

"Of course I wasn't, he picked up on things really fast too. He isn't just controlling my Fire either. He is my Black Fire?" 

He knew exactly what he wanted to do, pick Tony up, slam him against the nearest wall and drive him insane for doing this to him. At the same time, the fact that Tony couldn't seem to stop touching him, even to have a conversation with Rhodes was doing great things for his ego. 

"Really? That is awesome, James. I'm so happy for you. This is going to be so much fun. Me and Tony have been waiting for you for what seemed ages. You're well and truly our now."

"Hmm, definitely Fy Sidan, well and truly ours."

Even when they started eating, he kept up a constant contact somewhere. With that and the hum that seemed to surround the three of them in the room, he'd never felt more at home in his whole life.


	58. Goals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott has Questions.
> 
> Sam is one more weird thing away from giving up on normalcy.
> 
> Tony just wants five sodding minutes of peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every so sorry, my loveliest readers! 
> 
> My shoulder decided a time where I am unable to go to the hospital would be a fun time to sublux, and then refuse to go back, for hours. It's now back where it belongs, but my right arm, shoulder and neck are blooming painful, and it triggered a whole bunch of migraines.
> 
> Just what you want in a pandemic! I am still here! I've not been active as much on social media, but I do try to post on Tumblr if my health is delaying my writing/proofing further than it was already. 
> 
> So, I hope you guys enjoy the next few chapters because they were quite fun to write and Tony has this mad idea that things could calm down *cackles*. I'm still very slowly writing new chapters too, not at my usual speed. When my health is less tanked, I wrote like ten chapters for this a week whilst writing Frostbitten and Gold. 
> 
> So this speed is extremely frustrating for me, and probably to you guys too. I refuse to give up, however, Even if it is slow, I love this fic, and I love you guys. Even when my pain starts hitting nine and tend, I get comments or messages or emails, and it cheers me up. Especially if you are disabled and considering writing! I love those emails.

**Tony POV **

He loved his brother. He truly did. Rhodey had been with him for his mortal life whenever he needed him. He'd adapted to his immortal life with barely a blink. He came into his powers and shone as a Reaper. But right now? He wanted to drop him through a portal into the middle of the lake. He couldn't even tell if he was doing it on purpose or if he really was oblivious. Usually, he knew when Rhodey was playing him, but this time Tony couldn't say one way or the other.

He wouldn't do that, though. Carol would likely then drop him in the lake if he dumped Rhodey in said lake. However, it wasn't his fault, he was just potentially utterly oblivious to what he had walked in on, but Tony was having serious problems pulling himself away from James. 

"Boss, Sam and Scott want to know if you're free." 

Hit bit back the growl, but from the slight smirk James shot him, it was apparent he'd picked up on something. They were still linked enough that he must have heard it even though it wasn't fully vocalised. Which it was interesting on its own, usually the link like this only stayed strong when on a battlefield. It seemed to be quite happy sticking around.

He slipped down from his perch into the small space left by James. There was plenty of space elsewhere, but this was an excellent excuse to lean against James, as he was craving the contact. Sam and Scott were involved enough with the mess from yesterday, that them turning up had his instinct of 'protect' running high again, after he'd only just gotten it to quieten down. Still being linked through the fire, he felt James get an echo of that, starting to get an understanding of how his people's minds worked when it came to territory and people who were _ his. _

_ ' _Wow, that is... More than I expected.' 

'I'm mostly used to it, but it can push.' 

James was humming in understanding as he essentially investigated the feeling, it not exactly being something humans commonly experience. It warmed him that he was interested. This was why he was quite fond of humans in general. They were _endlessly_ inquisitive in comparison to other races. It was something that they had in common with his own. Tony also deflected Rhodey's raised eyebrow by sticking out his tongue. 

"Yeah, go on, send them up." 

It doesn't take long for the nervous duo to walk in and it took Tony a full minute to work out why they were looking at him wide-eyed. Glancing down at his state of dress and rolling his eyes, he had actually forgotten about that, at least he'd dealt with the mud before they'd left the forest. He waved his hand to summon himself and James t-shirts from his room as it seemed like they weren't getting any alone time anytime soon. 

Which, as far as he was concerned, was a pretty damned good concession given what he would much rather be doing right now.

  
  


**Sam POV**

Sam had almost started to get used to life being crazy, but yesterday… that had taken the gold medal. _ Nothing _ had prepared him for it, and things in Sam's life had been pretty weird for a long ass time now. 

He had a feeling that that day was going to haunt him for a very long time. From discovering he'd been sitting there as Wanda had tortured James, to the absolute inhuman rage that Tony had unleashed, from seeing what had been done to James. Tony casually tearing a metal door single-handedly and the ease of which he held Steve in place? Fare to say Sam had _ questions. _

Steve was also AWOL, he went to check on him, but his rooms were empty this morning. He figured he was either out moping somewhere, or, Tony's kind of terrifying mother had something to do with his disappearance. Who Sam _ swore _ changed age, when she hugged James, she had looked older, like a mom. Then, she turned, and she was in her 20s, and Sam just did not know what to do with that. 

Steve couldn't utterly vanish though, the Accords and the tracking band surely meant he would be back. Surely?

The most confusing thing being, was that Sam didn't know if he wanted his friend back, or if he wanted to punch him. He didn't know if he wanted the answer to his question to Steve. _ Did he know? _ Because looking back, Sam was questioning how his behaviour could have been seen as normal. How didn't Steve notice? Surely he had noticed...

He'd been meaning to meet up with Tony after he came back to the States, but every time he'd decided to go with it, something had held him back. Now he knew what it was because Tony had cleared his mind of Wanda's magic. 

Then, after the screaming, pain, whatever the fuck was going on with Clint, Tony and James went and vanished in a burst of _Black_ _Fire,_ much to Steve's dismay and concern. Sam had kind of thought things were over… and then Tony's mother, who was also a magic blind bird, apparently, along with being terrifying... had sat them all down and walked them through, slowly, _painfully_, everything Wanda had done in their presence. She added that was all she had seen 'so far'. That there might be _more._ Sam doubted Steve had seen the last of her either. He was at least 80% sure that he was with her. Judging by the way she had locked on him before vanishing. 

Straight up vanishing, in a burst of silver, shining light. 

Sam had been blinking spots for hours.

So he and Scott had been sitting awkwardly in the common room and had decided to visit Tony. Mostly a spur of the moment thing and Sam was pretty sure it hadn't occurred to them, until they were at the door, that Tony had _ also _ been kind of terrifying yesterday.

When the door opened, and clearly they couldn't just flee now, he had decided to fuck it. Tony had been scary, but he'd saved James when they hadn't even realised there was a problem. James had been smiling. Tony had healed all of them too, which had completely exhausted him. So, terrifying, but there was a lot of good in his actions. Plus, Sam was too damned curious to turn around.

Sam was not _ at all _ surprised to find Tony and James practically occupying the same spot on the sofa. The ease that James had, for lack of a better world, helped, maybe guided, Tony with? The way he pulled him back from the anger that seemed to come quicker, the longer the clashes continued. How Tony put himself in between James and everyone in the room… He would have been surprised _ not _ to see them together honestly. 

He hadn't expected to find the pair shirtless though. 

Sam did not know what to do with that.

The strange blue tattoos that they'd seen on Tony's arms and face seemed to cover his entire upper body and looked as if they continued further down too. All spread out from a star at his sternum, with a bright blue shining light at its centre. It was strange to look at, and Sam couldn't help wondering _ why _ Tony had a bright blue light in his chest? Because that simply wasn't in Sam's realm of understanding. The ancient-looking tattoos were strange enough as it was. Now there was a glowing ball in his chest.

That James had an identical star on his chest, that seemed oddly bare in comparison to Tony's chest, was also very odd. James' star was without the bright light, however. The similar nature to Tony's chest made him wonder if this 'Black Fire' and power they spoke of last night, had it gone from _ potential _ to an _ actuality? _

Either way, he was happy when Tony got shirts for both of them. 

Even if he had to do it with magic, which just added to the weird factor of summoning clothes with rippling Black Fire. 

Talking to your friends, half-naked was just weird. Sam was pretty sure he had reached his strange limit and that one of them had weird ancient tattoos, and a glow ball in his chest just added to the bizarre. So Sam was thankful for the shirts.

"So, uh, I just wanted to make sure you two are ok? A lot happened yesterday." 

"Yeah, your mother is awesome. And terrifying, but so cool." 

Tony smirked at that as he lay his face on James shoulder. Tony's chest was pressed flush against James' back. He had never noticed how tactile the man was until yesterday. But then he hadn't exactly gotten to know Tony. He had hoped to rectify that someday. Hoped it wasn't too late. 

"I'm alright. I mean, it will take a while. But I'm doing surprisingly well." 

Yeah, he just bets he is Sam thinks, looking at how close the pair are sitting. He noticed that James certainly had a different smile on his face when he was with Tony. It's still a little strange, seeing the two men all… snuggly with each other. He wouldn't have pegged initially either of them for being snuggly, but it looked good on them. Happiness was a good look on both of them. He wondered if this was new too, maybe something good might have come from yesterday's clusterfuck?

Tony yawned, flashing his fangs, which made James smirk for some reason before Tony focused intently on them. Which Sam swore he felt. It was like a heavy feeling settling around them, with the knowledge that he had Tony's attention. Scott gulped slightly next to him, which meant it wasn't just him getting this strange feeling out of nowhere.

After last night, Sam was… noticing more when it came to Tony or rather, maybe he stopped explaining things away? Yeah, that would be a more accurate way of explaining it. Like the way his focus had a weight to it and that he seemed to be uninterested in hiding behind more human mannerisms today, he had been to team lunches, and Tony felt different now than he had in the past. Well, Sam supposed that after yesterday, why bother? They knew he was strong enough to tear metal, that he was wicked fast and with a control of magic that made that Dr Strange guy, The Sorcerer Supreme, sit up and watch every move intently. 

Then there was the 'being unable to lie' thing, which was just, very weird. Or the Scythe. That was more terrifying than weird, especially when it was lit up with that ethereal blue fire. Sam really wasn't sure which part was stranger. The absorbing pain and eyes turning white were on the list too. Yesterday was just _ all _ weird. There wasn't a part of yesterday Sam could say 'Yes, that was not bizarre.'

"You can ask questions about me if you want." 

"So, um, what are you?" 

Well, maybe he could have done that with more tact. Tony smiled at him, however, which oddly relaxed him somewhat. Perhaps it was the correct lack of tact?

"You both know about Thor and Loki right? With the Norse Pantheon?" 

They nodded, not entirely sure where this was going but finding himself slightly nervous. 

"I'm from the Celtic Pantheon." 

Sam was a little stunned by that alone and felt like the air had been punched out of him, Scott however, had _ questions _ and was extremely excited. Sam was kind of stuck. It's one thing to discover that your friend is potentially dating Tony Stark, which is a pretty huge thing already… To, your friend is potentially dating a fucking _ ancient Celtic God. _

Sam was just left blinking as Scott practically exploded with questions.

"Are you saying you're a God? Are you an alien, like Thor? Do you come from a different planet? What is it called? Is it like earth?" 

"To some people, yes, even now under other names. I was even born on Earth, quite a while ago, but from beings of a different dimension. That world presses close to this one and has many connections. It's a symbiotic relationship, each reality providing for the other. It has many names. It depends what old stories you know, if you know any, this isn't my usual neck of the woods, even though I'm generally welcome anywhere there is Fire. Underhill is a pretty common one though. It isn't so much a fixed land like Earth. It is a land and reality created purely from magic, will and intent. All kinds of things change and shift as easily as Earth's weather changes with the thoughts of those who dwell inside." 

That caught his attention, because Sam _ recognised _ that name. From one of his nephews who had recently gotten really into fairy tales out of nowhere (Although, maybe not so 'out of nowhere'?) But not the kind he knew of, not cute Disney shit. Old, ancient stories that he had never known existed. Utterly terrifying ones. Abso-fucking-lutely terrifying. One's that we're warnings. Also, he was ignoring the way James had snorted when Tony said 'quite a while ago because he was not at all ready to consider his age. He was stuck on the Underhill things.

Because it was potentially harder to wrap his head around than the 'God' thing. Which Sam was also still stuck on. 

"You're Fae?"

Scott was looking between him and Tony, back and forth as if they were engaged in an aggressive ping pong match. Sam could tell the man was thinking up even more questions too. Scott was practically vibrating on the couch.

"That is one of our names. Your nephew has been sharing some of the stories I see? Big C loves it when he comes raspberry picking, he's always looking for a new story, and we are always happy to provide."

His friend was dating a _ Fae? _

Who was also an ancient _Celtic_ _God?_

Who was _ Tony Stark? _

Sam wasn't sure which part was catching him out more. Actually, No. All of it. Especially as his mind was working on the stories, the ones that he'd read to Jay before bed, at his request… and one thing was suddenly very clear...

"Yeah... Shit. Your mother, the blind crow… your mother is _ The Morrigan? _ The books, they're _ real _?"

Suddenly Tony's comment about going easy on Steve and Wanda… Nats pronounced _ fear _ of getting in between Tony and James… that made a lot more sense now. As did that tick in the back of his mind, the one that spoke of danger and predators. 

Fae were the next thing up on the food chain, with a habit of playing with their food. 

He knew Thor was a LOT more powerful than he let on, the man played the dumb oaf card well, but Sam _ knew _ he was in a different league of power. Sam had _ seen _ him in the gym. He had _ seen _ Loki casually stab him whilst he continued eating pop tarts as if nothing happened. Loki had been slammed around like a ragdoll by the _ Hulk. _

That Tony… and maybe others he had seen around the compound were too? How many Gods were in this compound!?

"Very real, don't worry Sam. I'm… let's say, less strict? I like humans. You're fun." 

Sam was not sure how to point out that that was not remotely comforting, not in the slightest. Nope. Effortlessly terrifying. The friendly smile, which again flashed some fang, really just added to it.

"This, the light you saw at my chest? It's the Blue Fire, the magic of Earth to which I am bound. Magic that all humans carry a little of, deep inside of them. Me being bound to it the way I am, in a way, I'm closer to humans than my own people. Even though I am not human, I still remember aspects of my human life, but in this form? It is as strange to me as if you tried to be Fae. We have many similarities to Fragile Creatures, but many differences too." 

Tony reached a hand out towards then, snapping his fingers as blue flame licked across his fingers, leaving himself and Scott sucking in a breath because he felt… something as his chest, like when you go up and down hills in a car, and it feels like your stomach drops out, with a flickering warmth deep in his chest that should be _ impossible. _ Sam was pretty sure _ organs _ were there, organs and fire are not meant to mix! But then, it was magic? On top of that, Tony was giving him the strangest smile as if he knew _ something. _What? He had no idea. Very enigmatic… and creepifying. 

"So, you're like, hundreds? Maybe _ thousands _ of years old? That's.. So hard to get my head around. But then my brain is still stuck over yesterday." 

"As close to humans as I am Sam, it is best to simply never forget that I am _ not _. Just don't expect me to react in Human ways and you're good. I tend to follow human mannerisms to put others at ease, but it's acting to me, you see. Sometimes it is harder to ape humanity; fundamental differences crop up. James is surprisingly tolerant of me dropping the guise." 

He didn't deny the thousands… Sam felt like he was going to twitch. Or give up on ever living a normal life.

"Yup, he's part cat."

Worst thing is, Sam has no idea if that's a joke or not. 

Things are undoubtedly crazy. He now had no idea now if their closeness was because they were together, although he was pretty sure, or was this what he was talking about? Maybe some Fae were more tactile than humans? That perhaps they saw physical contact differently than humans? That his tactile… well. Was catlike nature typical? Just a human-shaped cat, with strange tattoos and golden eyes. And a glow ball.

This was so damned _ weird, _ but James was _ utterly _ relaxed. More so than he had ever seen the man, he was leaning back into Tony, with such an easy-going smile on his face. He looked good, nothing like the pale, gaunt, haunted, starving wolf he'd first gotten to know. He seemed to be… settled in a way, he'd not thought to even hope for. 

Tony looked settled too, remembering the man he'd first met, at the time he hadn't seen it, just let a lot slide as 'eccentric genius.' He'd been jittery, eyes always moving, logging information if anyone so much as moved, he was always perfectly placed to face doors, he even walked backwards to avoid turning his back on them on occasion. He still seemed to take in that information, but effortlessly. He had looked haunted too. He just hadn't picked up on it as he thought there was no reason why someone who had a carefree lifestyle like a billionaire would be haunted. Looking back, he had rationalised a lot. He wondered if Wanda had been affecting him even then.

Rhodey seemed pretty chill about everything too. He was grinning widely as if he found Sam's quiet meltdown hilarious.

Scott just looked excited. Grinning ear to ear as if finding out someone you knew was a God was _ normal. _ Well, he supposed it wasn't _ abnormal, _ but it was still bizarre. He wondered what it was like, to go human. Sam's brain was skipping and barely landing on one thing, what the species differences were? The cultural differences?.

Apparently, he was the only one about to have a meltdown. Cool. 

"So, uh, what are you going to do about Steve and Wanda?" 

Sam regretted the question before he even finished saying it. 

Tony went utterly still, and the weight of his gaze was almost suffocating that he was nervous even to move. Sam watched, stunned as James turned to slip an arm around his waist as if holding him in place. 

As if Tony wasn't the most dangerous thing in the room that had Sam's brain screeching at him to _ run _whilst another part told him to hold damned still. 

Tony was utterly rigid, not blinking as James rolled his eyes... He'd seen what Tony had done to a metal door with a flick of his fingers, had pinned Steve like a child, and yet there was no fear on James face. Absolutely nothing as the supersoldier tugged Tony towards him, turning to face him and slip his left metal arm around his waist to join the first, slipping beneath his shirt. That had some effect, Tony blinked and listed towards James, he was still radiating anger and was still hyper-focused on Sam, he'd bet that Tony didn't even realise what he was doing, if he hadn't been terrified and, you know, begging any deity that would listen to get him through this conversation without saying anything even stupider. 

It was flashes like this, from yesterday, that truly hammered home Tony's point that he was not human. He got that occasionally with Thor too, when his lovable giant mask slipped to the Godly warrior beneath. That Tony was a currently utterly furious, not-human being. Scott elbowed him, hard, and Sam can't even argue. He didn't so much care about the witch, as long as she was kept far, far away from him and, maybe, end up in trouble for what she did. He wasn't sure about Steve, he was his friend, but Sam wanted to know how complicit Steve was in Wanda's machinations. He was also scared to know.

Tony eventually spoke, and the words had a different quality that left his skin buzzing. 

"It would be best if I do not see Steve for a while." 

"Uh, Why?" 

His mouth was going to get him in serious trouble these days. He kept up his mental call out in a hope it would stop him blurting things out but as Tony tilted his head, as if listening to something he wondered if... No, that couldn't be. Just because humans from thousands of years ago saw beings like Thor and Tony as Gods, that didn't really _ make _ them actual Gods? Not as in answering prayers, they were just immensely powerful beings from different planets or dimensions. Surely.

"Because I cannot, at the moment, guarantee that I would not simply kill him on sight. The only person on this base that could stop me in that state is James, and I would rather not force him to do so.." 

"Uh, why not Rhodes? Isn't he the same as you?" 

"Na, Reaper's powers, it all comes _ from _ Tones. What we have is like a… small portion of Tones abilities. Plus, I've only had the job for a year." 

"I've had the job barely for a few hours. I actually exploded into fire not long ago with how little control I have. " 

James added, which confirmed his earlier wondering but just confused him more. Tony, however, turned to face James, frowning, somehow Sam knew he was still being watched. Scott, however, reacted to the fire comment with blatant alarm, which just had James smiling and shrugging. 

Because exploding into fire is a thing his friends supposedly did now?

"You exploded into fire?!“

"You've had one lesson Fy Sidan. You are doing amazingly, give yourself time to come into your Fire. And don't worry Scott, he's fireproof now."

Sam couldn't decide if he wanted to work out what language and what these pet names were or not.

"So, uh why, James?" 

He was thankful Scott asked the question he wanted to know the answer too. If Tony was as powerful as he was assuming, it made no sense that James, who had been on par with Steve, could stop him just by looping a hand around his waist, where Steve had been practically _ helpless _ against Tony. 

"No idea, but even when I'm angry, he can hold me in place. Anger for my kind... It's not like it is for humans. Pretty much all emotions are... Different. After a certain point, I'll change, and I will kill Steve and anyone who stands between us. Not by choice. Never stand between me and a goal unless you can render me unconscious or dead. I will not always be able to hold myself back like I did yesterday. _ Wanda _ will remain with Strange until I am called to deal with her. He will be sending a report to the Select Committee. Rhodey or most likely, Carol will be doing a write up on Steve. He may be allowed to remain, but I suspect his sentence will change slightly. They pardoned you lot when people were _ killed _ , he will be punished but not as much as he _ should _ be. At least by mortal laws."

Sam was noticing that Tony could add terrifyingly creepy things onto the and of statements with complete ease and a smile.

James reached up and ran his metal hand through Tony's hair, causing his eyes to flutter closed, the anger seemed to seep out of him, and his shoulders slumped from the straight back pose he'd held, practically falling into James chest. When he opened his eyes, they had softened, the change was so drastic it left himself and Scott blinking. The idea of James being able to stop him was no longer so odd, even if the how and why was still confusing. 

"James has a degree in Tony Wrangling. He's made an art form out of it. It's awesome, means I even get days off." 

Sam isn't entirely sure what the hell to even say after that as Tony stuck his tongue out at Rhodes. The ancient Celtic God was mock sulking. Yup, Sam's brain was out of here. And then Scott jumps in with a question that utterly throws him. Even more.

"So, is Cthulhu real?" 

"Really dude? _ That _is your question?" 

"Well, yeah. I mean, we didn't think Norse Gods were a real thing, and Thor stole my pop tarts last week. He is a pop tart eating menace. Now, Tony is a badass Celtic God, and two of our friends are _ Reapers. _So, is Cthulhu real?" 

"Huh. TicTac has a point. Which is terrifying on its own."

James was trying valiantly not to laugh whereas Rhodes was double over sniggering. Tony, however, looked mildly amused. 

"If _ every _ idiot that fell through a portal managed to escape and then went to write a book about it, there would be so many. Mostly they don't make it back. It's ridiculous. You sodding humans are like trouble magnets or something; the rate you lot fall into interdimensional portals? It is unbelievable! Do you know how much of a mess that bastard caused? The Old Ones had no respect for staked territory, and he showed them a way in. Albion is _ ours. We _ did not appreciate encroachment on what belongs to _ us." _

Rhodes and James were suddenly sitting up straighter as Tony spoke and Sam could feel himself paling. Now, he hadn't even read any Lovecraft, but who hasn't come across something Cthulhu-esque at some point? 

"Tones… are you being serious?"

"Oh yes, we had a grand time with the Hunt. Earth is only so large, and just because they got to the game late does not mean they can encroach on staked territory. A few different Pantheons teamed up as the tentacly bastards tried to take over a few areas. It was how I met Coyote actually. Neither of us are fans of having our territory encroached upon. We had a lot of fun."

"You… and Coyote… fought Cthulhu?" 

Sam struggled to get that sentence out of his mouth before giving in to hysteria. 

"No."

"Oh, okay, because I was totally believing you there, that they existed.." 

"Sam, just because I personally did not fight Cthulhu does not mean he does not exist. They sent the usual force through, we battled, we won, and Humans can rest happily knowing that the Old Ones didn't conquer Earth. Being as old as they are, they lack a sense of urgency. Humanity is barely a blip on their radar. Just don't walk through unknown portals? Thanks to that idiot, there are more links to their realm now. Nightmare is forever sneaking back through. Highly rude, no etiquette."

Before he could say anything else, however, an alarm sounded, but it wasn't the Avengers Assemble alarm that they'd been told about. Sam wasn't sure if he was happy for the odd signal or not because he had no idea what to do with the information that Eldritch horrors are _ real. _ Or how calmly Tony felt discussing them, because if Eldritch horrors barely seemed to irritate Tony, then there is much worse, and Sam doesn't know what to _ do _ with that information.

Tony groaned and headbutted James' shoulder before giving an exaggerated yawn and a flash of fangs. Actual fangs. It didn't matter how many times Sam saw them. They always made him blink. He knew a person with fangs. 

Sure, there were other things that he could be getting caught up on. The Fae thing. The God thing. The enormous, terrifying Scythe thing. The ability to tear metal and effortlessly restrain their entire team in under five minutes thing. Nope. It was the fangs. 

"The universe hates me. FRIDAY, what is it?" 

"Dr Strange has asked for back-up regarding a threat he's just received information about. A band of potential redcaps have slipped into a mostly peaceful dimension, and the denizens have petitioned the sorcerer supreme for help. He wondered if you knew of them?" 

"Hmm, yeah, they fall under my purview if they are hunting in new territory that has not been authorised by Winter, I've not had any new rites of hunting sent through from Mab lately. Tell him we'll look into it. I'll know on arrival if they are decreed hunting grounds." 

Tony grudgingly stood up as Sam glanced from the Cameras to Tony. He knew by now that FRIDAY wasn't in the ceiling, but he couldn't break the habit. 

"That, uh, wasn't the Assemble Alarm? Was it?" 

"Nope, that's for Reapers only. Come on, Platypus. We have some angry gnomes to kill." 

"Wait, are you serious? Gnomes."

"Well, they're short and wear red hats? I call them gnomes. It _ really _ pisses them off." 

Tony grinned as he shrugged, his clothes rippled changed in a flurry of black fire to a strange style of black shirt and trousers with silver embroidery. Scott looked more than a little impressed and Sam had to admit, magic did seem to be handy. Scott, however, was well on his way to being a fanboy of the three men, and Sam had more class. 

"So, what's so bad about these guys?" 

"Well, they accessorise by using blood to dye their caps, and they have this thing for scalping. They also have a nasty habit of hunting in areas without permission." 

"Oookay, man, you've just ruined garden gnomes for me." 

James, Sam and Scott followed the strange conversation back and forth between Tony and Rhodes, not quite understanding how they were so calmly discussing _ gnomes _ that ostensibly _ scalp _ people. 

"Fancy joining us Snowflake?" 

"Sure!" 

That James seemed excited to battle weird gnomes was also incredibly surreal. Tony did something with his hands that summoned two huge black bladed, silver-edged fucking _ swords, _ catching them deftly before holding them out, that had him and Scott gulping slightly. He had thought they were the same, but now he looked closer, they were different. Rhodes blade was thicker, longer. James seemed slimmer but had a very slight curve to it. As he handed them over, a silver circle slashed onto the blade near the hilt with a different symbol for each of them. 

"These are edged with iron as neither of you have a Bane-Blade yet, Rhodey you can swap one out with your swords if you're still interested in dual-wielding and here's yours. Fry, tell the Crafty Sorcerer to pop in, we're fighting so he can provide interdimensional travel arrangements." 

Interdimensional travel arrangements. 

Tony honestly said those words with a straight fucking face, and with another wave of his hand he changed the clothes the other men where wearing, the three now matched and he kind of felt bad for the scalp happy gnomes, except for the, you know, _ scalping _... Their outfits seemed to be a uniform of sorts, even though each of them were unique. The style of shirt was slightly off, nothing that he could place on Earth. At least nothing in the last millennia. It had a more substantial look, and it didn't seem machine stitched. It was split at the neck, held together by three buttons, black, white and blue. Even their shoes had altered, black, heavy-looking boots. The embroidery looked silver at first, but under closer inspection seemed to flicker in the light, more opalescent. Tony and Rhodes were covered in symbols, and James seemed a little more sparse, he guessed that was because it was his first day? And he was going to fight gnomes. With a sword.

Sam hadn't even known James could _ use _a sword.

The slice of orange split the room into the spinning portal he'd seen the Sorcerer use a few times. Dr Strange stepped out as it closed behind him. Glancing critically at Sam and Scott as Rhodes attached his _ sword _ to a thick, black belt as Tony showed James were to do the same with his. The straps had the same silver stitching with symbols. Some seemed familiar. Most were nothing he recognised. 

Stood like this, they were clearly battle-ready with an edge to them, and it wasn't just Tony. After attaching the blades, there was something, although Sam couldn't quite tell _ what, _that seemed to fall back from James and Rhodes. It wasn't to the same level as Tony, but they had a predatory feel to them too. Rhodes caught Sam's eyes and winked as his eyes flickered pure white. James, usually blue eyes were shifted too, his usual polished steel to flickering black. They both stood straighter too, and there was an air of authority to them both that Sam had not noticed before. 

"Holy shit." 

He found himself oddly agreeing with Scott's sentiment. Whatever this power was that made them into Reapers. Tony's black fire? It had changed something, unlocked something? Something that Sam imagined made a super-soldier seem like a baseline human for all the difference it made. 

"How many people are you planning on inviting?" 

"Just these two, I'm not sure if the others are legally allowed to go dimension-hopping." 

With that, a few goodbyes, the four men stepped through another portal leaving Sam and Scott uncomfortably sitting in Tony's apartment. Wondering what exactly was happening with their lives. 

"Well, that went better than I expected."

"Really, Scott? They just left to battle _murder-gnomes_ that _scalp_ people, in a different _dimension._ We just discovered another person in our friend group is evidently a _God!_ An _Ancient Celtic_ one at that. Two of our friends are _Reapers, _that fight to keep the _Balance_ of the damned _Multiverse_, which supposedly is a thing_._ _How_ is this our life?" 

Sam was going to do some research. On Fae. And Celtic God's. Maybe on Cthulhu too. All he knew was that the dude was racist. 

Because his life really included these things now. 

"So, do you think that when our sentence is complete, that maybe we can battle murder-gnomes too?" 

"Not a clue, but it's good that you have goals man." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I'm steadily tidying up earlier chapters as I'm cross-posting on FF. So if you see the word count slightly increasing in small amounts, or saw Deaths Merchant over there, that is why! I'm kinda of stalled right now, what with the dead arm, but tidying up spelling, grammar and fixing little things on stuff I wrote months ago is oddly cathartic. Smite those error demons! XD
> 
> New chaps take precedence by far!


	59. Trouble Around Every Corner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooo look at this Plot I found under the sofa!
> 
> Plot-wise, I'm sort of swinging back and forth. You get a chunk of Marvel, you get a chunk of Underhill, some mixed bits too.
> 
> I'm hoping you guys don't mind having some Underhill heavy bits? It'll make sense when this bit is read. I kind of love this chapter and I hope you guys like it!
> 
> Also, with these chapters being three times the size of my original scope we might be in a two a week situation 😅

**James POV **

Shit, he was actually doing this. He was carrying a sword, travelling to a different dimension, to fight creatures he'd only read about in books and he'd been a Reaper for all of 5 minutes! He now was damned grateful he had scarfed down some of that food Tony had ordered. 

The new clothing was weird, soft, and he could feel a subtle hum that made him think they were more than what they felt. It also fit him perfectly and looked different to Rhodes, if James hadn't believed Tony saying that he had put serious thought into him being a Reaper? This would have convinced him as it had been explicitly made for him. There were not as many Wards stitched onto his as Rhodes, but he imagined Tony was waiting to see what abilities he unlocked first. However, he did recognise several defensive Wards in crucial places that matched up to blocks and holds Tony had been teaching him, that differed slightly to Rhodes. 

The base outfit seemed similar between the three of them, although the styles were subtly different. Tony had likely made it so each of them would _ want _ to wear it, whilst still keeping a uniform feel. It was a degree of planning and care that made James feel welcomed, that they were happy to have him with them, rather than just stuck with him. At this rate, Tony and Rhodes were going to beat that stupid voice in his head thoroughly.

They stepped through Stephen's portal, leaving an excited Scott and stunned Sam behind. James had a good feeling about the two of them. Especially now their heads were clear of Wanda's influence. 

On arrival, Tony and Stephen carried on through as if this was normal, whereas he and Rhodes stumbled the second they looked around.

This place was.. weird.

Well, that was an understatement. It looked like an idyllic countryside. You know the type, rolling hills, vast woodlands, pretty little cottages, bushes full of flowers. The kind of thing when you think of quaint little English towns that looked like they hadn't changed in hundreds of years. It should be beautiful, relaxing, calming. 

It was not calming.

The sky was purple, which was weird, but also kind of cool. The grass was _ red. _ The trees were red too. Actually, anything that should be green? Yeah. It was red. Not a bright, cheerful red either, blood-red. So it was also damned creepy, whilst trying to be a pretty, quaint countryside. Little cottages and farms and shit with blood-red trees and grass! 

He imagined to the locals it was normal, James, however, found himself eyeing the shrubbery critically. The blood-red shrubbery.

Rhodes was similarly eyeing the environment as James was, so he didn't feel too put out. Tony and Stephen were striding along in complete confidence, as if this was perfectly normal. 

Tony summoned his own sword as they came to a stop not too far from the forest, not this Scythe. The dark-looking forest that probably would have been creepy looking without the addition of blood-red murder trees.

It was the sword that made Tony's power level jump dramatically. Especially as he wasn't holding it back as much now, and James' senses were sharper too. Stephen eyed the weapon with blatant curiosity. The sheath Tony had mentioned last time they discussed it, was suddenly hooked to his belt. They had spoken about the sheath, but he had not seen it before, it was wrapped in flowering vines that somehow switched to silver and ice towards the end. It was beautiful and intricate.

There was a singular cord that wrapped around the entire length of the sheath, except the first half of it was comprised of vines with small, multicoloured pretty flowers and silver leaves. At the halfway mark, the green vine became ice. Following the same twisting pattern as the vine, there was ice and silver wrapped together, almost braided with little silver snowflakes in the place of the flowers. It was stunning, gorgeous, and so intricate James couldn't imagine the work that went into crafting it. Tony had mentioned 13 lower courts, and 2 Seelie courts donated an aspect to the sword and sheath. So there was probably, even more, going on than he saw. The sheath hummed on his senses almost as much as the blade did. 

Tony held the blade out in front of him and closed his eyes for a second, James felt the power around Tony fluctuate. His aura seemed to ripple and skate out slightly before pulling back in. James figured Stephen could see Tony's aura too by how he watched intently.

"This place is not marked as hunting grounds by Winter, just as I thought. I had to check, though."

Rhodes seemed surprised at his weapon choice. James wondered if it was because of _ who _ they were fighting. James couldn't remember Tony's title that came with the strange sword, and even if he could, he probably would mangle the pronunciation without practice. What James _ did _ know was that that blade held a position of authority in Underhill specifically and the red caps were of Underhill. He knew Tony had been mostly Earth-bound this past year. It might be Rhodes' first time battling creatures from Underhill as well as his. 

"Let me guess, they're in the woods and are praying on the villagers? Do you know if they're unbound? This is not their hunting grounds even if they are. It just changes how we play this." 

"Not a clue. I just got several frantic messages from a local sorcerer I correspond with about murderous creatures coming out of the dark. After a bit of research and what little information I could get from the locals, we worked out they were likely Redcaps which is when we contacted you. I didn't read anything about different types? Wong borrowed a lot of London's library, but he left them with some books." 

"Not all Redcaps fight under the Unseelie banner you see, although most do, it lets them hunt freely in some realms, but there are still rules they must abide by. They still break them, often. If they are bound, I can potentially shorten our trip, if they'll listen to me. It depends if they'll recognise my authority or force my hand, the older they are, the less likely. Even though I have a reputation for killing the bastards. Look for a purple or blue banner on their clothing." 

Tony slammed his sword into the ground with little preamble, without waiting for a reply as James wondered about what he'd said. James would unquestionably be chasing up Tony for more information when they got home he thought as Tony carved a circle around him in the dirt. The sword split the earth effortlessly, slicing a deep, perfect circle in the ground like a wound.

Just that action alone caused the magic around Tony and his blade to increase exponentially as his sword moved through the red grass, jumping again when the circle was complete. He tugged the blade free, which somehow was as pristine as before he stabbed it into the ground, then Tony slashed his palm and held it over the circle. James _ felt _ the circle snap closed around him. Leaving the three of them standing awkwardly on the outside, swaying slightly under the sudden loss of the increased power. When Tony's blood had touched the blade, James had gotten a strange flash of intuition, not knowing if it was from the excess magic fluttering around Tony before the circle closed or his Sight, but he'd _ swear _ that the blade was _ hungry. _

"By Blood, I summon emissaries of the Unseelie Court that Plague this land. 

"By Magic, I summon emissaries of the Unseelie Court that Plague this land. 

"By Iron, I summon emissaries of the Unseelie Court that Plague this land." 

Tony sliced the sword into the Earth again, which resulted in the circle bursting open and something brushed past them, through them, seeking. 

"That will bring the murder gnomes to us?"

Rhodes asked as he shivered, whatever Tony had released breezed around, and through them before pushing outwards, Rhodes tilted his head as he spoke, his eyes on the horizon looking for any movement. James has never seen the man so… _ focused _ before, but then he'd seen Rhodes his friend, Rhodes his brother, Rhodes The Avenger, Rhodes in the armour and even seen him training. James had not actually seen _ Rhodes The Reaper _ properly before. 

The barrier had been dropped if he remembered correctly. Tony hadn't taught him how to construct that barrier yet in his mind. The difference was sharp. He wondered if this is what he seemed like now from the outside? Or did it take a while to develop? There was an edge to the man that was not usually present and between this new side of Rhodes and Tony, who always had an undercurrent of lethality, which had now increased further with that sword in his hand. James felt...

James felt quite at home. Utterly so. 

He didn't have to worry about being seen as the _ scary _ one, here, he had company who somehow understood him perfectly. He didn't have to hide part of himself. Didn't have to stamp it down. He was _ home _ in a way that he couldn't fully put words to, and he suddenly remembered the intoning, strange verse Tony had spoken to release his fire. The sides of himself he had to suffocate for so long, they were not only grudgingly accepted… But wholly _ welcomed. _ He wondered if he seemed different from the outside now? He didn't feel different, it was strange, but he felt more _ himself _ than he had ever been. He was almost giddy with anticipation as he scanned the horizon in a different direction to Rhodes.

"If they're of the Unseelie Court, yes. Give it 10 minutes. If not, we go _ hunting _."

Like the word _ run _ when they were wolves, that word also seemed to be… more. He didn't know how to explain it again, that words were more than their explanations. They were feelings, and they had texture, it brought images to his mind that he could feel in surround sound, technicolour glory. He was thrumming with adrenaline as everything sharpened. _ Hunt. _It was like it spoke to him, pinged something deep inside him that had him easy on the balls of his feet. Instantly prepared, the sword was suddenly a familiar weight in his hand with a sense of anticipation, having the hairs on the back of his neck standing up as the adrenaline flooded him. Sight, smell, everything heightened a little more as did his connection to Tony and Rhodes.

Looking at Rhodes, he knew he felt it too. His eyes had changed now. The dark brown had been taken over with what he swears was the flickering White Flame he was so proficient in. White fire showed as a silvery, iridescent shimmer that was flickering and shifting like a flame. Was that what his eyes looked like when he used his heat vision? Or just when he was excited? Because James could feel the man's excitement through the Fire to be fighting with himself. To be fighting alongside another Reaper and James is slightly overwhelmed by not just the acceptance but the sheer joy Tony and Rhodes seemed to feel at the prospect of fighting beside him.

Amazingly even as his mind spirals down so many different paths, his focus is somehow still perfect. He is still analysing the tree line, feeling the air, the scents, everything with a level of hyperfocus and Hypervigilance that far surpassed the Winter Soldier. It's like his mind has unlocked mountains of potential and he's taking in reams of information that makes him look back at his human self as sense blind and slow! It's exhilarating, and they haven't even _ moved _ yet. 

They stood, on alert but relaxed, looking around them, one of them pointing in each direction so they wouldn't be snuck up on. In a triangle formation back to back. The weight of the strange blade he'd never even seen before was a comfort in his hand. It felt natural as if he'd held it a hundred times previously. He could feel the hum of the black metal, so different to the training swords. He could feel Tony and Rhodes in his mind too. It wasn't like they were in his mind; they weren't reading his thoughts. He couldn't read theirs, but he knew their intentions, it was how they had formed up to monitor the lands without even considering it. If he closed his eyes, he could be able to point them out. They were a comforting weight behind him, giving him the confidence to do this.

That they were there for him was an immutable fact. A constant of the universe. That their swords would fell creatures before they could even look at his back and that he would do that for them. There was a balance between the three of them that was like a constant, reassuring hum. 

James saw them first, strange-looking creatures, around 4 foot in height when they stood, but they moved between the trees hunched. They moved quickly, far too quickly, flashing between the trees, scurrying almost like insects. Just as he had registered their presence, before he had a chance to even think about voicing it, Tony and Rhodes turned to face them. Tony stood in between himself and Rhodes. They were a half a step back. He hadn't even noticed how easily they fell into the formation again. 

They were scuttling and laughing in a chittering manner that set James' teeth on edge. There would be no mistaking these creatures as human. They were nothing like the few Fae he'd met so far, who could potentially be mistaken for human if they were not so strikingly beautiful or fascinating. Where the Fae were beautiful and otherworldly, these creatures were vile and reeked of wrongness. Even from so far away.

In a few seconds, James decided the books had not done them justice. They were the perfect portrayal of macabre. Ghastly, hideous, lurid creatures that set off alarm bells and sent his mind screeching, a gut feeling of absolute wrongness as James saw flashes of sharpened, blackened claws, of hands, curled like talons. With yellowed, sharp, spiked teeth glimpsed in bursts of sickening grins that James saw with perfect clarity, even from this far away. Not realising that he had pushed his eyesight to the point he could see them perfectly. Tony's hand brushed the back of his neck, with some warm and gentle coaxing through the Fire, James regained his equilibrium without the others noticing. Tony threw him an encouraging smile before his attention returned to the nightmare fuel gnomes.

Even now, after he'd pulled his sight back, he could still see them very clearly. Blood was running down their faces from the dark red fabric tied around their scalps. Some of them were fresh, bright, shining red blood that caught the light and others had darkened to brown and almost black in the shadows. Each creature seemed to have layers of the stuff caked onto them. Their 'hats' looked more like strips of fabric tied around their heads. Layer after later, who knows how much old bloodstained material.

Their clothing was a mishmash of colours, stained with what James had to assume was likely blood or other things he didn't honestly want to think about. It was layer and layer of different materials tied over to create 'clothes'. It was vile, stained and disgusting, except each creature had a deep blue and purple scrap of material tied upon their person. The article looked more expensive than anything he owned, let alone these creatures. It was perfect, clean and shimmering, almost silk-like? A stark contrast to the rest of their outfits. It was looped around their arms mostly, although he saw a few around the shoulder. A silvered snowflake was visible as it glinted in the light.

It was by far, the cleanest thing on them. So much so that it looked bizarrely out of place. More of them were moving now, flitting tree to tree and chittering, laughing as one of them came closer. Still moving in the cover of the trees, but he stayed visible now. This one looked more prominent than the others, the material around his head was wet, and the bright red blood shined in the sunlight. The purple fabric hung from his chest like a badge, different from the others. Their eyes were black with the slightest edging of white at the sides. As it spoke, James forced himself not to not to cringe, as its voice cut right through him, like nails on a chalkboard. Metal clawing and screeching against metal. Forks scraping across plates. _ Everything _ about these creatures seemed to be _ perfectly _ crafted to put humans on edge. 

He could feel the effect it was meant to have, but it was… removed slightly, like a shot that just missed the target. They were still utterly horrid and but James could feel the full effect, but in a detached manner. Then _ 'human' _ wasn't exactly an accurate description of a Reaper. Stephen was obviously not enjoying being around them either. His face didn't show much, but he'd been around the man enough that he could read Stephen rather well. Rhodes wanted to slice them up the second one spoke, the reaction that shocked him, however, came from Tony because he went from bland indifference to anger in a heartbeat.

"The King of Iron does summon us. He does, he does! We will answer the King of Iron. No _ Lord _ may command us." 

Why that seemed to piss off Tony, he had no idea, but his eyes hardened, jaw clenched, and he raised his sword to point at them. The Redcaps flinched at the sight of it. Having iron wielded against them so freely must be at least a little disconcerting and that sword did have quite a powerful aura around it. James wondered if it was something more, because they did seem very agitated that Tony had shown his blade. 

"I do not hold Kingship over the Iron Lands. My title is Lord or, as your kin might know it better, Dienyddiwr. Mab knows this. We have discussed it at _ length." _

James blinked, oh he would undoubtedly be getting the information out of him for this later on. James had read a lot about The Reapers and Tony's time on Earth and even some other Realms. 

What he had not read much about was Caderyn from Underhill. 

He knew Tony held lands, had a house, forges and a mine. He carried enough debt on others to be a Lord with lands, and that had a number of people who lived on them. He didn't know that number. It could be 5 or 500 for all he knew. He left the Court he'd been born too and became nomadic.

James hadn't thought to ask much about who he was in Underhill, thinking he was the same Patron of Reapers. He had told him that he had a title of Dienyddiwr before, but James didn't know what that title precisely stood for. Rhodes had tilted his head in question too, Stephen's face was filled with curiosity, but neither man took their eyes off of the Redcaps. Despite how intriguing this potential information was on Tony. 

"Oh but she wants you to, King of Iron, The Queens of Winter and Summer, wish it so. They intend it so. They will it so.." 

"They can wish it all they like. I do not hold Kingship over the Iron Lands. I ask that you leave these lands and return to sanctioned hunting grounds." 

"But if the King of Iron demands we leave, we shall! We shall! Why should we answer to a Lord? When there are such feasts here. Some of them barely run." 

The main speaker was slicing something in his hand as he spoke, and James definitely didn't want to think about what it was. 

"You are trespassing in this land, asking you to leave is a Courtesy I put forth. You know how I deal with such behaviour. If you refuse, you will force me to act under Winter Law. Again, I ask that you to leave these lands and return to sanctioned hunting grounds."

"We do, we do, we hoped not attacking your precious humans would make you more... amenable to conversation, Executioner." 

James blinked at that, that was new. 

"If Mab wants to talk to me. She can send a damned envoy like everyone else. I promise, I will not kill them and everything. Unless they give me viable cause, as you have done so. You are under my remit as Dienyddiwr. You know the penalty for getting caught, that being much higher than the crime. Last chance, I ask you thrice to leave these lands and return to sanctioned hunting grounds. Leave and live. Stay, and die." 

James was almost dying of curiosity. Talk of envoys and Tony's tilted head, a quirk to his lips as he said he wouldn't kill them. He was much more _ Fae _ right now than James had seen before. Some of his words also had an official feel to them. He was also wondering how getting caught carried a more significant penalty than murder...

"We only obey those with power, and Lords do not hold enough power to control us." 

"It's like you have a death wish. How many of your kin have I killed? Summer doesn't give me this bullshit." 

Tony sighed, more muttering to himself, sheathing his sword before summoning paper to his hand, almost as if he was bored. James watched with one eye, the other on the Redcaps, as writing appeared on the paper even though Tony didn't even have a pen, before it exploded in a burst of fire in Tony's hand. Tony trapped his foot impatiently until a flurry of snow appeared in front of him barely a few seconds later. Tony snatched an envelope from it as he and Rhodes stared, because what the fuck?

"Right, Mab doesn't give a shit if I kill you, as _ usual_. You have now been found in breach of Winter Law for hunting upon unsanctioned grounds, calling undue attention to yourselves and getting caught." 

Tony rolled his shoulders as he redrew his sword. For some reason, it had a different feel after being removed from the sheath. As he spoke, the ice of the sheath took over the vines until it was completely wrapped in ice and silver instead of half of it. 

"Those who fall under the Dienyddiwr that are of Winter are required to fight. You are to survive or die. That is Winter's Law. Of which I am now as beholden to as are you, until I sheath my blade."

Tony tossed the letter over his shoulder as it burst into black flames. James had to wonder how many times something like this had played out for one reason or another if there was an 'as usual' involved. The way Tony spoke after from when he decreed the breach of Winter Law, which James certainly didn't know much about. It had an official air to it, something he was required to speak for his position maybe? His voice carried more power as he did. Louder and moved through the air on currents of power.

"You at least serve some purpose as a training exercise for my Reapers, I suppose." 

That was all Tony required apparently as he suddenly took off towards the creatures, he and Rhodes shared a quick look before immediately following, because that was an utterly confusing conversation and they'd be asking Tony more about it later, at the same time, it seemed a lot like politics maybe? Just, absolutely fucking weird politics. With killing. They moved fast, but he knew Tony and Rhodes were slowing down for him and Stephen. James wasn't accustomed to his increased speed yet, and Stephen wouldn't be able to match them with speed even if James was. Unless... he had magic shoes? Which James would not put it past him to own, although they might make Levi jealous.

Stephen summoned orange disks in both of his hands and seemed utterly unconcerned with the bizarre nature this trip had taken, but then he was the Sorcerer Supreme and often travelled into different dimensions, weird was probably his version of ordinary too. Although James could see Stephen was at least curious when it came to the new information about Tony.

James was mostly caught up on the envelope appearing in snow thing. Did Fae just like to communicate in strange and confusing ways? Wouldn't it get damp? But then, he supposed if Tony letters didn't precisely catch fire... He was probably overthinking this.

Rhodes white fire burst to life, starting at his fingertips and then covering his left arm up to his shoulder, which he had to admit looked quite menacing, whilst he held his iron edged sword in his right. James didn't feel confident enough to add magic into the battle yet, but he noticed that even as they breached the forest, his eyesight was perfect even though it _ should _ be dark. Everything was as clear as day. If anything, he could see better in the shadows. He wondered if that was a side aspect of the Umbrakinesis, like Rhodes' heat vision. 

Tony seemed to directly hunt out the speaker, who had undoubtedly pissed him off, given that he sliced him clean in two in a single slice down the middle, his flesh sizzling and burning on contact with the blade. James had expected Tony to use more magic, but he was focused on the sword in his hands. He wondered if it was a requirement? Or maybe because he didn't have his Scythe.

He didn't get to stare or wonder for long though as one of the creatures launched itself at him from a tree, with two strange, small black blades in his hands. It was much different fighting with a sword in a real fight compared to training, but apart from the strangeness of his opponent, James found it easy to slip into fight-mode. Even if he was holding a sword instead of a gun, battled macabre creatures from ancient fairytales. Their height made things tricky at first, but he found himself adapting quickly.

After a few hits one of the odd weapons the creatures we're wielding shattered like glass, and he was wondering what the fuck it was. Tony's voice slid into his mind again. It surprised him how he was starting to get used to that already. It didn't even make him jump or pause his current fight.

'Obsidian blades, quite popular in Underhill. Obsidian holds a decent edge, nothing like steel, but, well, you've seen what happens when they get near steel. Prone to blunting and shattering if hit correctly. Especially with the poor quality Redcaps utilise.' 

James' blade, whilst not as deleterious as Tony's, was still damned lethal to the creatures. A small slice across one of their arms elicited such screaming that set his nerves on edge so much that he immediately swung for its throat to shut it up. The head came clean off with one swipe. It almost seemed unfair, just being _ near _ their blades slowed the Redcaps down. Tony's strange, black and iron twisted blade cut through them swiftly as Tony moved on to the next before the previous body even hit the dirt. Even as their dead piled up, each Redcap came at them with the same energy instead of turning and running. It made James think the title of Executioner was likely well earned. He idly wondered if that's what Dienyddiwr meant as James took out another. 

What Tony had mentioned about Winter Law, it seemed to bind the Redcaps in battle as much as it did Tony. None even seemed to consider not hurling themselves into the fray, despite being vastly ill-prepared to fight three enhanced individuals carrying iron and the Sorcerer Supreme.

Even with their advantage, the fight was gruelling and didn't let up for a solid 15 minutes as more and more of them just _ kept coming. _ James was convinced that they would have swarmed them if their blades didn't make such short work of them, and reduced the creatures speed and abilities just by proximity. Tony seemed to move faster as the battle progressed, clearly irritated as the chants and sneers of 'King of Iron' seemed to irritate him a lot. James could feel that Tony was dancing on the razor's edge of complete rage even if he wasn't sure _why _ and James was convinced that Tony killed nearly twice as many as the rest of them on his own. More of them attacked Tony too, several at a time, not that it did them any good.

The last one was still alive with Tony's sword through his gut, pinning him to the tree. He could smell its flesh cooking from inside the blade. James was panting slightly as he pulled his sword free from the last Redcap he had felled, Rhodes was sweating slightly too. It had been a definite work out. Even Stephen looked a little out of breath as they all turned to Tony.

"Who. Am. I?"

"King of Iron. King of Wyldfae."

Tony staggered back, wrenching his blade from the Redcap before whipping his sword across its neck as the laughter was abruptly cut off. James had no idea why they seemed to want to piss Tony off so much; they even seemed utterly unconcerned about dying, more focused on calling Tony King of Iron. Which wasn't a title Tony had ever mentioned before. James was sure Tony would have mentioned if he was royalty.

"Come now, Black Scythe. Was this truly necessary?"

James jerked as he quickly glanced around for the source of the voice, a woman's voice that was everything the Redcaps we're not. Perfect and sultry and humming with power and James had no idea where it came from.

Tony turned to his left, even though James still couldn't see anything. Tony obviously knew where the person was so he and Rhodes turned to face the same direction. Tony bowed, with more than a little sarcasm James noted, and he kept his sword in his hand, facing an empty patch of woods. James wasn't sure he knew how a person could now sarcastically, but with bravado, Tony somehow managed it.

Just as James was about to ask what was even happening, an abrupt burst of ice-cold wind whipped around the clearing, plants blackening, freezing and turning to ash as he blinked rapidly, the cold suddenly stinging his eyes despite the previously balmy summer weather. The forest was now bitterly cold, and it had dropped well below freezing. When he managed to open his eyes, a woman was walking through the woods towards them. 

She was stunning, almost _ painfully _ beautiful. Perfect alabaster skin and silver, gleaming hair done up in a complicated fashion, braids wound through with silver wire and shining purple and blue stones. One long, intricate braid hung down on her left-hand side to her waist, also wrapped in silver that continued on several inches, what looked like diamonds catching the sun glinted at the end. Her dress should be getting caught on the bracken, but the deep blue and shimmering purple material seemed to ripple and flow across the ground as if alive. Touching and getting caught on nothing. The arms of the dress seemed to be made of lace at first glance, but the silver glinted like metal. There was a silver etched black leather belt sitting diagonally across her hips, holding a sheath for what James assumed was a medium-sized blade, with a silvered snowflake embossed on the black material of the sheath. A delicate crown that seemed to be somehow crafted from ice and silver rested delicately on her head. He didn't know how he could tell, but she reeked of sheer power and magic. 

"Your majesty, I cleaned up a pest problem. You should be careful, your subjects getting caught encroaching into other dimensions like this? People will talk. My duty as Dienyddiwr is now complete. I no longer am operating under Winter Law."

Tony blasted his sword with white fire before sheathing it with a note of finality that James felt in a pulse of magic that rippled pit around them. The sheath slowly returned to what it looked like initially instead of entirely covered in ice. The top portion melted, revealing the green vines as different coloured small flowers started to bloom in seconds now the ice had retreated to the bottom of the sheath. It was bizarre to watch.

"Hm, I suppose they might. If you had left any to talk that is. That's not usually your style, though, is it?" 

"Under Winter's Law, would you have me leave them alive after they lost?" 

She stepped over one of the bodies with barely a glance as they frosted over, leaving a white trail of thick ice in her wake as she came to stand in front of Tony who was rigid. She inclined her head to Tony, with much more grace than he had used and even dipped lower than Tony had, whilst smirking. Which just happened to piss Tony off for some reason, not that he showed it, but James could feel it through the black fire. 

Which is probably why she did it; see, this was the kind of stuff James had _ expected _ from Fae. Both she and Tony had bowed because respect or rules dictated it so, and to cause offence at the same time, somehow. It was a game of sorts, and James had a sinking feeling that she was winning. He was also pretty sure this was _ Mab. _

"Of course not dear one, as per usual you surpass every expectation we have of you. You hold Winter's Law with grace. Is it truly such a shock that Underhill is calling you? I told you the first time Math sent you to my door that you were wrapped thrice in Fate. Remember, you have only found two of those titles."

James had heard Tony mention Queen Mab before, freezing the _ ice caps, _ that was it. He'd read about her too, the Queen of Darkness, Air and most importantly, Winter. The Unseelie Queen. One of the most powerful creatures that ruled in Underhill. 

James was still trying to puzzle out what was happening overall.

The Redcap had called Tony 'King of Wyldfae', which, he knew tended to be nomadic fae that lived in the 'Seelie, Unseelie and lands beyond'. So, everywhere. Those that weren't pledged to Summer or Winter but were of Seelie land. Sometimes fell under the Crownless Courts of Autumn or Spring, which were mostly used as reserves for war, willing or otherwise. Or they could be wandering Fae who had left their Courts, Lower or Seelie, to wander Underhill. Being in a court was not a requirement, but it was safer, wandering meant you were alone.

Seelie Fae were the first to Underhill, back before Winter formed and there was just Seelie. It was sort of like a class system guiding by power. Seelie Fae were at the very top. Most lower Courts were founded and ruled by a Seelie Fae that had left Seelie Lands.

Wyldfae were originally from Seelie Lands, but they were different from Fae like Mab, they had a wide variety of shapes, forms and powers. Wyldfae tended to be closer to the earth, or water. Nature sprites and the like. But there was too much variety for him to give a general idea of who or what they were. Most Wyldfae were of Spring and Autumn, nomadic, moving around Summer or Winter land. Some travelled further to the lower Courts.

James knew there were more than a few different types of Fae. He also just realised that he didn't actually know if Tony was Seelie or not, he had assumed not given the pure Seelie Fae were the worst affected by Iron. He had come from one of the lower Courts, but that didn't mean he couldn't be Seelie Fae. Given how Mab was speaking to him, it made him reassess that prior assumption. 

Generally, James had only just started reading the section about the Original Seelie Court and the split, and it seemed a confusing mess. Fae were vast, varied and endlessly complicated. They were also an old species with detailed recordings of their history; in other words, there was a ton of it.

Iron though, that was bane-metal. He didn't think that was a Court, Crownless or no. If he remembered correctly, Tony called it the 'Antithesis of a Court'.

"Haven't we had this conversation enough? I cannot be what you wish me to be. I can't take up a court. My Father's Court is in good hands. The Iron Lands are not a Court; they are simply my lands. My heart is too tied to the Firelands to bond. I took the position of Dienyddiwr to represent the Bane. I mastered the blade so I wouldn't be expected to take up a position, that is enough." 

James was taking in a lot of information, but he did not miss the part about his father. Tony definitely had not mentioned his father was a _ king! _

"Yes, we have spoken about that. Titiana does not believe that to be a problem anymore." 

"What? That makes no sense. I have to be of the land to rule it. I cannot be of the land when my heart is bound to another realm. I cannot rule and be Dienyddiwr." 

"Have you been home since your last excursion? The movement of time switched when you were working. You've gained power Black Scythe, it has… affected your lands." 

"No, I have not had time given the coming threat, Johan runs my lands in my absence." 

"But he doesn't have your connection to the land, he can't feel what has changed, but even he sees the difference. Your lands have expanded Black Scythe. They've birthed a Loci. One of Iron that would not mean giving up your blade. In fact, it fits rather perfectly, don't you think? The Seasons are changing. This may even help you in your goals. You would carry the power over to your Firelands." 

Tony looked shocked at that, whilst the three of them stood behind him. Awkwardly, not having the foggiest clue what was going on right now except this icy lady evidently _ wanted _ to make Tony into a king of the metal they were effectively deathly allergic to? Which just sounded _ weird_. 

"That's impossible. You and Titania govern the size of my lands." 

"We thought so too, but your lands have now reached a point that they're on par with Winter and Summer. Without our influence. You seemed to have amassed enough power to cause a Loci to be born upon Seelie Lands, for the first time since the Great War ended. You are forming a True Court. You have garnered enough power to rule _ from _ the Firelands. There is now Seelie, Unseelie and Bane." 

"What if I don't want to rule? I don't have a Father or Son to complete a Triad. There is no Father of Iron, and my mother cannot tolerate the metal. The Loci is probably for Spring, or Autumn, let the people come and test themselves. I will grant them entry." 

"That is most peculiar, but then the Iron Lands have always held a _ different _ magic, as you know. Even to Seelie territories. So few people can even use it; few can even sense it! Let alone master it as you have done. It has already reached out. We are sure of it because of how your lands are changing. Have you noticed any difference to your powers? It may be a Loci born of Seelie Lands, but it was never going to follow in the footsteps of Winter or Summer. We are Polar's. You are Balance."

Mab shrugged as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Tony still seemed unaffected, but he and Rhodes knew otherwise.

"Neither me nor Titania can approach this Loci. We cannot get close enough even to attempt communication. I do believe it works differently. You could form an alliance with both myself and Titiana. We have both discussed it at length as your lands expanded, we believe you could bring... Stability to the land. Balance. Bridge the gulf so to speak. The Coblynau have pledged to you already, as have the Gwylion, the Gwragedd Annwn, the Bwbachod... Need I go on?"

"The Wyldfae have never had, nor needed a King of their own. They either pledge to Summer or Winter in times of war or traverse to the other Courts. The Wyldfae Kings of Summer and Winter are enough for them. Why change now?"

"Times are changing.."

Why that, out of everything seemed to cause a physical blow to Tony, he had no idea. 

"What does the Erlking think of this? What about the King of Winter? The Wyldfae Kings can't be impressed with one such as myself being named King of Wyldfae. Given that I am not."

"Oh my sweet, don't go looking for quarter there. They were the first to notice, and approve. You're well-liked amongst Wyldfae, you always have been. The Magic of Autumn and Spring might be found after all this time. We had thought them lost in the blood of war. Now, they may be returning already, and they could be seeking a home. Have they already reached out to you?

"Take up the Crown, Dienyddiwr." 

"No." 

"If you do not, war will break out. The Stone Table sits precariously close to your borders. If you do not claim it for a third of the year, if you do not bring it behind your walls, there will be true war between the Seelie Courts over who holds it in your stead. You will force Summer and Winter to fight over who holds the table during your time. Whoever wins will then hold it for 2/3rds of the year. Destroying the careful balance we have maintained since the call to end the war.

"Come now, Balance, you understand what this will do to the Lower Courts. It is our duty to protect them. This won't just shatter the Seelie balance, but every Court in all the Lands of Underhill and those we govern beyond. Well, except maybe the Court of The Final Word." 

"You are putting the entire balance of Underhill on me? Why?" 

"It was always coming to this. Did you think you were just the Balance of the Firelands? _ We _ named you thus. _ Not _ the Fragile Creatures. You were named under the declaration of Seelie and Unseelie Fae. By Winter and Summer Law. By the Will of the Lower Courts. 

"Underhill named you _Dienyddiwr._

_"Underhill named you Balance. _

"Now, Thrice fate, Underhill names you _King. _

"King of Iron. Wyldfae name you King of Autumn and Spring. Bound together, the Three become a Baneseelie Court, on par with Winter and Summer. Come now, don't be so naive. It doesn't suit you." 

With that, there was a burst of ice old wind around them, and she was gone. Tony was staring at the patch of land she had stood upon. The vegetation was frozen. Tony slowly knelt in front of it, more tentative that he'd seen the man ever be, his hand was shaking slightly as he reached out, he closed his eyes as he laid his hand in the middle. Black Fire flickered across his hands and the blackened vegetation sprouted in a peculiar mixture of new blooms and what looked like berries from the previously dead bracken. It was an unusual mixture but quite beautiful. James didn't know all of Tony's abilities, but he'd never seen him do this before.

It took a few seconds before Tony opened his eyes and stared at what he'd done in shock which James found weird, he must have known he could do it before he touched the ground? James could feel the shock of it spread through their fire. Tony was also staring at it as if it was the most astonishing or terrifying thing he had ever seen.


	60. History. Of Deals, Debts and Domain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did someone request some History? XD

**James POV**

The three of them stepped through the portal back to Tony's apartment, Stephen yelled for Tony to come by the Sanctum later as he had the scrolls he had been looking for and a few other items too. Tony was pretty out of it, so he and Rhodes had told the Sorcerer they'd tell Tony when he was more aware. Tony dropped down on the sofa, running a hand across his face. 

"Why are Faerie Queens _ always _ meddling in my life?" 

Rhodes started putting together some plates of leftovers whilst he made coffee and James sat near Tony cleaning the two iron touched black blades. He doubted boiled blood was good for them, after all. 

He'd just finished the second one as Rhodes brought over three large plates and they encouraged Tony to eat. His actions were more mechanical than anything, but at least he ate. 

"Fuck, what am I going to do? Why can't these things happen separately for a change? Why is it always a cluster fuck? Just one bad guy to kill at once. Is that so much to ask for?" 

"What you do is up to you Tones, not that I have half a clue what you guys were even talking about, but the scary ice lady can't force you to do this… can she?" 

"She's not forcing me. She's just... The messenger. Owning Land Underhill is a tricky, nebulous thing. Where people set up shop, Courts tend to.. _ Grow _ around them. It's a natural thing inherent to our species. Guided by the most influential presence, people gather. The tipping point between owning Land and Holding Court is when the Land grows sentience, it and the ruler gains from it, from each other, it's a mutually beneficial relationship. The Land becomes a Loci. Then it entreats the Foci of its choice to enter a space it creates to bond. Simplistically, the Land chooses someone; they agree or deny the bond. Denying is tricky in some cases, but it requires consent at some stages. That's where the Crowns come into play. No one but the Foci can put the crown on, or take it off for that matter.

"This is precisely why I never took up Lands, I was completely nomadic like the Wyldfae, but I'm _ not _ Wyldfae. I chose to separate from the Courts even though I had several titles I was born into under different Courts and several others earned by wit, mastery or naming. I gave them up to travel after I finished most of my apprenticeships. The Trí Dé Dána, Gods of Craftsmanship, is the only title I maintained when I left. As a rule, they choose a Court and remain there. Aligning themselves with the rulers, it's a prestigious position, not far below that of Prince/cess, but it is _ earned _ rather than given at birth, so in some ways, it is higher. But I had no interest in becoming indebted to a singular Court. Sure, I've sided with a few in battles, I've apprenticed at many, but I _ never _ truly aligned myself to just one Court. I never stayed. I have never taken up a royal commission. Never took debt from a court that required me to stay. Always on the move. The position I eventually took up as Dienyddiwr specifically precludes me from, it or from regaining my old titles."

"So, what changed?" 

James knew a bit about Tony's Land, but he was generally always after new information about Underhill, so he waited for Tony to answer Rhodes' question.

"I found Land that no one wanted, that many couldn't even approach, but was already claimed, owned and bonded. Land poisoned by Bane-metal. Territory fraught with blood and conflict. The border between Summer and Winter. My dominion over such Lands was why I finally agreed to attempt the tasks required to obtain the official position of Dienyddiwr, of Bane, because no one else had mastered those Lands before. It made Arawn believe that I could do it, which would bring back a little of the magic lost from our original home.

"Dienyddiwr is the Executioner of Underhill. Also known as Bane because of how vulnerable many Fae are to Bane. It's a complex process and requires neutrality to the Courts of which I agreed to work with, which precludes me from taking up a crown. It was why I embarked upon the journey to create and master the Llafn y Dienyddiwr. Not an easy task, but it means certain Queens would leave me be with their constant meddling to have me gain a crown. At least that was the plan. I did not account for my Lands becoming the Iron Lands. A Crown of Bane would make me the physical representation of Bane. Like we are Fire, I would become Bane, which apparently would not affect my duties. Mab likely sees it as the next logical step."

He stretched before leaning back, still staring ahead, but some of the rigid posture was beginning to bleed away as he spoke. The Fae he noticed liked speaking of history, stories and falling into a familiar pattern was relaxing Tony. 

"A little bit of history of Underhill? The most powerful Seelie were the first to gain entrance to Underhill, a silent Land, with one sentient life form. No one had been able to enter Underhill since time immemorial, yet a Seelie Queen opened a door, and Underhill requested little from us, she was dying, because Underhill requires magic to thrive. All she asked in return for allowing us to settle, that we be free with our magic. This deal is one of the reasons the magic users of my kind seem to be much more powerful than magic users in other Lands. Magic, and its use, is essentially a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger you get. The more we used, the stronger Underhill got, the more she grew, the more she gifted back to us, and the stronger we became. It is a symbiotic relationship that is in a constant feedback loop. Underhill lives and breathes magic. Now, back to that first Seelie Queen that struck the very first Deal and Debt of Underhill.

"With that Deal, every Fae that would be born would hold part of it, carry it with us at our core, and Underhill would deem every Fae her child. This had a knock-on effect that any Loci born of Underhill was now Fae. Over time, Underhill herself began to change too. No one knows what she was before, but we see her as Fae.

"That Queen travelled Underhill, nourishing her as she went, imploring others to join her. My species was nomadic and had been for a very, very long time when we made our deal with Underhill. We travelled so much we lost our home. We have only a few artefacts from that Land. Many books detail more of what is lost than what we retained. They had travelled so long, and they _ longed _ to settle. That first Queen wandered for many years through the many different places of Underhill, more and more joining her until she reached The Edge of Underhill and found it beautiful. A weakness to Fae will always be beautiful things, and there is barely any place of Underhill that is not stunning. 

"So, eventually, she settled, a Court formed around her, and a Seelie Loci was born. That was The Great Seelie Court. The First Court of Underhill. She ruled over Seelie Lands, the Lands of her Loci, but also over the entirety of Underhill due to her relationship with Underhill herself.

"Others joined, different Fae from all over, including other species that had begun to follow us. Underhill was happy as she had been lonely and our species and those that had followed us, fully settled. More Courts formed all over Underhill as Fae wandered and settled, these are known as the Lower Courts. They are Kingdoms in their own right, a Loci bonded with a Foci, very powerful. Seelie Lands, however, are vaster, and more connected to Underhill herself, as such the Seelie Crown has more power than the Lower Courts. The Stone Table rests in Seelie Lands. Seelie Queens push more magic into Underhill. It's all part of a delicate balance.

"The Great Seelie Court ruled for many millennia, Queens changing seamlessly and Underhill thrived as we expanded, until one year, after the reigning Queen passed, her twin daughters, The Seelie Ladies, quarrelled over who should visit the Foci first. Usually, there is only one Lady and the other Princesses beneath. Purely because of this. Both wanted the Crown. Both wanted to bond with the Loci. Both had an equal claim. Their mother had not made a decision before she passed to be The Queen that Was, and after the Queen moves into that position, she cannot control the Queen that Is.

"Factions were drawn. The Seelie Court split down the middle. No one remembers exactly what sparked the fire between the two sisters, but Fae are a passionate species. High born Seelie are even more so. The Call to War spread across Underhill.

"Seelie Lands had once been a Land of changing seasons, of four elements and four seasons of magic. Flowing freely and switching seamlessly. This was the first thing to suffer during the war as the sides battled over the Loci. The seasons began to pull to each side like magnets—Summer to one side, Winter to the other. In the beginning, Spring and Autumn had created a barrier… tried to soften the clashing magic. Tried to stop the bloodshed as the Wyldfae who favoured those seasons didn't want to fight. As things progressed, that barrier thinned and thinned, the Wyldfae were drafted against their will and forced to Winter or Summer. The fighting continued until one day there was only Summer and Winter left. The magic of Autumn and Spring was lost on the cries of Wyldfae as their magic diminished under the loss of Earth and Water.

"Even that didn't stop the warring sisters. The fighting continued until it even ripped the Land asunder. The fighting spread amongst the Lower Courts. Those loyal to one Sister fought those loyal to the other. War in Seelie land always spreads.

"The further it went, the more apparent it became that a single Loci could never hope to bridge the gap. So much blood had been spilt, so much magic had been cast, so much death upon the Land. During a particularly nasty conflict, deep in the Lands of what is now Winter. In a crucible of ice, blood and pure survival, a new Loci was born. An Unseelie Loci. That became everything Winter embodied. The border immediately snapped into place. Pushing the Seelie border back and forming a magical barrier where the two Loci met. That border now moves with the dominant season, which is essential. You heard Mab mention The Stone Table? It's an _ extremely _ powerful magical artefact. It makes even the Crowns of Underhill look like a party trick. Native to Underhill, gifted to the first Queen when she settled, it is the most powerful artefact in Underhill.

"Once at the heart of Seelie Land, it now is in a position that when the seasons tick over, it changes hands. When Winter gives way to Summer, for example, the Stone Table becomes under Summer's control. With a touch, it is transported to the capital until the season comes near its end, which it will return to the border for Winter to lay claim.

"It is vitally important the transition happens as it is vital that Summer and Winter always be balanced when it comes to power. I continuously feel it when I am there. I am Balance in Underhill, so I can feel the delicate balance of many Courts, but Summer and Winter are the strongest. They are poised continuously upon a knife-edge. Anything Summer gains, Winter must also gain. Anything one loses, the other must match. It's why a true war between Summer and Winter will never end, will just continue and rage and burn until the entirety of Underhill burns with it. There can be no single winner as they are too evenly matched, if one did win? The chaos would span every realm Underhill touches.

"The split of the Great Court sent pulses of magic and fluctuations throughout all of Underhill and every Land of which Fae Magic ruled paramount—causing changes. In Underhill, it caused all of the Lower Courts bar one to be pulled together into pairs. Whether competitive or cooperative. As of now, there are 15 Lower Courts of Underhill. Seven Pairs and The Court of the Final Word. On Seelie Land, there are two Courts. Summer and Winter. Of Autumn and Spring, these are referred to as the Crownless Courts. The magic is lost; they have no leader. The Wyldfae are unfortunately left to fend for themselves, pledge to Summer or Winter, or occasionally drafted into war by their joined Court. Summer takes Spring. Winter takes Autumn. They are represented by the Wyldfae Kings of Summer and Winter.

"Now, more relevant. The newly carved Seelie border just happened to split across a vast vein of bane-metal, iron. Pure enough that it saps most magic, _ especially _ Fae magic, before you even get close. So it was avoided back when the Court was whole, and now a dangerous border had been added…? Volatile magic leftover from the war sank into the stone. Few people dared to venture close. Even the Trí Dé Dána, Bane Touched Fae, had to get permission from both Courts to extract the metal, which was hard when you're bound to a Court that usually has a side of Summer or Winter. 

"The iron itself only runs around a quarter of the way along the border, from the Bane Mountain, stretching out. Thinner at the end, barely a hands worth at the end, but at the Mountain alone, there is more Iron than on Earth. As I mentioned, I was nomadic. I gave up my titles except that of Trí Dé Dána so that I could wander. I gathered a few titles in my travels, was named and pledged, but they did not bind me to a Court like my previous titles had. I rejected any that did. Mab eventually put forth the naming of Balance. It was a Millennia after I had crafted my blade as she noticed my skill for reading and understanding Underhill, that's a different story for another day. For now, these are True Titles. Even titles have hierarchy in Underhill. For example, a name the Wyldfae give me would rank beneath Balance as it originated from a Seelie Queen. I have two of these titles. Mab has always told me I was fated for three.

"So, as I was not bound to a Court, it was much easier for me to gain extraction grants than others, I could speak to Titania and Mab without debt, without owing allegiance to either or being bound beneath Seasonal Law. I didn't belong to a Court pledged to one or the other. My debt was perfectly balanced to both Queens. 

"After my Apprenticeship with Math, I'd become well known to Mab and she, of course, introduced me to Titania. Which is about as terrifying as you can imagine, I hadn't even gained my Blade then. I had no Seelie titles as I had given everything up. I was also quite young. So, I just blurted out my request to mine the bane, they found my bravery interesting and decided to see what I would do. I then worked out deals with each Queen. Even when I was a kid I've had a knack for deals even compared to my kind."

Tony laughed at that part whereas James was pretty floored. He thought that it sounded quite fairy tail like, but then it kind of was?

"Mab wanted a maze in Arctis Tor and that I join her for breakfast three times. Titania had me craft an obsidian blade edged in Iron for her knight and three Obsidian blades for her personal guard. The deals for each grant we're different each time, but Mab _ always _ requested I join her for breakfast.

"Any cost, no matter how bizarre, or terrifying, was generally offset by what I made in return for doing a service few could. I was working in my mind when I first discovered Atronach. I had seen the stone before, Mab had a disc in the table at the centre of Arctis Tor, the table was a real-time map of Underhill, and it only worked because of this small disk, and I just found tonnes of it. Atronach feels good to magic users too, and I absolutely wanted to get more of it.

"I then petitioned Mab and Titania to set up a camp in order to mine the stone. Until then, only very small, minuscule quantities had been gathered at random. So, I began to both remove iron from the Land, continually increasing my skill at working magic on it. Mab is right on that, the few that can tolerate Bane don't even come close to my level of mastery over it. I believe the Blue Fire is the cause. It altered my magic at the fundamental level. Bane saps magic, but it also stores it, _ changes _ it. I learned how to work with it. To release it.

"Steadily, I began to supply those who could work it with Bane, and provided Atronach to those who wanted it, which was pretty much _ everyone. _ I went from a low-level nomadic debt gatherer to a highly prestigious position practically overnight from the first day it became known I had Atronach. People were willing to trade a lot for the precious stone. A few other things added to my reputation. That I had dealt with Seelie Queens and got them to _ agree, _ that I had tamed Land that few had stood on and lived. Which was useful as I had a number of people under my protection, not an easy feat for a Fae without Lands in a place as precocious as Underhill that's as fickle and devious as any Fae. 

"I began spending enough time there that I eventually got fed up of sleeping on rocks or in tents all the time, my people were close, but many could not remain directly with me because of the Iron. Which put them at risk. When I was with them, I could protect them. Gathered and alone? They were vulnerable. Even on Land considered mine. I petitioned both of the Queens to rent an equal amount of Land from each, taking my claim over all Bane Land and extending it. An amount was agreed upon, balanced from Summer and Winter, my innate sense of balance helped a lot there, even before I was named I felt it you see. I then charmed my borders to shift with the seasons. I laid my walls to protect my people. Charmed them, so they shifted with my boundaries. I have a stockpile of Atronach on hand, so my wall mostly governs itself. Enough of my Land was now away from the Iron so that my people could _ finally _ settle. Especially those who were Seelie.

"We built homes for my people, and then I focused on my holdings. My forges, mines and finally my house. Only when no one in my Lands was sleeping beneath the Seelie Sky did I build my house. As time went on, I collected a few more people. Some travelled and requested to settle in my lands. I could take more in now I had the higher levels of debt to leverage and the Lands to shield them. In return, many began to work the land with me, for the few that could tolerate iron, and as I expanded more, for those who couldn't. It's small, but it's home, even if I cannot remain there for long before I must return to the Firelands, here. I have enough power to govern from here, and that is _ known." _

The way Tony practically growled the last part, James wondered if before that was known, someone attacked his Lands, or his people maybe?

"My territory is mostly mocked by some Courts or people as a refuge for the unwanted, the broken and un-bound. Others respect that I achieved something that many Fae thought impossible. Which is a _ big deal _ as with magic, few things are truly impossible. Also, being the _ only _ source of Atronach, the _ only _ source of Underhill Bane-metal, being one of the few Fae who could wield magic upon it, and the only currently living Fae to successfully pull magic _ from _ it, _ and _ having successfully leveraged Land along one of the most dangerous strips of Land Underhill? It put me in a very powerful position, despite my vocal opposition to it. I just wanted to keep my people safe, cast and build. All this was before I even finished crafting this blade, which gained me my first True Title of Underhill. Way before Mab decided my gift for sensing the Balance of Underhill earned me my second.

"This wasn't well-liked by some, I had given up titles and earned something different, something stronger, proving many things at the same time. One being that not even Bane Mountain, not the Seelie Border would stop me if I were set on a goal. So in retaliation, some Fae mocked my Lands as the 'Iron Lands' and me, 'Lord of Iron', The 'Bane-Metal Lord'. Especially a particular Court I have a declared enmity against."

Tony rolled his eyes at that, clearly not caring about the titles that were given in jest or cruelty. James was kind of caught on the fact Tony was apparently enemies with an entire Court, and he just slipped that in there. Like, no big deal! James was starting to get the feeling Tony was a lot more important in Underhill than they had even conceived. More important than Tony himself seemed to realise or accept.

"That sounds like the kind of thing you'd do, Tones. Collecting people and giving them a home. I won't pretend to understand how this Land works fully, but I think I get the idea, so how does all _ 'that', _ end up with you being a King?" 

"It _ shouldn't_. Technically I'm not a King yet. I'm possibly in the beginning stages where the Land has chosen me as it's Foci, it is reaching out. The Gift of First Powers is offered, and apparently, in the form of the lost magics, which is a huge deal, I can't say this enough, and I know I keep repeating it, it's something we Seelie Fae had deemed truly impossible, it was our penance for the war. The ball is now in my Court, to accept or reject and face the consequences of whichever choice. Maybe... Maybe it isn't an Iron Loci. If it's Spring and Autumn, I could open up my Land, find a person I approve of and present them to the Land. If it is Iron, then things are complicated."

"Why is it more complicated?"

"Loci of Underhill are generally pleased with the strongest person, the highest concentration of magic. It means a good bonding, both sides gain, and more magic is cast for Underhill to thrive. Seelie Land is _ different. _ It can only be settled upon my highborn Seelie Fae with at least a few desperate types of mastered magic. They need to be powerful before they approach the Loci, or the bonding will kill them. There is much more power inherent to Seelie Land. Especially after the war with how much magic, blood and death was laid into the Land. If a Fae who didn't have an exceptionally strong mastery of magic attempted to bond with a Seelie Loci, they would be torn apart by it. Nearly all Seelie Fae are the most vulnerable to Bane. The Blue Fire set me apart.

"The few Seelie Fae considered to have some degree of tolerance, that are the lowest ranks of Bane-Touched, they still blister on contact, and that is seen as 'remarkable tolerance' for Seelie Fae. None in that group are Highborn. If the Loci is Iron? They would need to climb an Iron Mountain. Enter an Iron cave and bond with a soul made from the purest form of Iron and then essentially become it. That's without taking into account the high levels of magic that will tear many Fae apart because they cannot contain it. Adding Iron to a Seelie Loci definitely complicates matters. Maybe I could talk them into accepting a Foci that isn't a Highborn Seelie Fae…"

"Ah, okay, that sounds dangerous and frankly terrifying."

James found himself nodding and agreeing with Rhodes. That did not sound pleasant. Also, Tony didn't look remotely convinced that he could talk the Loci into accepting someone else if it was Iron based.

"The amount of power involved in making a King or Queen of Underhill is always going to carry risk. A Loci is acutely aware of this. It's why people tend to allow the Loci to choose the Foci. It's all well and good desiring that power, the Loci is usually the best at telling who will survive and thrive.

"This just should not be happening at all. Loci are born on empty, unclaimed Land. Half my Land is Summer. Half is Winter. Well, mostly, it fluctuates minutely with the seasons. I pay for it, like the Queens are my landlords. I can't live on the Land long enough for it to be truly mine, even if I wasn't renting claimed Land. I can't bond with it as I'd have to keep leaving, Loci are _ very _ picky with whom they bond. Even if I _ could _ bond with a Loci, there are only two Genius Loci in the Seelie Lands, one for Winter and one for Summer. If a third has been born, a Seelie Loci born for the first time since the Call for Peace? That's a _ big deal. _"

He sat back in the chair, looking at the ceiling as if it held the answers he craved. 

"I think the problem started with people naming me. By naming me Lord, it… must have started something, something I did not notice. Possibly because I had to keep returning to the Firelands. Maybe because I kept spending time in the cycles, I just didn't feel it changing. I didn't see it.

"I did not think it even mattered! As neither Mab nor Titania named me Lord! _ If _ I was under the lower Courts, I could be a Lord without the Foci's blessing based upon my power and debt level alone. I had enough sway with the titles I'd given up easily to claim back such a low position with ease. If not that, I had enough power and debt to lay claim. Seelie Lands, however, are much more complicated than the other Courts, there is much more power, in everything, the titles, the Land, their Crowns, their Loci, the Seasons they hold are _ Law. _

"There is a _ reason _ my sheath is half Summer and half Winter, with only aspects of the lower Courts.

"The Queens hold the Law. Hold the Seasons within. So, no matter who called me Lord, I couldn't actually _ be _ one unless both Winter and Summer both agreed upon it, and as they're polarities, that generally doesn't happen. A grant for extraction and renting Land is one thing. Laying claim to a title means I'm laying claim to some of the Power in the Land, that power would come from the Queens. Plus, they would _ never _ do it for _ free_. Mab would never slip the opportunity to have me do something, she's quite enamoured with my mazes and oddly invested in me. I have no idea why.

"It made protecting people easier, so I just went along with it, I never directly claimed the title, but I did not reject others naming me. The Queens never stepped in to stop me, nor spoke an edict that I was not a Lord upon Seelie Lands. I thought that was that. But that's the problem with Underhill though. It is a place of thought. A fickle, lonely, capricious place. I guess that enough people started _ actually _ seeing me as a Lord of Iron. That they began to believe it. Enough subjects of Summer and Winter began to believe. That maybe it pushed Mab and Titania to _ start _ believing it. If enough subjects of a Court believe something, it can affect the Foci directly. 

"Enough of the Crownless Courts might have come to believe it too. That the Wyldfae began to see me as more than what they had previously named me. That it might have set something in motion when enough Seelie and Wyldfae upon Seelie Land began to believe, other races wouldn't have had the same effect as even a single Seelie Fae, but it could be just enough to tip over. I just can't be sure without visiting. I can rule from here, but I need to stand upon the Land to feel the balance. Underhill is too complex to analyse from this far. Until you bond with a Loci, the only place it can speak is the space it creates after it's birth to lure the Foci.

"A few people have been bugging me to take a position of authority in Underhill for millennia. Especially Mab. She's always been invested in me even though I am unsure as to _ why. S_he originally proposed the title of Balance after a few incidents. I thought she would lose interest after I constructed and mastered the Llafn y Dienyddiwr. Instead, it had the opposite effect. 

"I only took the position of Balance because several Foci were invested in the idea of me holding power in Underhill after I mastered the Llafn y Dienyddiwr. I thought it was just because family wished me as bound to home as I was bound to the Firelands, but I wonder now if it is more than that. Mab is correct that Fae named me Balance, Underhill accepted that title, not Earth. Titles and names are more significant in Underhill, and you both know how much power they can hold here. They're magic and power. They're mantles, like becoming a Reaper. Mab made the petition to Underhill for that name which gave it a little extra oomph. For my first title, when Arawn approached me with the position of Dienyddiwr, I was sceptical. It has been a lost position, mostly spoken of in legends from our lost home. 

"The challenge of forging the blade interested me, and I had collected many of the requisite parts already without realising it. After the blade was forged, Mab and Titania found out somehow and backed Arawn's claim. Several other Courts threw in too, which meant a lot of magic was pushing me to finish the ritual. That it meant I could never hold a position above Lord was what pushed me to finish it. I survived and completed the tasks and requisite travelling, took a few hundred years in all, which was a good time. Mab beat Titania on a bet over it. The position precludes any Court loyalty to any but Bane. Which is not a true Court; it is the antithesis of a Court. The opposing force of Seelie magic. So, I figured that would be the end of it."

"You do seem to attract chaos Tones. Do you believe the Ice lady that this Loci is Iron?"

"Possibly. Even the _ idea _ that a Genius Loci has been birthed for the first time on Seelie Land since the Great War… people should be flocking to attempt to bond with it. There should be huge gatherings, contests, everything. That they're not…? It has me thinking the truly impossible may have come to pass, that it isn't a Loci of Spring or Autumn. It's a Loci of _ Iron, _ and it has _ somehow _ taken Spring and Autumn as adjuncts. That it has potentially brought the lost magics back to Underhill after all this time? That is remarkable. Likely in order to amas equal Power to Winter and Summer. Iron alone cannot balance the megalithic powers of Winter or Summer. But Genius Loci are Fae themselves and are very vulnerable to bane-metal. _ Especially _ Seelie Loci.

"Out of the very few that I can think of, those who could _ potentially _ survive, most are bonded already, comfortable in their chosen Courts under their commissions, or they just aren't Seelie enough, or they don't have bloodlines that would attract a Seelie Loci. Even amongst the Iron Touched, I've always had an… exceptional level of tolerance for it. Especially for a mixed Seelie Fae like myself. I have Blood from Summer and Winter. I'm also not only able to touch Iron and craft it, I'm able to work magic into it, _ and I'm _able to work the magic _ inherent _ to Iron. The man I first apprenticed under said he had little drive to rule, so why would he ever want his own lands? I'm the odd one out, and it was mostly accidental. I didn't intend to build up what I have. Most power I've obtained has been because I was _ avoiding _ power or protecting people, same with my minor titles."

Rhodes laughed at that as James scratched his head, trying to think back to what he'd read about the Courts. There were many, spread out, but he knew that the Seelie Court and the split of Summer and Winter was obviously important. James also figured that if there were Fae that could handle Iron, like Tony, although extremely rare, then why not one of the Loci? Tony said that Loci were essentially Fae, it made sense that there would be a variety of them? Right now he was wondering about how shocked Tony had been when he'd touched the ground.

"Why did you look so shocked when you fixed the trees?" 

Tony leaned on him, back to his cat habits again pushing his forehead into his shoulder, which James preferred over the 'staring into space' thing whilst reciting history. Even if Rhodes was smirking at what he assumed was the dopey smile on his face. 

"That's because it's not my power. I might have Summer and Winter heritage, but I've _ never _ reached into seasonal magic. My parents had both left Summer and Winter before they even met, I've never belonged to a Seelie Court, I just have the correct bloodline. Even if I had, I could not reach the lost magic. I was expecting nothing to happen, bar minor frostbite. Mab said the lost magic _ might _ be seeking a home. She was hinting it was trying to reach out to me so... I reached back.

"That was the combined magic of Spring and Autumn. Not entirely, just a taste of power the Loci is offering to tempt me. Bonding is like everything else in Underhill. It's a deal. It clearly seems to like what I have done to the Land it was birthed upon. There is enough of my magic worked into the stone of the Land that it has a sense of me. So it is potentially offering me a taste of the lost magic to lure me to the table. Magic no one has felt in so long, it was gone long before I was born, but like I said, every Seelie Fae is born with the pain of its loss as our penance, and now...

"It could be a trick from Mab. But I doubt it. Not about something as serious as this. She has never been one to play tricks around me anyway, preferring to work together when it comes to that. I shouldn't be able to summon magic from the Crownless Courts. No one of Underhill can. That I can? Even such a small taste? It is not something I can ignore. Not something any Fae could ignore. I can still feel it too. It's hard to explain, something we are born knowing the loss of. Something we mourn the loss of and pay penance for, is now in my scope..." 

"What does all this mean?" 

Rhodes seemed irritated at the whole thing, that Tony was having move dumped at his door. James felt for Tony; he was stressed and definitely in shock with what had happened. Even if speaking about the history of Underhill had calmed him, brought his equilibrium back with the story, James could see that Tony was still shaken.

"I don't know. I still can't stay there for protracted periods of time. I still must serve The Balance in all realms. I still have to live on Earth and keep returning. I can't just return to Underhill like my kin. The Genius Loci should not want to bond with me. I'm a bad option. Let alone to start the process without me even _ being _ there."

"Why do you get two seasons? Is it just because Summer and Winter are so strong?" 

James was mostly wondering about that, the order for Summer and Winter was Season, Element and Power. Winter, Air, Darkness. That seemed to be muddled up for Tony. Iron was first, which appeared to be the equivalent of Light and Dark.

"At a guess? Both are borders for Summer and Winter, and my Land is half Summer, half Winter. The Summer half might have turned to Spring, the Winter half changing to Autumn. They're lesser powers compared to the immense powers of Summer and Winter. They are nomadic Courts, no rulers. The Crownless Courts. Wyldfae Courts instead of Seelie Fae. They were seen as reserves for War mostly, something few Wyldfae appreciate, and I've worked to protect those I could over the years throughout several conflicts. To draft Law to put a stop to unjust Calls to Arms. Even together, they aren't on par with Summer or Winter. Even when the Seelie Court was whole, the magic of Spring and Autumn could not rival Summer nor Winter alone.

"Seelie Monarchs Have a Power, an Element and a Season. Mab, for instance, is Darkness, Air and Winter. Titania is Light, Fire and Summer. Leaving the potential of Iron, Earth, Water, Spring and Autumn to balance the equation."

He slipped an arm around Tony, pulling him down to his chest. He came easily, pushing himself closer as James carded his fingers through his hair. Trying to give Tony something good to focus on whilst Rhodes carried on asking questions. 

"What did you mean about a dad and son? I get the son, but I'm guessing you have a dad? Why do you need them to be King?"

"He died, nearly four millennia ago now, in the final battle before the Exodus. He was of Summer before he left, and eventually, a Court formed around him, The Court of Peaceful Days. Now it is ruled by King Dagda. It has done well, once a warring Court that is governed by peace now. Dagda is a good King, even if he tried to convince me to take up his Lands. He is not too dissimilar to what Thor has the potential to be in a few millennia I suspect. The Seelie Courts, however, are fundamentally different from the Lower Courts. Each Court has a Foci, often a King or Queen but not always. But there is _ more _ to Seelie Courts. More power. More complications.

"The Seelie Courts are ruled by Triads. Individual Triads, not a Fae with three sides like mother. Summer and Winter were once related, back during the first split, but so much time has passed, different families have taken root, there is no longer shared blood between the Seasons. The differences between Summer and Winter are distinct on sight now. You saw how pale Mab was? Winter is pale and silver. Summer is generally more tanned and golden, more so than me as I'm a mix.

"So, Each Seelie Court has three rulers. 

"The Queen Who Was. 

"The Queen Who Is. 

"The Queen Who Is Yet to Come. 

The Queens Who Were, are Mother Summer and Mother Winter are the eldest, referred to only by their titles and are _ utterly terrifying. _ They're pure forces of nature and magic. 

"Then you have the actual Queens. Mab, who you've met, and her counterpart, Titania. They're the active rulers. They're the Foci bonded with the Land. 

"Beneath them, you have Lady Summer, Aramaya and Lady Winter, Laerin. 

"There is a King of each Court, but they're Wyldfae, not Seelie. It's not like a human King and Queen. The idea of marrying and becoming a monarch is not a concept Underhill understands. The highest title you can gain by birth or marriage, not of skill or bonding, is Prince or Princess. The Seasonal Kings are entirely independent of the Foci, with a nature that is opposite to the Queen Who Is."

"Well, that sounds complicated as fuck. Then its Fae, it would be confusing if you had a straight forward system."

Rhodes looked like he had eaten a lemon which James did not find hilarious at all.

"Hmm, this is a condensed version too. Also, you humans have a far more confusing layout of your leaders if you look at it. We have a Foci that bonds with the Loci, occasionally with a support network of some kind that is linked to the Foci. Simple. If a ruler is found to be acting purely in self-interest and _against_ the will of the Fae and Land, either those that live on the land deal with it, or I am requested. Much simpler than human politics."

"That... was not menacing at all."

James couldn't help laughing at Tony's ease of being terrifying and Rhodes deadpan delivery.

"I'm not even getting into Winter and Summer Law, you had a small glimpse of Winter Law today, when I'm called against subjects of Winter, I act in accordance with Winter Law. I am as tied to it in that moment as if I was a subject of Winter. It is that powerful that I cannot deviate despite not being pledged to Winter. Under Winter Law, Survival is crucial, which is why I had to kill all of the redcaps. If I allowed one to live that had not bested me in combat, I would be in breach of Winter Law, which would then turn upon me and make me fight for my own survival. Summer operates differently, but never think of them in human terms of good and evil. The crime the redcaps committed that called me to action wasn't so much the deaths, but being caught. The Queens carry the Law with them at all times as a physical presence. 

"You also have the Knights, which are humans gifted with Seasonal Power, and there are Hospitality Codes or Old World Code of Conduct... You get the idea. Many Courts are _ tricky _ places, the Seelie and Unseelie Courts take that to whole new levels. It's why I rarely visit any Court. Even those of which I hold sway. It's annoying, and boring and I'm _ good _ at the game. Mother, of course, finds my irritation amusing. Apparently Neit, my father was the same. He fled Summer because he was fed up with his titles and wanted to wander, ditching his Prince titles, and several others, he started a Warband and did quite well for himself. Mother thinks that he settled in once place for too long that the land responded to his presence. He went to sleep one night, and awoke to the land offering its side of the deal. Entreating him to bond. He spent a week finding others to offer to the land as Foci, but it rejected every person. After he realised his people and the land were hoping he would accept, he found himself King."

"So it isn’t just you who accidentally finds themselves a King then?"

"No, it is a process that has a person chosen that is good for the people and the land. No one wants to repeat the Great War. With people quarrelling over a Loci and tearing the Land apart with their selfish desires."

"I'm guessing telling them to get lost isn't going to work?" 

James is pretty sure he knows what the answer will be, going on what Tony has told them so far, but he asks anyway. If Tony had an easy way out of this, he wouldn't be talking as he currently was.

"There has been... Well, it's not peace, but it's as close as it's been since the Seelie split. The table has passed back and forth seamlessly. Titania and Mab are… not quite friends, but they are on good terms. They occasionally meet for brunch, which I was invited too once, after my appointment. It's up there in my top five most terrifying experiences in my entire life.

"Any skirmishes since the Call for Peace have even been light, closer to sparring really. Especially since Mab and Titania being Foci. Mab and Titania have duties separate enough that they rarely clash. Over the years, the Courts became more and more defined, further apart, so there was no need to really fight over something. If things are as Mab says and I abandon the table? It would force them to fight.

"That last _ true _ war... I was not even born yet, but _ every _ Seelie Fae knows the consequences of Seelie war, it's at the core of our magic, branded upon our bones and embedded upon our memory, so we _ never _forget the price of peace. 

"So much blood was spilt that the Earth bled for centuries_. _ I _ can't _ cause that. There are more Courts now than back then, much larger Courts, many more people. Since peace fell, our people thrived. We are at a higher number now than before the war that sparked the Exodus, and we lost nearly 60% of Underhill in those wars. We replenished, rebuilt and thrived. War in the Seelie Lands _ always _ spreads. 

"I _ can't _ destroy the Balance of Underhill. It's wholly against my fundamental nature. The fuckers know it too."

"Maybe you should go over there? Find out what precisely is happening. Just for a week or two? It'll be good to get away from the compound after what happened with Rogers. Take James with you too so you can keep training him. Getting away for a bit would be good for you both so neither of you accidentally kill Captain America. That feels like it would be a headache for Carol which means a headache for Rhodey. I'll sort out things here until you two get back." 

Did he want to go to the terrifying Land that is Underhill? Surprisingly, yes. 

Sure, he's read book after book about how awful, terrifying and downright horrifying the Fae can be and he suspects Underhill takes that to new levels. There were also many books about how good Fae _ could _ be. He hasn't even had a chance to read much about Underhill yet. So there was that, and he kind of wanted to see Tony's home. Rhodes was smirking too. He wondered if Rhodes knew about Tony liking him also? The poor man must have been going insane dealing with both of them liking each other. Both convinced the other did not. 

"I think that sounds fun." 

"If you think that sounds fun, you have not read enough books, Snowflake. Which is crazy because you are trying to read my entire library on Earth." 

"Well, I get that it's terrifying, but we're only going to be on your Lands, right? Plus, I'll be with you, so I'll be safe." 

Tony was staring at him, possibly more stunned by that declaration than he was about being made King in absentia by a plot of Land, which he could not get his head around. But Tony's stunned face just made him grin. Tony needed more people around him that had faith in him, and until he did, he figured himself and Rhodes had enough to go around. 

"We'll go to the Sanctum, and then you can set something up so Rhodes can contact us if need be and then we can go to Underhill. We won't lose months here or something? Will we?" 

"Hmm, no, not with me. It's one of the things that burns my magic up and forces me to return. I create a link between there and here with Blue Fire, forcing the Lands to sync up whilst I reside Underhill." 

James thought that didn't sound comfortable at all no wonder Tony tended to like living on Earth.

"How long can you stay there until you have a problem for us to come back?" 

"Oh that won't be an issue unless you plan to be there way longer than required, I can usually get 40 to 80 Earth years if I use a lot of magic before things start to become too painful to tolerate, 16 was my shortest, 120 my longest. "

"I thought you said you couldn't stay there very long?" 

"120 Earth years _ isn't _ very long to my kind Platypus, and I honestly don't want to replicate that time." 

James felt a low shudder run through Tony, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know what would provoke such a reaction in Tony.

"That makes no sense, but that seems to be a staple when it comes to your kind. I'm pretty sure I only understood about half of the stuff in this conversation, and that's being generous. OK, I'm going to leave you two to it, I'll sort things out on my end for your _ 'vacation'_. I'll leave you two to pack, sort out the details and whatever. Stephen texted me, he's expecting you in 30 minutes, so you only have a little time to get stuff done. You guys can probably leave tonight if you want?"

"It's potentially a good idea, I can work on your blades faster in my actual forges, the magic to create the metal would be easier to cast in Underhill, and we can train for the titan if we get a break. Rhodey and Stephen together can assess the health of the Fire without me. If this _ truly _ is happening, which I hope not, but I might finally have enough power to kill the titan for good. No more stalemates, even though I'm still not sure about it. I don't think I'm King material." 

"And I get a break after having my brain scrambled! A mini-vacation before the Apocalypse. One of them anyway."

Rhodes snorted at that and headed to his apartment, presumably to speak to Carol to get things organised. He can't help it, and sure; maybe he shouldn't be thinking about taking vacations to other dimensions when a multiverse-wide threat was gunning for Earth. But, after what Steve and his pet witch did to his head? He can't help but _ want _ a break, and being in a different dimension sounds… kind of perfect.

Now, however, they finally have the place to themselves. 

"So, do you want to spend half an hour packing?" 

Tony smirked and swung a leg over his lap, shuffling himself to get comfortable in a maddening way that can only be intentional as his arms slip around James neck, fingers tangling in his hair. 

"I'm pretty sure that's what magic is for." 

"Hmm, I think I love magic." 

"Well, if you really are coming to my Lands, I'm going to need to lay some of my magic directly on you. It's going to sound awful, and I'll remove it the second we get home, but if you go Underhill unclaimed… there is a chance someone could trip you up into a debt, and then you could end up belonging to them. It's not likely given you carry my Fire, but I'd rather not take the risk with you. Especially if the hounds are descending, if it were a typical visit we could skip this, I've brought many Reapers to my Lands. But Seelie Queens weren't trying to back me into holding a Law. If the Land has truly chosen me as Foci, then at least an envoy from _ every _ Court will be arriving on my Lands, some of which do not like me and will not be happy about this. They could attempt to steal you from me to prove their power over mine.

"Just know that I don't think of you like a possession, I'll understand if you don't want to go after that. Some of my people do see humans like pets, at best. I could make you part of the staff of my Lands, but this way will work better for you. The closer you are to me, the greater prestige they could claim you see."

"I understand, I've read enough to know I don't want that happening, I trust you. So, how do you do that?"

It shouldn't amuse him so much that the look of utter shock on Tony's face when he points out that he trusts the man. However, his face, when he's shocked, is just quite amusing and cute. 

"Hmm, well, actually that part is kind of fun."

He certainly has more wonderings about the Fae now, who see humans as _ pets _ and claim by _ kissing. _ At the same time, it's hard to think about anything when Tony kisses him, especially when it feels like he's _ breathing _ pure magic into him and around him. It felt like it's wrapping around him and nestling inside his chest. Tony pulled back and to wrap his fingers around his wrist, pulling the shirt away and trailing his fingers of Black Fire around his wrist. When it pulls back there is a bracelet, flush to his skin with no catch way to remove it that he can tell. It looks like two metals twisted together with a silver circle and a small black Scythe above 2 blackwigs on a white background James can feel is made out of the Reaper metal. He was left a little lightheaded, dizzy but pleasantly warm and fuzzy from the magic that he could still feel on him.

"It's silver, the metal of our people, twisted together with iron, the metal of my Lands, and a good excuse I can use for decking you out in Bane-metal without anyone complaining about it. That means that no one will be able to cast a glamour on you and any magic, but mine and maybe a few others will slip around you. Also, if anyone gets too touchy, it can protect you, as most people visiting will likely be some degree of Seelie Fae. There are a few other species vulnerable to Iron too, it is a hazardous material to wield in Underhill that speaks of great strength to wear it upon your person, that, and you can _ 'accidentally' _ brush it across their skin. The rest is pretty obvious." 

"Do you have like a box of these for emergencies?" 

Tony chuckled at that, but he also was blushing slightly which he always enjoyed causing. 

"I had the separate parts. I used a little magic to make it speedily. I'm good with silver and iron, and before I last went human, I was working with the idea of twisting the two together like this, so I had some small prototypes that were the perfect size for a bracelet. I have a few of these coins. Mother made them for me as she liked the idea of me having my own sigil. My people tend to wear them as badges or as part of their jewellery. It works as protection, tells others they're mine. I've never actually gone and fully claimed myself a human like this before though, plus I figured you'd prefer this to the usual choice of the Seelie Courts."

"Well, I like it. Do I get to keep it when we come back? What is the usual way people claim humans?"

Tony ran his fingers across his throat, and yeah, okay! He certainly preferred this. Tony also seemed shocked but certainly _ pleased _ that James liked the bracelet he noticed.

"Of course you can, it is yours now as I crafted it for you. The collars are what the Seelie tend to do, some other courts too. Both Seelie Courts have a silver collar that are virtually indistinguishable from each other unless you know where to look. Some other Courts use armbands. Some go for actual brands. Most Courts have a _ quirk _ on how they lay claim to humans in their Lands. Some are notorious for attempting to steal claimed humans. My reputation should preclude that as long as you are very obviously claimed and marked with magic as I have done."

"Yikes, yeah I definitely prefer this, especially if it protects me from being stolen and branded. What the fuck?" 

"We will be avoiding the Court of Yearning Heart and the Court of The Final Word. They are two of the… crueller Courts when it comes to humans, and anyone really. But I'd rather be safe than sorry when it comes to you." 

"I don't mind, I know it's not an ownership thing to you. So I just make sure people can see this?" 

"My people will know you are mine immediately as my magic is on you. I placed enough, under several different titles, that there will be no mistakes. The physical representation of the claim is like the lock on the door where the magic rests behind, bonded to every part of your being and every state of consciousness. Depending on how things are when we arrive, I might alter it to be sure. I'm not taking risks with your safety. Also, I'm still going to do this anyway." 

Before he can question Tony leans in and rests his forehead against his. 

"As long as you, James, wear my band, I am indebted to you." 

Tony shuddered slightly and what was weird was that he _ felt _ something thunk into place in his mind, utterly different to the apologies, heavier. James' eyes widened because Fae _ don't do that. _ Fae _ despise _ being in debt to a person. It's a feeling they carry around and magic that can be used to _ control _ them and _ bend _ them to your _ will. _

With that open-ended debt, James could effectively wield Tony like a weapon or get him to do anything he wanted. 

"You didn't have to do that, I trust you with this." 

"And I trust you with this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, This chapter began at 2k, then at 4k I decided I needed to rewrite some things. Then insomnia got involved and now I'm too sleepy to stay conscious to do a few hundred read throughs. I apologise profusely should there be any glaring errors!
> 
> I really had fun with this however, Underhills history and Tony's history are both fun to really get my teeth into.
> 
> And look, the boys are making plans. Aww. Poor dears.


	61. When It Rains...

**James POV**

"Are we off to see the Wizard?" 

Tony snorted before nodding, putting the woad to one side, with a clear goal of where they were going, Tony had decided James needed at least the start of some offensive and defensive directional magic at the very least. He had also worked a few Wards that seem very uncomplicated that tracked from his thumb in a straight line to his elbow. He had no idea what those did yet, but Tony had told him he'd teach him how to use them. The rest were passive. 

At the same time, he didn't seem to be in that much of a rush still sitting in his lap as he brushed Black Fire across the line of Wards. Eyeing them as he went. 

They both knew however that if they stood Stephen up, he'd dump something into the apartment via portal. Especially now he had worked out how to get around Tony's redirect. The last thing had spat acid and destroyed Tony's table. Tony had subsequently dropped the remnants of said table into Stephens bedroom. Proving the barriers around the Sanctum was about as much of a block to Tony, as the barrier around the compound was to Stephen now.

James didn't know what it was about magic, but it seemed to make people have passive-aggressive arguments via teleportation. 

Or maybe that was just Stephen and Tony. 

It seemed to be Tony's way of training Stephen too. Do something irritating and force the sorcerer to retaliate. Tony has unique ways of training each person he had decided to take on. His and Rhodes training we're nothing alike, even when the three of them occasionally trained together, he still managed to keep their training specialised. Stephen clearly responded very well to being told he couldn't do something.

He wasn't quite sure exactly why Tony was training Stephen, he obviously wasn't a Reaper, but Tony had told him Stephen had the potential to be a power and that with his drive to learn, that he could bring about much-needed change to certain magical institutions in many dimensions. That he was a force for good 'just waiting to happen'. He also mentioned that Stephen lost his mentor to early in his training and that there were few people powerful enough to take that job on. Tony has also added that it was going to be a lot of fun winding up the Sorcerer. 

James was generally okay with this. Except when he was in Tony's apartment, and an acid-spitting thing fell from the ceiling. Tony had found the entire ordeal hilarious which probably wasn't what Stephen was going for.

"Yeah, I suppose we should be on our way. I've been after these scrolls for a while, and he might have found a few artefacts that I've been after too."

"What's made him so helpful all of a sudden?" 

"As soon as he realised that I know where to mine Atronach and will trade with it, he immediately went into overdrive hunting anything I peripherally mentioned." 

James smirked at that, he could see it, he'd seen the Sorcerer walking along the inside of the compound wall on several occasions, his hand dragging along the stone. He had seen the look in the man's eyes when he discovered Tony had Black Atronach, that had increased his want for the stone tenfold. The stone, only occurring naturally Underhill and only in one area. Tony had been mining it for a very long time, if only Stephen knew that there were roads made of it in some of the shining cities. He expected the doctor would have an aneurysm. 

He was _ so _ going to take pictures. That's if his phone even worked Underhill.

Black Atronach had come about from Tony's magic being added to the border magic. Which was why there was very little of it, whilst Tony used a lot of magic when he was Underhill, it had only been a few thousand years, He was only one Fae vs millennia of powerful Seelie Fae battling at the border. So his magic had sparked a change in some deposits, altering the stone and changing some of its properties, it was rarely seen outside of Underhill.

Stephen, of course, was dying for this information, which was why James had been pestering Tony to tell him everything about his lands, so that James could taunt him. It was his revenge for the acid-spitting thing. 

The snippets he remembered from the conversation with Mab had piqued his curiosity. It was also likely driving Stephen mad. Especially now he knew what Tony was. 

James and Rhodes had gotten quite a lot of information out of Tony just after they got back, especially about how Underhill got started, but it was clear Tony needed a break from this, at least for now. The sanctum worked perfectly. Tony needed some time to not think about Faerie Queens, Courts or his potential looming position in that system.

"How much are you going to give him this time?" 

"I don't know. We'll see what he has, shall we? He's likely after some Black Atronach after yesterday. I have a little leftover from making your amulet. Half I'm crafting into something else, I might consider giving him the rest if he has something good." 

Tony grudgingly stood up, stretching his spine until it cracked in a few locations before offering him a hand to pull him up from the sofa and used the opportunity to pull him into another kiss. James, of course, wasn't going to pass that up. 

"Mmm, why are we leaving again?" 

"Don't tempt me, world-ending chaos remember. Pesky Sorcerers dumping things into my house." 

"Okay, but when we get back from the sanctum, I'm going to have FRIDAY put us under your Blackout protocol, for packing reasons, totally legit packing reasons. You hear that Fry?" 

"Sure thing James. I'll clear Bosses calendar." 

Tony grinned before pulling them into the Fire world. It was so much different now since Tony had awakened his Magic. Sharper when he hadn't even known it was fuzzy before. Everything was more apparent, and he could see the place Tony was thinking off in his mind too. Even for journeys that would have been a step before, now he saw the Fireworld. Before it was only long trips where they had walked that allowed him to see this space. The Sanctum was close enough that it should have been a step where he saw nothing. James was quite happy with this change. 

Tony was also clearer too. He still hadn't got around to asking if this was what Tony looked like with no glamour. He was hoping that maybe he would bring it up, just in case, there was a painful reason he hadn't mentioned it. All too soon they stepped into the street outside the door to the Sanctum. 

"I didn't think you'd bring us out in the street?" 

"The sanctum has powerful magic of its own. An awful lot of it. You can't find it unless you're specifically looking for it, and if you're standing here, no one notices you, see?" 

James glanced around and noticed that no one was reacting to the two men appearing out of a column of Black Fire in the middle of the street. People just walked around them, not bumping into them but also not precisely seeing them either. They corrected their courses to move around them automatically somehow. It was peculiar and super disconcerting. Tony stepped closer to the door, instead of knocking, the door opened for them, revealing a man stood inside. James knew a lot about Wong, but he'd never actually gotten around to meeting him. Stephen always came to them. 

"Wong! It's good to meet you, finally!" 

"Tony, James, come inside. Stephen is in the library. I'm glad you have a chance to stop by. I have a few texts I would like your help with if you don't mind? Stephen kept saying he'd ask…" 

"And he kept forgetting I assume?" 

"Hmm, sounds like Stephen." 

"Tony! You're late." 

Tony smirked at the sorcerer and James waved to Levi, he liked Levi, he was an adorable… cloak. Yeah, it was kind of weird, but hey. His life was pretty weird these days. Being friends with a cloak didn't even crest the top 10 strange things these days. He was starting to become as blasé about everything as Eddie. Scratch that, no one was at Eddie's level. Tony went out of his way to find fantastical, baffling or terrifying things to show Eddie and Eddie responded by using Tony as a magical pacifier for Venom.

James found it hilarious that Eddie effortlessly had done that to people like Loki and Tony. Thousands of years old, extremely powerful royalty of different realms and neither of them were quite sure how to react.

They had just been about to make their way to the library when Tony froze on the spot. He had a strange feeling himself. It was like having your stomach drop out when you drive up and down hills. It felt weird, and he felt a pull, the longer he stood, the more insistent it became. Like an itch under his skin that his mind was diverting all of his senses towards whether he chose or not. 

"What in the?" 

Tony suddenly turned and strode towards the door, Wong and Stephen looking puzzled, he found himself following before he'd made a conscious decision to do so. As Tony opened the door, it was apparent something was very wrong. 

People were running, and everything was chaos. They'd been inside for barely five minutes, and he was quite startled at such a huge change. That odd feeling started to pound through him like a beat to music that only he could hear. It took him a few seconds before he realised what was happening. That must be the compulsion, which explained why Tony had narrowed his focus to an almost painful degree as the barriers he put up for dealing with humans slipped away. 

Tony had only just started teaching him about the barriers, so his wasn't exactly a barrier but rather the idea of one he was yet to build on. The compulsion utterly ripped it away. 

They moved swiftly through the crowds, people parting for them even in the chaos until a hum drew their attention, and an enormous sodding spaceship appeared above them. Tony grit his teeth, glaring at the spaceship as if it had personally offended him and James was wondering how that got past Tony's deep space sensors. The compulsion increased tenfold just _ looking _ at the spaceship and even though Tony and Rhodes had explained the compulsion. That it was impossible to ignore, that every fibre of his being would drag him to the thing that threatened the balance. Somehow, that hadn't quite prepared him for how _ strong _ the feeling was. 

"How did that even get here?" 

"I don't know. I don't like it. FRIDAY, how did we not see this coming? Check everything. Something should have picked this up before it was on top of our heads!"

"It's masked somehow Boss, even where it is now, it isn't being picked up by any of my sensors. It's completely blank. Not even the wide array that's closest to the planet can detect it." 

"Right, focus on that FRIDAY. Full diagnostic, run against all the sensors we have, they might have a magic-user who is masking it. It's been a while since I went up against the kids, I don't know who is on the roster for sure. Thor is meant to be getting files on them and the guy, but he came back early because of Wanda. I've not had a chance to see what he found, and Loki's memories were fractured. I want to know why this got past us and for it not to happen again. Alert the UN, Accords Council and the Avengers. Aggressive Visitor Protocol is active. Stephen? Can you clear the streets?" 

"AVP is in effect."

Friday responded as Stephen started moving his hands in a series of intricate patterns, until he suddenly threw them out. The mandala expanded out before vanishing in a gust of power wind, and suddenly, things were quiet except for the spaceship. 

Fuck, he was looking at a _ spaceship_. Why was it doughnut shaped? James honestly thought his ability to be shocked and weirded out was gone, but weird doughnut spaceships hovering over his head evidently proved him wrong. He felt even Eddie might raise an eyebrow to this.

Tony flicked his fingers with a flurry of Black Fire, revealing a long black blade in his hands. Not one he recognised, but it was a familiar shape. He was favouring a few since he had started weapons training with Tony, and that was similar to one of them. Guard was smaller, long and thin. So light that he could move very fast with it and that was before the bind was removed. Although he hadn't precisely fought with a full Reaper blade yet, he could already tell this was far different to the iron edged blanks he and Rhodes had used against the Redcaps. This felt like a true Reaper blade. 

"I've not even had a chance to think about starting your weapons yet. This is one of my favourites, keep it hidden for now until we get an idea of what they are after. If they recognise Reapers, they won't risk us knowing what they're after. Play the normal confused human until I summon my blade. Here, give me your hand, they're probably after the time stone, but it's good to know for sure. Thanos' kids are an arrogant bunch. They tend to do the villain monologue thing.." 

He held his hand out, not knowing _ how _ to summon the weapons like Tony or Rhodes yet, but the information passed through to him when he held the blade. It felt light in a way, but also heavy too, heavy in magic as he willed the blade away, it was so different to the one that they'd used against the Redcaps it was night and day. Tony ran his hand down his arm as he watched James will the blade away. Shooting him a fast smile with a flash of fang before turning to face an empty space. Like he did before Mab appeared, Tony seemed to _ know _more than the rest of them. 

All he felt with the compulsion was 'that way' which was practically everything in front of them and up at the doughnut. He hoped that eventually, he would learn to work out how to narrow this down more. Right now it was like a fuzzy blob on a map instead of a precise circle.

Wishing that he had a better situation to practice bringing the sword back, more time to practice manipulating the black metal on his arm, but also filled with the knowledge that he could not walk away. A bright blue ray deposited two beings in front of them exactly where Tony was facing. One huge, armoured, the other.. James thought mostly that he looked fucking creepy. He hoped the others were on their way in the Quinjet.

The creepy bastard was the one who spoke, shockingly. 

James glanced over to Tony and was confused for a second because he didn't look _ anything _ like the Tony he had come to know. His Golden eyes were much closer to brown, his golden skin closer to olive. Even his arms were bare of the woad tattoos he'd become so accustomed to seeing since he had been not wearing his glamours around him. It was… _ jarring _ in a way. He looked like the Tony he fought in Germany. He looked wholly human and the age he had been back then too. It also showed that Tony was perfectly able of wearing a glamour that would leave him looking completely human if he wished in.

"Hear me, and rejoice. You are about to die at the hands of the Children of Thanos. Be thankful that your meaningless lives are now contributing to…" 

James rolled his eyes, because seriously? Tony had said they would villain-monologue at them, but James was pretty sure even Victor was tolerable compared to this guy.

Tony responded, sounding much more like _ Tony Stark _ rather than the blended life he'd been living of Cadeyrn and Tony. 

"I'm sorry, Earth is closed today. You better pack it up and get outta here." 

"Stonekeeper... Does this chattering animal speak for you?"

Both Stephen and Wong readied their magic, calling it to their fists. James glanced down at his own hands, not surprised to find the skin bare. The offensive and defensive Wards Tony had worked into the skin of his right hand we're gone. He suspected with how often Tony and his Reapers faced off against Thanos and his Children that they would recognise Woad right off the bat.

What surprised him was that the metal of his left had also vanished under a glamour, one that he hadn't even felt Tony lay on him. His metal arm even looked utterly like a flesh arm. It even felt like real skin. Stephen jerked him out of his shock at seeing two flesh hands again. 

Ah, aliens. Not the best time to get distracted. Creepy murder aliens. 

"Certainly not. I speak for myself. But you’re trespassing in this city and on this planet." 

"It means get lost, Squidward!" 

"He exhausts me." 

The creature next to him speaks, but even the translation Ward doesn't seem to know what he said. He does, however, see Tony roll his eyes, so he wonders if he understood what was said. 

"Bring me the stone.." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have not seen this film, after the whole house boom and the chaos before and after, by the time things settled Endgame was out, and my interest in catching up was...eh.
> 
> But I saw this scene in a different fic and liked it, so I actually watched it for you guys. Read the script too, which at least was not as ridiculous as the Avenger script. (It's painful.) Just this scene and my husband and wifey watched the rest for me, so I may harvest a few parts are not blah and could eventually fit into my universe with the drastic changes I have been making! Not much of it 😅.
> 
> My hubs groaned at my pun in the last chapter "balls in my court." I have been cackling in glee ever since whilst being annoyingly ill. 
> 
> I'm hoping my arm is just playing up, but in a perfect world I would be seeing my doctor right now, except we live in Pandemic times and I'm currently nervous my repeat scripts are taking a long time to fill, So I'm posting to make myself focus on this and not potentially having my fentanyl stopped, or something like the antihistamines that let me have contact with water! Eep. I'm okay though. I soldier on!


	62. It Definitely Pours!

**James POV**

The larger guy dropped his hammer to the ground with an earth-shaking crash, one that James easily felt from where he stood. Followed up by quite obnoxiously scraping it along the floor towards them. Noisily, and at a slower pace than James thought was strictly required, clearly they were going for dramatic effect. 

James found this more than a little amusing, as he _ knew _ that doing something like that? Against people like Stephen and Tony? It was utterly useless. 

Neither of the men looked remotely impressed. 

Both of them looked bored, in fact. 

Wong mostly looked irritated that he was outside of his library and dealing with aliens. 

James wasn't sure how this was happening to him on his _ first day. _

Tony took a step out towards them, standing just in front of them, his hands dropping to his side and face going carefully neutral. His entire stance, body language, many different things that made him appear the human Tony Stark instantly fell away.

"So it is the stone? Figured as much. Well, that was dull. This is your one chance, as usual. It is all I will grant you. Leave, forget this quest, leave Thanos. Or I will add more of your order to the list of the dead." 

The creepier guy tilted his head, sensing a definite change in things but not quite seeming to understand what. James had a feeling that these two would have to do more than just abandon their quest for the stone for the compulsion to die down. Especially the magic guy. Probably would require them to abandon Thanos completely, which Tony had told him was highly unlikely. Unfortunately.

Thanos was a fanatic and surrounded himself with other devotees that he had carefully sculpted from childhood. Usually, after killing half of their home planet, including the parents. James figured that the likelihood of Thanos' children forsaking him, was at least close to the possibility of Tony's Reapers abandoning Tony. They were quite evenly matched in more regards than power and strength. Even though Thanos was evidently violent and cruel to his '_ children. _' The powered people they gathered and trained had a precise balance to it.

"I do not know who you think you are, or what you think you know. Not do I care. You will die soon, so it doesn't really matter. Get on with it." 

'You got the big guy?' 

He blinked as Tony's voice came through the Fire, then an over imposed image flashed and he knew what to do as the big guy raised his hammer and Tony just remained unimpressed. James skidded in front of Tony, throwing up his left arm as the black metal on it expanded into a shield, well, mostly shield-shaped, he hadn't quite got down making actual shapes yet.

The force of the strike landing on Reaper Black tossed the big dude back several feet with an answering shout of rage and probably confusion. His arm vibrated, but he felt the vibranium absorb what the Reaper Black did not, now that was cool. The Reaper metal seemed to repel the man's strange, oversized weapon easily. The blade suddenly was in his right hand for him to follow up on the attack too. Even though he didn't even remember willing it back, he definitely needed more practice.

'He is a master of all weapons and metal. Reaper blades are energy and shadows. They are _ Fire, _ not metal. Fire belongs to _ us. _ No one can take Black Fire from you. He can't combat them as well as he thinks he can, it's always amusing. Get him angry. He gets sloppy.' 

"Reapers!" 

Tony was spinning his Scythe in a familiar fashion whilst he shed his glamour bit by bit, looking like the Tony he knew again, raising it in time to slice clean through the spike of earth the creepy one threw directly at Tony. The earth was blasted into harmless bursts of wind and gold butterflies around them as Tony converted the energy instead of blocking against it. 

"Executioner Black Scythe, there were many rumours of your death. Thanos has prospered in your absence. His power has grown. He is a True God. You should run back to wherever it was you came from." 

"Nope, I'm still kicking. I thought Thanos had started to get tired of me killing his children! Yet, here he sends you, neatly packaged for my blade at the seat of my power." 

Tony jumped, and then James couldn't see him, but he had to trust that he was fine as the big Hammer Time guy was on him again, and everything else slipped away from his mind. Going quiet and hyper-focused as he slipped closer to the Winter Soldier, revelling in his new strength and speed as he threw himself into attacking the thing. 

He sees orange blasts off to one side and discerned that the Sorcerers must have entered the fray as he trades blows back and forth

Each hit was sending shocks and vibrations down his arms at the sheer strength his opponent possessed. The Vibranium was absorbing most of it, which was probably why his arm wasn't numb. James was using his left arm as an alternating blade and shield as it was required together with the very powerful sword in his right. 

The passive Wards along his hand brightly burned blue as they lent strength to his blows. The silver carved Wards on his other arm flickered and filled with Black Fire as they activated. More than once he's pretty sure the sword changed the trajectory on its own, and James finds he is pretty OK with this. It's more that he's cooperating with the weapon, rather than wielding it. 

Whilst James had mastered many weapons throughout his life, and many bladed weapons since he started spending time around Tony, he has not been a Reaper for very long. This is still his _ first damned day. _

Rhodes didn't have to fight aliens on his first sodding day. 

At least he is pretty sure he didn't. 

He figured the man would have told him that.

Whilst Tony had been training him in blades pretty often now. This was his first time using a _ full _ Reaper Blade, baring the iron edged blanks. This blade was a lot different to the iron edged blanks. How exactly? He has no idea, but he _ knows _ it is. 

That compulsion, however, seemed to keep him from walking away. It was likely why Tony didn't even attempt to talk him out of fighting. Or get him to wait on the sidelines until Rhodes arrived. It also gave him the confidence to fight, seeing that Tony already had faith in him to manage his part of the battle on his own.

He pulled shadows around him, solidifying them to facilitate getting higher to slam both blades closer to his head. Moulding the Reaper Metal is still a little tricky, but this is almost seamless for him. The shadows answer him and move to where he wanted them more than just easily. It was nearly like they jumped to help him. Out of all his new abilities, this is one he is most confident in. With the Black Fire, he is reticent to use it before he has worked more with it. Tony talks about Fire as if it is almost another person. James figures it is due the respect it is owed before he starts awkwardly chucking it into a battle.

Out of nowhere a car slams into James from his left, a glimmer of orange made it clear it was out of a fecking portal. This was why they needed to train with the sorcerers more. Surprisingly, it didn't actually hurt, and he noticed that the car apparently did not fare as well just from bouncing off of _ him! _That was new.

As he was leaping back to his feet, Hammer Time had spotted an opening and the weapon was coming down towards him, and he knew he wouldn't get his arm up in time. It was almost as if time was slowed down and his mind was making the calculations that he was definitely not going to be able to block appropriately in time or move back, but he tried anyway, bracing for the blow that never came as the hammer was caught on Tony's Scythe. 

Tony twisted as he brought the Scythe up, slicing clean through a chunk of the oversized hammer and some of the guy's arm, Hammer Time gave a tremendously, painfully loud below in response. James used the opportunity to get back onto his feet as he finished flinching at the loud screeching.

"Look after Stephen. Get him away from the fight." 

Tony nodded towards what looked like an unconscious Stephen, who was suddenly zipping past him. James blinked, trying to work out just what had _ happened _ as Tong suddenly threw himself at Hammer Time, with a speed that made his movements virtually impossible to track. All James could confirm was that the big guy was being forced backwards, away from James. He could still see flashes of bright orange which he assumed was Wong still combatting the magic-user. 

That fight had gone from heavily weighted on their side to one against one incredibly fast, and James wondered _ why. _ Tony had had to take over against Hammer Time given his fighting style most likely.

He thought about this as he dashed off after the unconscious Sorcerer. James had no idea how Stephen had managed to get like this; he figured that he would ask Tony later. He just couldn't focus on the other fights right now, annoyingly, as Levi was moving damned _ fast _ and the creepy magic guy was aiming things in his direction. Occasional blasts of orange and portals told him that Wong was at least trying to keep him distracted and away from the aliens target of Stephen.

James sliced through or blocked with his arm anything thrown at him as he turned his focus entirely to protecting Stephen, well, rather, chasing Levi in an attempt to protect Stephen. James managed to skid and dodge a billboard before snagging hold of the cloak just as Levi was caught on a bent lamp post. Before he could release Levi and get them both away from the battlefield, get Stephen hopefully somewhere safe until the others arrived, which was all well and good, except for the fact that suddenly they were caught in the same blue light that had dropped the two bad guys in the street. 

He flung his left arm towards a lamppost, the black metal stretching out and wrapping around it whilst he held on to the unconscious Stephen with his right hand. Trying to work out how to escape the blue light as he felt the lamp post move. No way should it be moving; it seemed stable. Then he sensed a brush of magic and worried about what had happened to Wong if the creepy magic dude was already coming after himself and Stephen. Before he had much of a chance to consider this further, the lampost was tossed up. Leaving both himself and Stephen untethered and heading up. With no way to remove Stephen from the beam, and else nothing to hold onto, James was at a loss what to do.

He could let go, he was mostly out of the beam, but that would mean abandoning Stephen to face whatever was on that ship alone. Which, considering the creepy magic guy had already rendered Stephen unconscious, yeah, James was not going to do that.

Stephen was a dick, but he was his friend. 

Tony was going to be so pissed.

'Tony! I'm going up, and I can't stop it. I can't get Stephen out of the beam, and there is nothing left to hold on to.' 

'Dammit, when I said away from the fight, I didn't mean space!' 

James chuckled slightly, not at all hysterically, as he looked around not quite knowing what to do next. 

'I can't pull Stephen free, and I'm too far up to let go..' 

'Fuck, James I-' 

James felt a power fluctuation from Tony. It felt like a rope that has been under constant strain suddenly snapped. Falling and smashing into the ground. It was so intense and bright that it left his senses reeling as this… pressure, tension or something that James was sure wasn't even there a moment ago, is suddenly gone with a snap.

Blinking back spots as his vision slowly clears, he is still low enough to be able to see Tony fighting. Which has him in the perfect position to see Hammer time use Tony's momentary distraction and stumble to attack. So he is stuck, useless as Tony gets utterly smashed into the ground by the other guy. 

For a second he honestly thought the force of that hit had taken Tony out, even though logically he _ knew _ Tony was _ much hardier _ than that. 

The non-logical part of his brain, however, was stuck on Tony being smashed into the ground with a frankly humongous weapon by an alien. Whilst he was unable to do anything but watch. It was much more important than the whole _ alien abduction _ thing he currently had going on.

He would never mention that thought to Rhodes… he would undoubtedly be unimpressed.

Black, White and Blue Fire suddenly burst out, and Tony was raised up before attacking the other guy with an entirely new level of ruthlessness, something James had never seen before. Just before James was pulled too far up, he watched as Tony reduced Hammer Time to so many parts, whilst emanating pure rage that he can practically feel from here. 

Tony barely waits a second before he takes off after the creepy guy, and then even with his enhanced vision, James can't make out what's going on. However, he can still _ feel _ what is going on. The sheer amount of magic suddenly exploding on the field between the two opponents ended up rocking him and disturbing the beam that was pulling them away. The repeated flares of magic resulted in the cloak jerking violently to the side. 

Whilst Levi is pretty securely attached to Stephen, he, however, was not. Plus, James was distracted, trying to get an idea of what the hell was going on in the fight. Should he have been more worried he was literally being abducted by aliens right now? 

Probably.

James cursed as he lost his grip on Stephen and got knocked slightly out of the blue beam. Realising he is far too high up to fall back to Earth, he hurls the black metal from his arm at the ship, immediately pulling himself inside and using Shadows to cloak him from anyone's sight. 

Which, as much good as not falling to Earth is, he's now on a spaceship, alone, with Stephen somewhere else. He figured he could get somewhere, then hide in case there were others on this ship and hopefully the link with Tony still worked from space.

'No!' 

He jerks as Tony's scream of anger, fear, and pure rage burns through the link, then a burst of pain and suddenly he's utterly alone in his mind. Wonder what the hell would cause _ that. _A few seconds later and he saw another Blue flash. Another person was returning to the ship, and far faster than his and Stephen's ascent.

James has a terrible feeling about this. The ship only dropped two aliens down to Earth. One of which, he had watched Tony turn into mulch, the other was fighting Tony when the link broke. 

That the second potentially just returned to the ship shortly after the link snapped? After he heard Tony yell? That unquestionably did not bode well. He didn't want to think that amongst the anger, he had felt fear, he hadn't known Tony to be scared of much so what happened?

Suddenly the ship is moving, and he _ knows _ that Tony is still on Earth, unable to get to him somehow, not dead-no, he refuses to think that. But somehow, he is unable to reach him, or Tony would be there with him right now. The lingering pain he felt through the Black Fire had him on edge; he doesn't know how to reset the connection without physical contact. It's like the edge is burnt out, and because of that, he can't feel anything through it at all. 

Tony's hurt on Earth, he's in space, alone. Stephen is unconscious and trapped.

'Fuck' 

  
  


**Tony POV **

Thanos' kids had a standing operating practice to distract him in battles and Tony was sick of it. They had pushed Squidward back, and between the three of them, they were doing well. Magic users were a tricky bunch, and they had to be careful in their approach to take him out without triggering any nasty failsafe's that he likely had in place. Thanos' kids that ended up with even moderate talents in magic we're well known to sacrifice themselves if it looked like they were going to die. Rendering some of the nastier death curses he had ever witnessed.

Then Squidward realised they had strayed close enough to a fucking school, which forced Tony to divert from his stance to ensure the magic hurled at the school didn't actually hit.

He had no idea how, in such a small period of time, Stephen had ended up unconscious. With the other Avengers still several minutes out, Tony was forced to free up James to protect Stephen, leaving Wong on his own.

If he had known what would have happened next, he would have gone after Stephen himself. Even if that division of labour made no logical sense.

'Tony! I'm going up, and I can't stop it. I can't get Stephen out of the beam, and there is nothing left to hold on to.' 

'Dammit, when I said away from the fight, I didn't mean space!' 

'I can't pull Stephen free, and I'm too far up..' 

'Fuck, James I-' 

Tony feels himself start to slip back as he gives in to the persistent pressure in his mind. Too much had happened over the last few days that he had been walking the razor edge of control over his anger. James being taken by one of Thanos' children? It finally pushed him over the edge, and he slipped. The momentary pause and stumble at the switch was enough for his opponent to take the opening practically handed to him on a silver platter, but Tony barely felt a thing as he was crushed down by the hammer, but he was just there enough to call Fire to his aid. Knowing it was the best way he could help.

He needs to kill this being to get to James.

Fire suddenly exploded around him, called from the back of his mind and reacting to his anger. Blue with Black and White twisted around it surrounded him, lending him further strength and speed. Then he was moving faster, more lethal, free and certainly not seeing a point to drag the battle out or give Thanos' child the chance to walk away from this fight. 

It's not long before he's stepping past a pile of parts and he and the other Child of Thanos were clashing. 

He will not allow him to flee his battlefield. No one does. Thanos' children rarely work in larger groups. He doubts the ship can leave without him. Clearly, he is the dominant figure in this partnership. Even if Sidan Du is on the ship, with this figure here and soon to be dead, it should be easy to return Sidan Du to the surface.

Throwing himself into casting, he feels some of the Woad Wards burning on his arms as they augment his power, he was making steady progress forward and the other throwing everything he had into keeping him away. It wasn't working. There was the taste of fear and distress now in the others magic as he was pushed back with the increasing strength. That fear and sheer desperation in the others magic amused him as any retaliation barely touched him. The magic was flowing smoothly over him with scarcely any notice.

Just as he swings the Scythe down when he is in range, their magic clashing had bound him securely so he could not flee. The blade is caught before it slices through the other, landing on a jagged, large black blade that he recognises far too well. Even in the very brief second that he has to look. Then he's being hurled backwards through the air under a barrage of fractured, burning red chaos magic that snapped and burst around him. The shock of seeing that blade gave his opponent an opening, and he cursed himself for allowing it to work as he smashed into the ground.

He could feel the stone warping around him from where he landed under the onslaught of the extraordinary level of chaos magic. The Chaos magic continued to snap and bite at him, never a magic to quickly dissipate, but he barely notices it. As a torrent of magic, that he also knows far too well, twisted, vile, horrid magic that wanted to wrap around him. Drag him down. Hold him in place and sap his will. Magic to take your mind. Take your choices and leave him alone again.

Everything blacked out for a second, but the Fire was still close, left as a gift and it burst through him. It allowed his eyes to open, and much sooner than they usually would have, but it was just in time to see the blue ray whisk away the remaining Child of Thanos. He was on his feet, power coursing through him in a fraction of a second.

"No!" 

Their moving position and his use of power meant Firewalking was not wise, not yet, certainly not without seriously topping up his reserves, and before he can even think to summon the Ironman armour, before he can consider what to do to chase the ship, he's defending against more red chaos magic, snarling around him, blast after blast as he feels his Black Fire get further and further away from him. The seething mass of black birds comes into view as he brushes aside the next volley. Spotting his target, he redirects all of his energy. He can still feel the distance between himself and Sidan Du no longer distracting him with a target in his sights.

Attacking straight away as their magic began to clash much more violently now instead of snapping around him, waiting as he set off more, waiting until there was enough of the red magic to utilise and turn on its master. There was not enough. Yet. The previous magical battle seems almost like nothing compared to the forces being wielded on the battlefield now. Coaxing him to cast more of the red magic is easy. Just the sight of Blue Fire left to him engages the other into risky behaviour.

A voice rasped out from the seething mass but carried loudly across the battlefield, even over the sounds of violently clashing magic, backed by the constant beating of wings. Always backed by those wings that scraped in his mind.

"Oh, did I interrupt Cadeyrn?" 

The name rolled off him with no effect as he smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter, comfortably with the other Compound kids, doing kid-like things and not going up against high-level threats he is totally not trained for. Has a feeling he should be somewhere else... Then Harley smacks him over the head and gives him a cookie. 
> 
> Because we don't send 15-year-olds to space in this house.


	63. The Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I say I was going Marvel then Underhill?
> 
> And smoosh.

**? POV**

_ "Oh, did I interrupt Cadeyrn?" _

He doesn't bother to reply, and as the name has no effect on him, he is just smirking at the wrong assumption. It's always a good day when he got one over on Molaich. 

Even if it is temporary. 

Even if he is alone. He may not understand Ryn, but he dislikes being alone more. 

Even when Ryn talks too much, which is usually when he is breathing.

With Blue Fire around him, he can sense the fire coursing through the ground beneath him in a way that he is unused to. It would, however, be instrumental in this situation. Reaching down, he slammed his fist into the stone and beyond several times until the Blue Fire surged up through the crack which he had made. He needs Molaich to release more of the Chaotic magic the other favoured, and Blue Fire is the perfect trap.

Pulling from the Blue Fire and channelling it using Ryn's scythe, he is able to increase the intensity of his attacks and push his opponent back. Molaich's reaction to the Blue Fire is predictably explosive. The man, or rather whatever he is now, despises the Blue Fire almost as much as he despises Ryn. This increases the already violent magic snapping and snarling between them, so much so in fact, that even though he can feel that the other Reaper has now arrived, and is stood with a number of other fragile creatures somewhere behind him, they can't get remotely close to them. 

Not safely, anyway. Even many Fae could not withstand the magical forces currently clashing on the field, both himself and Molaich are as ever, uncaring of a little pain if it grants you the upper hand in the battle. Plus, he needs to be in the thick of the magic for when the Chaos magic reaches a high enough level that he can take it over without using his reserves required for travelling to Sidan Du.

So as the others certainly cannot approach. Not with the magic now clashing violently between them. He barely registers their presence in his mind, and as long as they do not get in his way, he is willing to let them be. The only thing he is focused on right now is that Molaich is why Sidan Du is gone. He liked Sidan Du. He was interesting. He made the anger easier to manage. He made Ryn slow down for once.

A very thick band of chaotic magic sliced past him, and he realised that Molaich had made a critical mistake, he had never seen his former master let off that much Chaotic magic at once before. Certainly nowhere near him, knowing the magic would flow to his hands with ease. He obviously still hadn't realised who he was fighting and had let the Blue Fire blind him to the possibilities. 

Despite the fact that if Ryn were here, he would be talking. 

A lot.

That was more than enough Chaos magic now for him to call upon without wasting any of his own power. Grinning widely as his arm struck out, snatching the twisting magic out of the air and immediately snapping it back at the man who cast it.

The screech of birds and the palpable feeling of shock is particularly satisfying as the chaotic magic then lashed itself to him, wrapping around his left arm as the woad it touched flared to deep red in response. The loose half moved violently in erratic patterns as he moved to attack again. Between hits, the previously released chaos magic quickly coalesced into a single weave with barely a thought.

Molaich's murder of crows immediately started moving faster in different patterns, covering that vulnerable energy beneath that the man had rendered himself into with his own experiments.

"Oh, DubhMáel!" 

He didn't bother to reply and ignored the burn that ripped through him at the use of his name. He knew better than to show that it had affected him in any way as he kept his face with the same wide grin. Instead, he kept up the attack with rapid hits that barely gave Molaich a chance to respond. He had waited a long time for this day. He had not thought he would end up fighting this battle alone and was furious at Molaich for causing this. For causing Ryn to be sent back to the place he despised and leaving him alone again. Ryn made a point of staying with him when Molaich was around, no matter how drained or how hurt, no matter how he cursed him. Ryn remained, and now he was pushed so far back DubhMáel couldn't reach him. 

Plus, if Molaich was stupid enough to let off such a quantity of chaos magic around him? Why would he pass that up? Fire could not hurt Ryn. Chaos magic could not hurt DubhMáel. It always seemed so happy to come to his hands, happy to wrap around his arm, painting erratic patterns in the air as it moved when he prepared to strike again. Deepening in colour and smoothing out as it linked with his own magic.

"I did not think Cadeyrn would be foolish enough to release you near me! This is almost too easy! Don't you want to come back? Where else can you be free all the time? Somewhere Cadeyrn does not hold you down, where you can do what you want." 

He snarled and increased his attack, and he could feel Molaich's shock. He gains no small amount of satisfaction from it. 

As if he was ever free under Molaich's chains, they just bound Ryn and left him alone. He hated that, even now he hated the place Ryn was forced into when he was in full control. It was this beings fault he felt pain, Molaich created that place, that he was created at the same time, and now he was going to pay some of that pain back this time. This time DubhMáel would not run, flee to safety nor hide behind Ryn from this vile creature. 

"Come now, why are you attacking me?"

DubhMáel wasn't used to talking. Why were people always expecting him to talk? It seemed like a waste of time as far as he was concerned. 

What he needed to do was to rip back the layers of Molaich's murder of crows, make his energy vulnerable and then he would have it suffer. That was much more important than conversing with Molaich or listening to his lies. He lied as he breathed. If DubhMáel heard wings, then it meant Molaich was surely lying, and he had vowed to never fall for the man's honeyed words ever again.

"DubhMáel, you haven't gotten attached to Cadeyrn's little humans now have you? But you've slaughtered so many! Why is this one different?"

He wrapped the twisting red magic around his fist before slamming it directly into a band of Blue Fire beneath them this time, shredding the ground so he could get more than a trickle of fire. What he needed was a torrent of it. Tear it open to make Molaich _ burn. _

Even if he must burn a little as the conduit. 

He does not know why Sidan Du is different; he just _ is. _He cannot explain it and wouldn't if he could. He has only ever seen him through Ryn's eyes after all. Yet, he calms him, let's him think beyond rage. When he sleeps as Ryn is in control, his dreams are calm when he is near. He can rest for once, and he does not feel so alone, when he is calm, he might even admit to not hating Ryn. He does not dislike this Fragile Creature, and the effect he has on Ryn is beneficial to him. He is simply Sidan Du. He doesn't understand why there needs to be further explanations.

"He is different."

DubhMáel unleashed the torrent, but the coward must have realised his attempt to recruit him failed and that he could call Blue Fire to his hands, that likely terrified him as he slipped into the aether. A land where he could not follow, he felt his strike hit; however, as Molaich moved through the veil. The tearing sound was almost drowned by the screech of birds and the pained howl from Molaich before the bastard vanished. Fire was still pouring into the crack, and he _ feels _ it as it _ burns _ Molaich until the coward slams the door shut. 

This time it was not him who fled his previous master, he would not forget this. Even if it was to a place that he could not follow. 

Two beings had escaped his battlefield on one day, and he was uncomfortable with this. Such actions would have led to unfavourable outcomes in the past, but he was no one's weapon anymore, the uneasy feeling still remained. Ryn was still trapped too far back to help him as he glared at the spot Molaich had fled from.

That place was the antithesis to the Blue Fire at its heart. To follow would douse Ryn's flame piece by piece until there was nothing left to burn, at which point he would get colder until he passed out. What would happen after, DubhMáel did not know, Molaich had never kept him there for too long when travelling great distances.

He channelled the remaining fire back into himself and absorbed the lash of chaos magic that still curled about his arm. The Woad Wards remained red with the magic fueling him. They would return to their original colour soon enough. He wondered what Ryn would think. He had never been awake when it had happened in the past.

DubhMáel leaned down to seal the wound he had caused in the Fire. Frowning as people ran up to him now the battlefield had calmed, he concentrated on healing the fire as he did not know if it fed into the convergence he planned to visit, as he lacked Ryn's Sight and exceptional control of Fire to take risks. He glanced at the people who were now staring at him for some reason. As if waiting for him to speak?

"Tones, Tones what happened?" 

DubhMáel tilted his head, studying the other reaper and saw the jet behind them. That would be advantageous. It would be best to expend no energy until he reached the convergence at Ryn's base. Firewalking always cost more energy for him than it did for Ryn. The Fires at his core we're still there when he fronted, but they did not see him as their master. Which was why he required the convergence for the requisite fuel.

There was _ always _ a convergence at Ryn's bases. 

"Take me to your base of operations." 

"Tones? What? Do you mean the compound?" 

DubhMáel frowned at that. He did not like being mistaken for Ryn. They were not the same. DubhMáel had tried to act accordingly when he was at the foreground; then, he had felt Ryn's pain at his actions and didn't understand _ why! _ He didn't understand _ people. _

He did know, however, that this Reaper was special to Ryn; he had made him rest when his Flame had burned low. That was a feat that few could boast.

Plus, this Reaper also seemed to believe that Ryn worked too much, DubhMáel had never understood why Ryn did not take time to do as he pleased. It was also confusing. Even if these new Reapers seemed to put effort in slowing his other down, it did not mean DubhMáel knew how to deal with them himself. Not when he was alone like this. If Ryn was allowed forward enough to help, but all he felt was cold, pain and the static that meant he was still unreachable.

This made dealing with people complex and tiring without his help. Sure DubhMáel would claim to ignore him, but he never did completely. Now there was nothing. This was further complicated in that these were very new Reapers, who did not seem to know much about him. At all. He decided to fall back on what had worked for him in the past, even though he did like potentially this Reaper. Not that that would be reciprocated.

"Take me to the base or I will kill you and take your vessel." 

He had seen Ryn pilot these vessels once or twice, but he did not know how to do so. The technology of the Firelands moved too fast for him to understand or master. 

The reaper put his hands up, but there was confusion on his face, and on the others, they moved to make the aircraft move, finally. He needed the Reaper alive, and he needed these creatures to help him traverse to the base of operations, but they did not know that. What was odd was that there was no fear, but a look that DubhMáel did not know how to decipher as the Reapers always feared him. Yet this one watched him and looked as if he was about to reach out to him.

The vessel had enough room for him to sit without being surrounded by these strangers, and most of them kept their distance, thankfully. He was unsure if he could tolerate so many people looming around him. The Reaper, however, had other ideas. If he were not conserving all of his energy, he would bring his glamour forward. That usually ended conversations, but even then, he was unsure. What was so different about these new Reapers? Their power was one, Sidan Du was surrounded by it with much potential. DubhMáel did not think that was it, the way he watched him did not speak of power or Fire, but of something he did not understand. This one looked as if he saw more than he let on.

"So, what happened?" 

DubhMáel grit his teeth, he was pretty sure he had spoken enough as it was, he didn't do battlefield reporting, he was the weapon. 

Ryn was the commander. 

He hated being forced into Ryn's roles. They were uncomfortable and confusing. DubhMáel was not good at dealing with people. Even when he was awake and integrated with Ryn, they rarely spoke as one, alone as he was now? Each word felt wrenched from his throat. His speech was stilted and nothing like the smooth flow and command that he knew Ryn pulled off with such ease. There were many reasons he was not the commander. 

Weapons do not speak. 

Weapons follow orders.

Ryn's last thought other than for DubhMáel to be careful and avoid getting hurt was pain that Sidan Du had been taken. The feeling of failing again so soon was like a raw nerve for Ryn that set DubhMáel's teeth on edge. So he chose to interpret this as an order—Return Sidan Du to Earth.

"Thanos' Children arrived for the Time Stone. The Sorcerer has been captured and is likely being tortured. Sudan Du is with him. I must get to the ship. We must move, now. The longer it takes, the further I am forced to run." 

He was actually quite impressed with himself. He was sure he had never spoken so much out loud outside of the shared mind-scape. He had a feeling that Ryn would be impressed with him for this feat.

The confusion on the people's faces, however, told him he had done something incorrect. DubhMáel stubbornly refused to hunch and glared back at them. He would not cower from these strangers. The Reaper must have seen something on his face as he shooed the others back and made a point of leaning away from him. It was unknown behaviour.

"But... how?" 

"I will Firewalk to him." 

"You can't port to a moving target so far away." 

DubhMáel tilted his head and scowled at the sorcerer. Why did they always assume that just because they could not do something, that he was similarly capped? Sorcerer's always _ forgot _ their magic was but a single strand in a weave of millions. A strand that both he and Ryn had mastered many millennia past.

Ryn was always researching, and occasionally he watched. He learned. Sometimes Ryn would sit in the mind-scape, and attempt to teach him. Many different things. DubhMáel rarely answered, but he _ always _ listened. Always watched when he was awake. Long ago, Ryn had discovered a means to port to locations that he could not see, that he had _ never _ seen, just by following the Black Fire that stemmed from him and spread out to his Reapers.

DubhMáel was simply taking this idea and applying it over a more significant distance. That Sidan Du carried so much Black Fire with him made this possible. Even where he was now, he could feel the flicker of his Flame. Feel its calming heat.

"_ You _ may not be able to do so Sorcerer, but _ I _ can. I am not porting to any old moving target. I am porting to Sidan Du, he who carries our Fire. He who _ is _ our Black Fire. We must leave. _ Now!" _

The sorcerer looked at him strangely before nodding to the other Reaper and leaving, explaining that he has to guard the Sanctum. Sorcerers always had to guard something. DubhMáel ignored any further questions, and after he summoned _ his _ blade, dispelling the black Scythe now it was not required, the questions finally ended. The Reaper stayed near him strangely, smiling as he prepared his blade for his next task. 

His blade was different to Ryn's many black blades. His was red and black, the reaper blade bonded with his own Chaotic magic, just like Ryn wrapped himself in Bane. Just how he was destined to become the Bane even if he fought against it. 

DubhMáel understood why he had fought against it, even if it was futile. Becoming Chaos magic had been painful and strange. He had not known what was happening, nor had it been his choice. It was merely an upgrade to the weapon triggered by its owner at the time. It had been his downfall in the end. The bonding had exhausted DubhMáel, throwing Ryn to the front for many moons where he broke their chains. 

As the vessel landed, he shook the pointless thoughts from his mind and focused on the mission. If he told Ryn that fighting his destiny was impossible, the idiot would fight harder.

The second the doors opened he was up and moving, a few of them persisted in chasing after him, the Reaper easily kept pace with him, not that he paid them much attention. He vaguely had an idea of how the base of operations was laid out. He recognised the feel of one of Ryn's Great Wards and quickly identified the pattern. Under this Ward, there was only a single location for a garden large enough for a convergence and the maze that likely surrounded it.

"Wait, hold on dammit, how are you so fast when you're so tiny, take me too, I can help. Let me help _ you. _" 

At least the Reaper had stopped referring to him by one of Ryn's titles. That is something. It took other Reapers much longer. DubhMáel had no idea what to do with the rest of that. He was unused to such things being actually aimed at him. Sure when he was mistaken for Ryn. Shaking his head, he pushed on.

"No." 

"You can't go out there alone. You have no idea what you are walking into! I want my friends to come home. I don't want to lose more." 

He sighed. Loudly, wondering exactly how Ryn did it. This was _ tiring. _It was also confusing. It was as if he was speaking of him, but that couldn't be right.

"You are to remain. You are how we get home. I need the Black Fire to lock onto. Sudan Du is how I get to him. You are how I bring us home. Without your Fire, the return trip would be more painful. This is very energy-intensive. Taking someone would be wasteful." 

DubhMáel wasn't sure what it was about this Reaper. He was finding it… not easy, but not as difficult to speak with each attempt. Unfortunately, he was under time constraints to complete his mission and could not investigate this further.

"Are... Are you going to be alright?" 

He stalled for a second, confused that the Reaper seemed concerned for him as well as Ryn. Shaking his head, he continued on his path. There was no time for this.

"Irrelevant. I must complete the mission under parameters set.." 

An Asgardian had joined them too as he looked for Ryn's garden, he was also frowning at him deeply, but he did not precisely care what these people thought of his plans other than that they were currently quite irritating. Even if so many people glaring at him so made the skin on his back itch, made his fingers tightened at the hilt of his blade. The Reaper suddenly placed himself between him and everyone else as an immovable barrier and the feeling lessened, which DubhMáel added to his collection of strange behaviour.

He needed to conserve energy. So he was stuck walking with these people. Why must Ryn always surround himself so?

"It is not safe to travel so far, and you plan to bring passengers back? This is not safe for you at all, nor is it safe for Anthony.." 

"My safety is irrelevant, as is his. Sudan Du is the priority. I will not fail him again. I will complete my mission." 

DubhMáel _ finally _ crossed to the garden, unsurprised to find a flower labyrinth guarding the convergence. He activated the hidden Ward on his palm. It, and several others linked to it, turned the same dark red as a direct pathway opened up for him. Allowing him to march directly to the standing stone by the convergence, Ryn was as predictable as ever. He always coded a pathway for him in emergencies. Even when they were at odds. DubhMáel never understood why.

Quickly he read Ryn's work on the standing stone. DubhMáel immediately took in the required information, the health and strength of this convergence, work done and a guide for how it worked including a map that showed him where each line connected out from this point. A shorthand only the two of them could understand at such speeds. 

A three-point convergence. It was not the most powerful, but it was close, which was necessary, it was also very healthy. That was not a surprise; Ryn was diligent in his care for the Fire. There were also three current reapers in this realm, so he hoped the three-point convergence would potentially work better. Magic could be tricky like that. Travelling to other conferences he remembered the locations of would take too long, especially as his information regarding their health was likely out of date. Two of the lines were connected to powerful, very healthy currents also, all he had to do was switch their directions, so both poured into the convergence instead of one in and one out. 

The other Reaper was _ still _ arguing with him. 

"It's not irrelevant, James wouldn't want you killing yourself, not to bring him home. I've only just met you!" 

He was unsure why that was relevant, shaking head as he put his mind in the correct state to focus.

"If I do not bring him home, he will die. Reapers in the hands of Thanos do not fare well. About as well as Thanos' Children fare beneath Ryn's will. Now, Stand back. I… do not wish you to be harmed." 

DubhMáel didn't bother waiting for more complaints, or even for the Reaper and Asgardian to stand back, he slammed his blade into the earth, tearing open the convergence and channelling the remnant chaos magic with a weave of his own. Darker in colour than Molaich's, smoother and far more controlled and he used them to tear into the breach. He wound his magic around the currents to turn them towards him, pouring up and into him as he held himself open. He had to shed his shirt as the Fire in his chest became hot enough to burn the fabric. Even though it was uncomfortable, it was nothing alien to him.

He kept funnelling magic until the Blue Fire was a bright, pure white that surrounded him completely—causing the others to stagger back and away finally. Pushing it as far as he could go, every flicker of a Flame was vital.

No amount of Blue Fire could kill Ryn, so he was also immune. Everyone had staggered back away from him as he turned his mind to the Black Fire. He searched for Sudan Du and found that tentative connection of Black Fire, he grabbed hold of it and closed his eyes. Focusing on that small, lonely Black Flame. With that in hand and with as much Fire as he could possibly hold, he vanished in an explosion of Blue, White and Black Fire that tore up the ground where he was standing as he let himself run. 

  
  


**James POV**

James decided to focus on finding Stephen. 

He had no idea what on earth, ha, on spaceship, he would do _ after _ he found the Sorcerer. This was definitely a 'one thing at a time' kind of deal here. Anything to not think about what had happened, the pain or the numbness that sat where the link had previously. Anything not to think about Tony and Rhodes absence, or the fact he's in fucking SPACE. 

James has no idea if Tony is OK or not, but it's Tony, he can't imagine there are many things powerful enough to stop him on a _ good _ day, and this certainly was not a good day. Tony had been on the razor edge of anger for too long, and that was something he did not deserve. He was pretty sure that he had felt Tony completely unleash his other aspect. Not that he entirely understood the Fae had different sides or personalities. Tony's mother could switch seamlessly mid conversation, changes in appearance or inflection. He wasn't even sure how Tony's father was married to two out of the three.

Tony had told him that it was not something he did often. That they worked better integrated. Whatever he had felt before the numbness, that had not felt as if they were integrated. Plus, even after Tony had warned him, James felt terrible for the guy, he'd grown up in hell with no concept of free will, and then getting dumped into a battle fighting aliens? James was sure that wasn't good.

Thinking about this was decidedly not helping. Focus James. Focus.

It didn't take him long to find Stephen at all. He knew the feel of the man's magic, and he let that lure him in. The other guy, creepy alien dude, he drew him too, the feeling of his stomach dropping out came from him. Which Tony had explained was the Fire alerting him to a person who was going to upset the balance. The stronger the feeling, the more damage and this was _ strong. _

Levi finds him at the same time he finds Stephen, slipping around him in a hug and looking down at Stephen. He can feel Levi fretting. 

Not that he could blame the cloak right now, given that Stephen was floating horizontally, face down, and is surrounded by dozens of huge, glassy _ needles, _ each about two feet long. It looked horrifying. Who makes something like this? Well, creepy balance upsetting Aliens would be the obvious answer there.

"In all the time I've served Thanos, I've never failed him. If I were to reach our rendezvous on Titan with the Time Stone still attached to your vaguely irritating person, there would be... judgement." 

He cringed as the needles started to contact Stephen's face, causing an obviously painful whitish subcutaneous glow at each touch. It made him want just to jump straight down, but that would be a terrible idea.

"Give me... the stone."

Hold on Stephen. Hold on, me and Levi will think of something. 

"Painful, aren't they? They were originally designed for microsurgery. And any one of them.." 

Yeah, that's it, he can't just watch, so he pulled shadows to where he wanted them as he dropped himself down to the creepy guy and Stephen, Levi flaring out dramatically around him and he kept the shadows around him to protect them both from this guy's magic. Tony had told him that Umbrakinesis could occasionally work as a shield against magic. He was definitely getting some practice on that, you know, when he was on Earth again.

Well. He was starting to get good at the Umbrakinesis. Rhodes would be doing much better in this situation. He was pretty sure that the new guy was the wrong option for ending up in space against the bad guy! Stephen would probably prefer Tony and Rhodes and James would not blame him.

Not that he would have left Stephen in the beam alone. Sure his plan wasn't exactly great, but if he had been alone he would be trapped in the nightmare contraption

" ...Could end your friend's life in an instant." 

"Yeah, but you won't. If you kill him you'll never get the stone, so how about you just hand him over and I won't have to kill you." 

He'd be killing him anyway. This was the compulsion Tony and Rhodes were talking about. He could feel it building in his bones the need to eliminate him. 

"Your powers are inconsequential compared to mine."

It's funny that with all of the training and living with the Avengers and years spent as a ghost assassin, it's Peter that comes to his mind.

"Just because I'm a newbie, doesn't mean I'm useless. I have a family movie night." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rhodey "He looks like Tony... I'm going to adopt him."
> 
> I managed to get a nice little bit of writing done with last nights insomnia. Am working on that little Underhill arc and having just so much fun with it.
> 
> For anyone confused with having two lots of red magic-users, in some Marvel and a few other mediums actually, chaos types of magic tends to be red. It is the nature of the magic, hard to wield well, so generally less scrupulous people tend to hurl it around with little care *cough Wanda cough*. I've always seen her magic as a Chaos variant due to its erratic nature and how it controls her more than she controls it and I wanted to balance that with it being used with efficiency. There will be a space between ’Aliens’ and ’Underhill’ arcs, that will update to the Steve and Wanda's delightful situation that is already written. I am considering doing some chapters that I'll throw in between the Underhill chapters, showing what's going on back home if that's something people would be interested in!
> 
> My Shoulder is still acting up, but the writing bug has settled back down in my brain. A song even got another Chapter on the next instalment of my Gold series. 5/11 chapters are done, and when I hit 11, we will be in Chapter a day(ish) land again.
> 
> Welsh names the boys have for James.  
Fy Sidan (My Silk) Tony  
Sidan Du (Black Silk) DubhMáel


	64. Blind Faith, Desperate Hope

**James POV**

_ "Just because I'm a newbie, doesn't mean I'm useless. I have a family movie night." _

He smirks before he uses the shadows along the wall to pierce the side of the ship to creepy dudes right and begins to suck everything out with depressurisation, especially him. Bye-bye ludicrously creepy, overly dramatic fuckwit! 

Sending a quiet thanks to Peter for being so persistent about what movies he had _ needed _to watch. James had never imagined that they would be helping him like this.

Stephen is pulled loose of his pinnings, loses the needles, but also heads for the hole, helpless to resist in his current state. Levi jumps into gear with his part of the plan as James uses shadows to anchor himself safely to the ship. Levi wraps around Stephen's arm and an anchor point, but Stephens arm slips loose, and he keeps going. James panics for a second before flinging his arms out, towards the hole he had punched out of the ship.

Meaning to summon enough shadows to help but ends up accidentally ripping every single shadow in the immediate vicinity and hurling them at Stephen and the gap. He solidified the shadows enough to capture Stephen and hold him in place like he's doing himself. As gently as possible, whilst he manipulates some of the black metal from his arm to block the gap with the mass of shadows. Stephen shakily stands up as Levi wraps around him. Looking around at the now bizarre, shadowless room.

"You are certifiable. You and Tony are utterly perfect for each other." 

"You're Welcome, jackass. Now, do you have any ideas on how to get home? I'm guessing you can't summon a portal from here." 

"No, that would take an obscene amount of energy, we need to turn this ship around somehow. Nice bracelet by the way." 

Stephen smirked at him which he responded by just flipping him off as they set off and to attempt to puzzle out where the controls were on this damned flying doughnut. The ship seemed to be empty barring the two aliens that were now resoundingly dead. Something James was honestly feeling quite good about. Awesome in fact. It was like the conclusion that had been tapping out a constant beat on his bones had now turned warm and languorous. 

It was a pleasant hum across his skin that had him rocking on the balls of his feet with a massive jolt of energy. He had expected to be drained after moving such a vast amount of shadows, that had been more than he'd even accidentally summoned before. He was not drained, if anything? He was _ buzzed. _

Stephen, however, would not be diverted from his topic, even though they were literally on a _ spaceship _ right now. In _ space. _ After battling _ aliens. _ The damned sorcerer was like a dog with a bone.

"I take it you're going to underhill? Tony doesn't seem the type to claim humans as property." 

"Yeah, we figured it was safer. Some other courts are less… human friendly. Extremely so. I don't want to find myself collared by some random douchebag. Or branded. He is expecting a few people to turn up to his house as he sorts out what Mab was talking about." 

"It's not every day you learn your friend is a Faerie King. How does that even happen? He told me he has a house on a hill… that's a bit of a jump to King. I have read a little of Underhill, the concern for you is certainly not ill-placed, it definitely wouldn't be pleasant. However, I'm sure you find this solution _ such _ a _ hardship _. The pining between you two is agonising. Can I get a better look?" 

"His father was a King. Tony mentioned that he gave up titles but never what they were."

James was pretty used to Stephen now. It was surprising how alike he, Tony and Loki were. But then his little friend group was hardly ordinary. Chaos Gods, Sorcerer Supremes… whatever Venom was. A large licky puppy is what Tony had described him, on meeting Venom he had decided Tony was wholly mad. Then after a week, he realised Tony was kind off right, he just needed a little love. Sometimes James would stop and just think about everything around him and wonder how this was his life exactly. Like that time he was chasing Goose who had his shoes in her tentacles and crashing into Venom and Loki, who had been in the middle of a spell, causing it to go awry and it had snowed in the common room for 6 hours. Tony had come home to everyone having a full-on snowball war. He'd even built fortifications. Peter had Harley had constructed a catapult. The Avengers were a bunch of hyper-competitive, powered idiots with too much energy and far too smart for their own good.

It's not often they got to surprise and confuse Tony, but they definitely had enjoyed it. For all of three minutes. They probably should have remembered that one of the two elements Tony was quite skilled with happened to be _ water. _ Remembering that _ before _they had all turned on, Tony would have been good. Snow just being water after all… in the end, they had all been drenched watching Tony and Loki from behind the sofa as both men truly started to flex their magical skills. Loki even made a snow dragon... 

So… it was an extraordinary family, a bizarre home. You never knew what crazy thing would happen from one day to the next, and yet… they were _ his. _

Now they were who knows how far away.

Strangely, Stephen acting very much like _ Stephen? _ It was... grounding in a way. That edging hysterical panic that had been camping just outside of his field of vision was quashed under the slice of utter irritating normalcy. At least, their brand of normal. James held his arm out for Stephen to see, as if this was a completely normal piece of jewellery, just one made with magic by a potential Faerie King that can't be removed by anyone by said, King. Totally normal. James was not at all happy that he had something Tony made for him… maybe a little. He had never really had that before, people making things for him. Tony would appear with something, magical, technological, anything in-between every now and then. That someone went to the effort to create something just for you? Yeah, he was a sap, he loved it.

"Hmm, he's woven iron into it? That will undoubtedly come in handy over there, quite a statement too, that he's bound you in iron. The little Scythe is almost cute. You are both utterly nauseating." 

Stephen drops his arm suddenly as if burned, looking at his hand as the air around them gets heavier, and it's as if he can feel electricity crackling around him, it's hard enough that suddenly breathing is hard. Static electricity builds up, but even with his sight, James can't see anything. They hadn't even pushed any buttons yet! 

"What the fuck is that? What did you do?!" 

"I have no idea! I didn't do anything!" 

Oh great, if the Sorcerer doesn't know, then what chance has he got? James was just dealing with one thing at a time with this whole alien abduction _ thing. _ He had kind of thought this would be less crazy after he got rid of the damned alien. He was not panicking. He absolutely was not panicking. Stephen was good at weird, he'd think of something.

"It's centred on you… "

And now he is panicking—damned Sorcerer.

"What do you mean it's centred on me?! Why is it centred on me? What is it? Make it stop!" 

Stephen moved to step closer again but immediately flinched away, looking more than a little startled.

"How are you even alive right now?"

Okay. 

So. 

They absolutely needed to have a talk with Stephen about the right things to say in situations like this. 

Exhibit A for what NOT to say? Was _ that! _

Just as he was about to yell at Stephen for being _ Supremely _ unhelpful, Blue Flames suddenly flicker to life and zip down his arms, pooling in his hands, curling around his wrists and the sense of connection he had been sorely missing slowly began to build up. It was nothing like the fast connection Tony had formed between them back on Earth. Where he touched him and it snapped into place, and he was suddenly aware of so much more, where he had felt Tony and Rhodes straight away.

This time it was like a gradual trickle as he felt the Blue Fire wrap around his wrist excitedly. He got the feeling that the Blue Fire had been worried about him. That now it had found him again, it was keeping him close so he couldn't be stolen from it again. It was evidently very angry about him being stolen. James wondered if knowing what _ Fire _ was thinking or feeling was ever going to stop being not only bizarre but incredible too. Although he did wonder when the Blue Fire had become so attached to him. His own Black Fire somehow joined the Blue. Luckily it didn't actually seem to require his input as he had _ no idea _ how to summon his Fire. With that addition, the small trickle increased until it was a flood.

"Tony..." 

He breathed out his name because the connection is back, and with the Fire burning over his arms, it felt amazing. He wonders _ how _Tony is doing this exactly, but gets the feeling he is hyper-focused right now, which is why Tony isn't talking or telling him what is precisely happening. Rhodes is like a distant shadow, if he strains he can see a flicker of White, but he is too far away, which is strange because Tony and his Blue Fire do not feel as if they are in the same place as Rhodes. 

He glanced up to see Stephen, a few steps back and utterly incredulous.

"That's impossible. No way does he have enough power to reach you _ here. _ We're in _ space _ for Vishanti's sake! From the stars outside, we are nowhere near Earth! What is he even doing? Trying to send a message?" 

He focused on the Fire, Tony wasn't talking, and all of his attention and energy was focused on one thing. That's all James could glean through the connection, and it didn't tell him much. That was when the Blue Fire warmed at his wrist, and he kicked himself for being an idiot. Tony was busy, but Blue Fire itself was exceptionally powerful and intelligent. He redirected his question to the Fire, which, still very weird. The Fire sped up, moving around excitedly because he had thought to talk to it, and then he got his answer which caused his eyes to fly open in shock. The Fire prompted him to look at Tony and Rhodes again, which confirmed it. Rhodes was this tiny flicker, so far away he could hardly feel it, Tony? He could feel the warmth of his Flame, and he was on the move.

"No. He isn't sending a message. He's coming _ here _ . _ Right now!" _

"Don't be absurd, James. I know he has a habit of doing impossible things rather often, bu-"

"If anyone can come here and bring us home, it's him! You know it, since when does Tony do anything by the rules?" 

"I'm not sure I want to know what he blew up to get that amount of sheer energy."

The Blue Fire curled at his wrist suddenly jumped from his hands to the floor in front of them. A small trickle stubbornly stayed at his right wrist. Stephen takes a cautious step back and watches the spot intently. He noticed his Black Fire seems to have joined it as they both just stare. Even though Stephen obviously thought the feat was impossible, he watched the spot just as intently.

"You totally do want to know."

Stephen rolled his eyes but didn't comment, which meant that yes, he was interested in what the hell Tony had done to be able to do this.

Right in front of them, out of the small Blue and Black Fire, a _ torrent _ of Blue, White and Black Flame exploded out from the floor. _ Nothing _ like Tony's usual Firewalking at all. That was usually a calm burst of Black Fire. This was like all three Fires had twisted together and utterly exploded into existence in front of them. Even though he had fully expected Tony to defy Stephen's prediction somehow, the Fire surprised him, and the sheer relief as Tony suddenly burst from the first after a second explosion. It is like a punch to the gut and letting go of a breath he had not realised he was holding. Tony didn't step from the Fire, as usual, there was a lot more force behind it, and instead of displaying, the entrance to the Fireworld snapped back into Tony like a magnet.

Tony then staggered out towards them, shirtless, which was a bit strange, but then James couldn't give a fuck if he was dressed as a rabbit right now because Tony was _ here. _Tony had come for them. He was wavering on the spot which had James worried for a second, before he stood up straight and any trace of exhaustion and pain was entirely wiped from his features. Tony blinked before onto Stephen and himself with a physical force behind it. Tony was usually meticulous about the natural effects Fae had on humans which immediately got James thinking.

"Sidan Du."

"Tony, I can't believe you-" 

"We must leave." 

James frowned slightly as Stephen was cut off mid-sentence, because... that didn't sound like Tony. The accent and speech patterns were all wrong, even for just a few words. As was the name, Tony called him Fy Sidan. Not Sidan Du. It did not take James long to put things together. James had felt Tony slip back. James had felt that hidden part of Tony crash forward on a wave of pure rage as Tony realised James was being abducted. 

James blinked, which brought his sight forward and the Blue Fire that surrounded Tony was absent. No, it wasn't utterly gone, there was some, but it was in a small cluster with Tony's other Fires. Instead, a dark red inferno simmered around this person, but it wasn't made from Flames, even though James could somehow feel heat crackling around him, the air warping and shimmering like when it's scorching out. It wasn't red like the Ved'ma either, even though there was a slight resemblance. It was very similar to Tony's Fire, but red and flickers of red lashes snapped and snarled in erratic patterns around him. It was all bound together at the centre to create a complicated Celtic knot that wrapped around his chest.

"You aren't Tony, are you?"

This other side, The side Tony said was born from his rage, anger and pain. The side that had only known lies, pain and servitude. The one Tony had given him _ very strict _ instructions regarding…

They seemed pleased that James had noticed he was not Tony. An unsure smile crossed his face in a barely-there flash, that was _ nothing _ like Tony's smiles. No flash of fangs. Fast, as if he showed emotion too openly, it would be used against him. At the same time, he was also quite open, obviously pleased and shocked.

James got a feeling that he was often mistaken for Tony.

"No. I am DubhMáel. We must leave now and return to Earth. I cannot replenish our Fire until we return. You are not safe here, where is Ebony Maw?" 

"Creepy magic casting alien?"

"That would be an apt description."

"Dead."

DubhMáel flashed a wide, satisfied smile that time, now that definitely reminded him of Tony, with the same vicious kind of pride he had after he and Rhodes had fought the Red Caps. DubhMáel held his hand out towards him, and James didn't even think before he grabbed hold. Even though it was so strange to be talking to someone else in Tony's body. Or rather, a different aspect of Tony. One Tony told him to avoid like the plague. Yet… he had come to rescue them. James knew he didn't know everything about Tony and DubhMáel's relationship. Still, even when Tony had told James to beware, he had seen the pain written clearly around Tony, it was also apparent that he still felt protective of him and even after so many years, still held out _hope._ Maybe this could be good for both of them?

It also earned him another tentative, shocked smile before he turned his attention to Stephen, holding out his other hand. Stephen, who was being uncharacteristically silent as they had a staring competition. It gave James a second to just... _ look. _

He still looked like Tony, which was odd as Tony had told him DubhMáel used a different glamour. Tony's Woad was still visible, but strangely some of it on his arms had changed colour. The vibrant blue he associated with Woad was replaced with a deep red. He also held himself differently, the longer he looked, little things became apparent until James didn't know how anyone mistook him for Tony. It was kind of like looking at twins. Similar, but different.

James also worried about what all of this meant for Tony. He had felt Tony release DubhMáel, but he would have expected them to switch back by now? Tony had told him that DubhMáel doesn't exactly _ do well _ out on his own, that he does better being integrated. Whatever that actually meant.

Instead of being integrated, he was utterly forward with no mention of Tony at all, he worried about what this meant for Tony... until DubhMáel seemed to tire of Stephen's staring contest, and simply grabbed his hand. 

"We do not have time for this."

DubhMáel clearly did not share Tony's habit of making himself seem more human. Certainly utilising _ much _ more strength that Tony commonly does, he and Strange were then dragged unceremoniously into the Fireworld. Stephen too busy trying to keep out to see DubhMáel and Tony free of their glamour's in this space.

Tony did so many little things to put humans at ease around them, including lowering his power level and physical strength. James had thought he had a good idea of Tony's capabilities before today. Yet, unless DubhMáel had a different level of strength and magical abilities, then they still hadn't come up against a fraction of Tony's power based on what little DubhMáel displayed. He catapulted himself and Stephen into the Fire with more speed and strength than he could conceive of, Stephen barely had a chance to yelp, let alone do anything else. All they could do was run.

It was strange. There was no shortcut of Blue Fire this far out he guessed, just Black Fire. Then DubhMáel dragged them, running as fast as possible with a firm grasp on his hand and Stephen's wrist. Hyper-focused ahead of them and James saw a watery, flickering image of Rhodes with White Fire simmering in agitation around him. DubhMáel's level of focus must have been similar on the way to them when James got no impression but heavy focus. It wrapped around himself and Stephen and almost compelled them to put everything into running.

It all seemed to be going well, he and Stephen were running flat out to keep up with the pace DubhMáel set. It was a hard run, but he was thrilled to run it. Thrilled to not be in space anymore. But after a little while... James saw something that scared him more than being trapped in space had. 

Really scared him.

DubhMáel and Tony's Fire was _ dimming. _

When he had arrived on the ship, the Blue Fire in his chest had been burning much hotter than James had ever seen it. It was nearly three times as large and blazing white-hot. There was also Blue Fire flitting across his skin, with occasional bursts of White and Black, DubhMáel had been _ wreathed _ in Fire.

The sheer amount of it meant James had missed it at first. He hadn't seen it get back to how James regularly saw it, but after that, he watched it. He pushed himself to run even faster, but as they continued to run, it got dimmer.

James knew Tony used energy to Firewalk. He knew it was more energy-intensive to take partners. Traversing the Fireworld took much longer without the Blue Fire, without a Blue Fire current to slip into? There were no shortcuts. Tony used the natural flow of the Blue Fire to travel distances that others either could not, or he simply moved faster. With the current doing all of the work, Tony expended minimal energy required to maintain the Fireworld. Without his shortcuts, it meant DubhMáel was stuck constantly burning up his energy just to maintain the Fireworld.

Energy which was keeping him _ alive. _

That he could not replenish until they reached Earth. He doubted they could even stop for a break, would they be on a different planet? He was running fast enough that he couldn't entirely focus on the Fireworld, but he couldn't see the strange buildings, there was just Black Fire that steadily thickened until the edges of the world were a shimmering mass of darkness.

He watched DubhMáel as they ran for what felt like forever until they suddenly burst out of the Fireworld with a much rougher transition than usual. Stephen stumbled to one side, falling to his knees and grabbing his head and stomach groaning in discomfort. James had fared better, more accustomed to running with Tony and used to the Fireworld. He also kept a tight hold on DubhMáel's hand.

A brief look around showed that they had landed in one of the gardens of the compound, surrounded by a very startled bunch of Avengers and right in front of a stunned Rhodey. Practically in his lap actually. 

James was amazed to be back on earth. 

They'd done it.

They'd defeated the bad guy.

He'd been abducted. 

He'd saved Stephen.

DubhMáel had then saved them, _ and _ brought them home on the same day.

James could finally allow himself to breathe, or maybe freak out about the whole abduction by alien thing. 

Either or, he wasn't sure yet.

Until he felt DubhMáel drop to his knees next to him, James was still holding his hand firmly so felt the tug as he fell, and his attention immediately snapped to him. A dread feeling crawled through his gut which was backed up when James' attention dropped to the Blue Fire and DubhMáel's chest. Tony's chest. 

The Fire in DubhMáel's chest flickered as he looked up at him in confusion. The flicker was dull, dark, barely-there as if it was sputtering and trying desperately to catch or ignite further.

James had no idea what to do. There had to be _ something. _ His attention snapped back to his face. DubhMáel's was shocked, a little pained and a shade of confused innocence that made James' heart ache for him. He did not deserve _ more _ pain after what Tony had told him. After risking his life to save him.

"What can I do to help you?" 

"Seven-" 

Was all he got out before his eyes flashed to pure white and DubhMáel slumped forward. James lunged to catch him before DubhMáel slammed face-first into the floor and turned him over. The Blue Fire at the centre of his chest was _ gone. _ Now there was just a gap where, disturbingly, he could see right through, _ into _ his chest. 

"No, no, no, fuck, no! No!" 

"He's got no-" 

"Don't you fucking say it. If I think of a place, can you take it from my mind and take us there?" 

He snapped at Stephen, and he felt slightly bad as the man was still holding his side in what looked like a painful stitch. His face was still pale, and his hands were shaking more than usual after checking DubhMáel's/Tony's pulse.

"I'm not sure-"

"Can. You. Do. It?!"

Stephen didn't argue this time, just reached out and touched his face then promptly summoned a portal to the forest Tony had taken him to in Wales. James didn't stop to think or explain; he was not letting this day end like this. There had to be something. Tony and DubhMáel weren't human, and there was no point treating them so.

James scooped up Tony Bridal style and immediately ran through without a look back. Only Stephen and Rhodes came with him from the sound behind him. They were running as swiftly as possible behind him. He and Rhodes were almost silent running through a forest like this, which was made exceptionally obvious with how _ loud _ Stephen was. Rhodes didn't let the sorcerer fall back, which meant he could focus on his path.

Everyone else had been too stunned to follow, he guessed, and as the portal closed behind them, they were left to wait. 

James just ran like he had never run before, suddenly faster than he had been in the Fireworld now he was in the Forest. Somehow, he seemed to _ know _ the pathway, even though he'd only been here once, it was like he could _ feel _ where he was going, almost like muscle memory, but not. Like something in his chest was pulling, urging him along, pulling him faster and faster until he heard Stephen curse and felt a burst of magic. James assumed the two would keep up, because somehow he couldn't slow down. He couldn't stop, not with this feeling pushing and pulling at him.

It pulled him along until he reached the familiar circle of trees, he burst through and almost skidded to a stop on his knees next to the Bluestone slab. He lay Tony down, lining up the burnt hole in the slab with where the Fire should be in his chest—feeling Stephen and Rhode arrive behind him, both panting. He could feel Rhodes bond deep visceral agony at seeing Tony like this, so he was reaching out to him before he had planned the movement. Rhodes caught his hand straight away, crushing in his grip as the man took a few deep breaths before moving to drop down on Tony's right.

James didn't know what he _ expected _ to happen. He had no idea what he was even doing here. DubhMáel had said _ Seven _, and this was the first thing that burst into his mind. Slammed into him in a way that it was the only thing he could think about, but Tony was just… lying there. 

Unmoving...

His chest was dark, the bright Blue Fire he had grown so attached to was gone. But the worst of all? 

The Blue Woad was starting to _ fade. _

It was staring at the septagram at his chest. At the Septagram. The centre around where the Fire had shone had faded first when he had been running, then he blinked, and the star was just… gone. 

From there, it slowly spread out in all directions from where the septagram once lay. Each Ward faded slowly until a blink, and it was just gone as if it had never been. Then the next began to fade, spreading out to each the previous Ward had touched, like a chain reaction. 

Each Ward disappearing lodged panic in his gut. 

Leaving Tony's, now oddly pale and blank, golden skin beneath. If Tony ever covered his Wards with a glamour again, James knew he would remember this moment, like it was burned into his mind. Because he refused to believe this was permanent.

James and Rhodes refused to move from their positions, no matter what Stephen said. James was sitting down on his left, holding his hand in his own, grasping with an edge of panic if he is honest. Sitting in the dark, early morning chill of Wales. The Grove was warmer than the weather outside, but James probably wouldn't have noticed if it had been snowing, his focus was locked as he just _ hoped _ with everything inside him that he would be OK. _ Somehow. _ That _ somehow _ the Blue Fire would save him again. 

Rhodes sat on the other side, also holding his hand and staring at Tony's face with a level of intensity that James could read in the tension through every muscle. He was muttering under his breath, but quiet enough that James didn't hear it. The words were for Tony, so James did not pry, just kept to his own vigil as they waited.

Stephen also stayed, even though he seemed to feel awkward. He was pacing back and forth with nervous energy practically rolling off of him. He checked Tony's pulse occasionally. James wasn't sure why. Whether it was for them, or to convince himself. James could _ feel _ the Sorcerers anger at his inability to help.

But James and Rhodes had faith. Tony had told him that faith was powerful.

James just hoped that the two of them would be enough. Rhodes with his White Fire. James with his Black and the convergence would hopefully give them the Blue Fire Tony so desperately needed.

As another Ward vanished, James switched his focus to Tony's face. He _ couldn't _ watch Tony's Wards slowly disappear anymore.

Just as the sun started to come up, that was when the Blue Fire was lit along the border of the Grove. Stephens' attention snapped to it immediately in surprise as the Blue Fire shifted from the circle to the seven lines around them.

All of the lines started flowing towards Tony one by one. James took this as good news because he knew that all of these lines obviously didn't flow towards the convergence. Three of them flowed away from the convergence normally. Rhodes caught his suddenly buoyed mood and focused on the Fire, noticing the same thing that all the lines we're flowing towards the centre.

It started with the one at his head. Then it went left around the circle until all seven were lit and flowing towards them. One went through James on one side. Another went through Rhodes on the other. Rhodes had been about to move, not wanting to interrupt the flow to Tony, but James told him to stay. It was too much of a coincidence that they were each sitting on one of the lines in James's mind. 

James had not planned that, he hadn't even reached to talk to the Fire; all of his attention was on Tony. He did dip his free hand into the Fire now, to convey his thanks for the Fire. James was still new at this talking to Fire thing, so he had no idea if it worked. He did see Rhodes doing the same, however, so he was pretty sure he did good.

The Blue Fire very steadily started to pool in Tony's chest, he and Rhodes refused to move from their position. Even when it got so bright that they could barely look at Tony's chest anymore, they refused to move even after it was so hot that the two Reapers were sweating profusely. They didn't budge an inch, even when Stephen was forced to stagger back from the heat and Fire. James felt his own Fire wrap around him, and he knew he was protected. A glance at Rhodes showed him wreathed in White Fire.

Tony had told him that they were Fire. Seeing the three of them together like this was amazing, and James just wished Tony was here to enjoy it with them.

As the sun got higher and higher in the sky, the more Fire pooled in Tony's chest, and just as the sun left the horizon, just as the veins started to dim as the Sunrise was complete, a bright flash if Blue Fire that had James blinking spots in his eyes as he watched the Fire push towards Tony. In the opposite direction that they had arrived, this time ending at his head. As they reached him, the Fire pooled into the Blue Inferno that was between them. James and Rhodes were forced to close their eyes as the last Fire slipped inside of him, James was holding his breath waiting for… something, although he had no idea _ what. _

That was when Tony, or maybe DubhMáel if he was still at the foreground? Either, or both, they end up _ screaming. _ He imagined being brought back from… where ever he had been was a bit of a shock.

Tony was clutching at their hands, and looking around wildly like he did when he came out of a nightmare, but worse. James was very thankful that he'd thought to use his metal hand as Rhodes was even flinching slightly under Tony's grip. He and Rhodes were staring wide-eyed at him, because Tony didn't quite look like Tony. Oh, he was recognisable to him, there were differences that he recognised all too well, and James _ knew _ that when Tony turned to him, his eyes would be pure gold with that catlike pupil. Seeing this version of Tony under the sun was a shock, but he tore his eyes from his face and looked at his chest, James was nearly faint when he realised that the Wards were back.

Rhodes was stunned, blinking as he just _ gaped _at Tony, which was when James remembered that Rhodes did not Firewalk with Tony like he did. So, this was apparently his first time seeing Tony like this. 

"Rhodey? James? Your both alright, oh thank fuck I didn't…." 

"We thought you were _ dead, _ the Fire in your chest Tones, it went completely out." 

Rhodes' voice shook, he looked like he was crushing Tony's hand right back, and he punched his arm. James chuckled as he felt more than a little lightheaded with the rush of _ everything _ that had happened these last few days crashing into him at once.

"I uh, mostly was. I was close enough to cross over this time, at least partially. I... if my body is still here? You have a chance to get me back. I should have told you that, I just didn't… The Fire rose up suddenly, and I was pulled back. When I realised what was happening I let it take me. What… what happened? When I was… gone? Did I.." 

Tony's speech was a little stilted as if he wanted to get several things out at the same time and as such, wasn't precisely making much sense at all.

"You came and saved Stephen and me from space! What do you mean if your..?" 

James just blurted out, with a smile because he was suddenly utterly drained but happy, he gestured vaguely at Tony, not wanting to say 'his body', or anything in reference to the man dying. Tony just blinked in response for a few seconds, looking utterly baffled. 

"He Firewalked into fucking _ space?! _ When my kind pass, we return to energy, golden light and like those golden butterflies that our excess magic occasionally disperses into. If I'm here, you haven't lost me yet. I'm sorry I didn't tell you three that sooner. Fucking space, ingenious bastard. _ " _

James was more than happy when Rhodes took over because he was just about able to breathe and hold onto Tony's hand like he was never fucking letting go. Rhodes was gripping his other arm just as hard.

"Yeah, he ordered us to take you... Well, him I guess, back to the base. Looked like a man on a mission and wasn't waiting around. Loki tried to talk to him, but he was not interested in him calling him crazy for trying to port to space. Seemed confused that I cared about him hurting too. Which, I will be talking to him about at some point."

Rhodes gave Tony a pointed look that brokered no disagreement which had Tony barking out a laugh. Seemingly genuinely happy with such a development even though he had warned him to stay away from his other side. Although James supposed that he had helped instead of hurting meant something? James had no idea; he barely got his head around the fact Tony's mother was three people some days. 

"Then he went into your garden with us chasing him, poofed your maze somehow, and you are a jerk for not giving me that Ward, by the way, I want it. Then he… stabbed the ground. Blue Fire started to build and building until we were all forced back… and then we kind of thought he had _ exploded _ ! That's what it looked and felt like. It even was picked up as an Earthquake! After that, we freaked out, Loki went to the breach whilst I got to work speaking to the UN about the doughnut-aliens. I was just heading to check on Loki when the three of you suddenly fell into my lap, you… you were… You were _ dead _ Tones, but then James brought you here… and this is so fucking weird. Your Wards we're _ vanishing." _

The last part was practically whispered, which prompted Tony to squeeze their hands again.

"It's alright, Platypus. I'm back. I'm me. I told you, I die all the time. Please tell me you called them 'doughnut-aliens' to the UN." 

"Maybe. I thought you would like it. So, uh, is this what you normally look like?" 

James felt Tony completely freeze up at Rhodes' question, eyes going wide slightly with blatant panic, more than he had ever seen Tony display before. Quickly taking his hands back, Tony swiped Blue Fire into his palm from the grass. He then did something similar to what he'd seen Stephen so, just smaller, and Blue. James didn't recognise this kind of magic at all, nothing like Tony's Black Fire. He knew Tony knew other types of magic, but he had never _ seen _ it before. Blue Fire wrapped around deep blue tendrils as Tony sculpted them into more complex shapes with each pass. Tony was also cringing the entire time before slamming it, hard, into his sternum and into his Fire. 

Blue Fire surged out and around his hand, pulling the intricate pattern inwards and engulfing his hand. From there, the changes sort of rippled out, returning Tony the mid-between look he had mostly been wearing, running a hand through his short hair. James was not sure _ why _ Tony found restoring his glamour so urgent, or why he had panicked, but figured this wasn't exactly the time to ask.

"That's better." 

That, however, snapped Stephen out of his stunned silence. His feeling of being unable to help shifting to anger at Tony's casual disregard for his own health.

"You should have waited before doing more magic! If you're openly cringing, I'm guessing your other self burnt himself up with his insane plan! You need to rest!" 

"That's because Fy Machgen has no true concept of repercussions, sense, or you know, acceptable levels of _ pain. _ Can you portal us home Stephen, to my garden, I need to see how things are after his energy gathering adventure, we might have a problem. A big one. I am happy he got you both home though, insane bastard taking my own concepts to extremes." 

Tony was _ really _ smiling as he spoke. James was utterly stunned, given how they had talked about DubhMáel last. 

However, it wasn't exactly a complete shock. 

It had the feel of family drama. Just made even more complicated by the fact they were Fae, sharing a singular body and how DubhMáel was born.

_ Something _ had changed between the two of them now. DubhMáel's actions today had caused a shift in Tony. James could see he was stunned, shocked, but tentatively happy. His aura practically _ screamed _ hope instead of the dark layers of dread and failure. The change was blinding.

Whilst Tony had told him some of their shared past, Caderyn and DubhMáel had both been around for millennia. James still struggled to think about time in such a way in regards to someone's life. 

He also constantly had to remind himself _ not _ to apply human thought patterns or logic to the Fae, because they were fundamentally different in many ways. Just because Tony and DubhMáel were at odds, it didn't mean the same to a Fae as a human. Like how Tony's homely, super kind mother was also the _ Patroness of Revenge. _ How Tony carried the Lifegiver in his chest and the Executioner's blade in his hand. He had to continuously remind himself of it on somedays, same with Thor and Loki, anytime he got alarmed at Loki stabbing Thor over breakfast only for Thor to laugh. Even being so immersed, it tripped him up occasionally. Like Tony had said, Good and Evil were too rigid of a concept to apply to immortality.

"So, he is like an entirely different person? Why didn't you mention you have a completely different person in there Tones? I mean, you've _ hinted _ at something, but meeting him… it was… different." 

"It's… complicated, it's a… quirk of my kind. We tend to have different aspects, different forms. My mother's sides are so integrated; she switches mid-conversation seamlessly. Because of how Fy Machgen was born, it complicates matters. He's me, but not me. He's my rage. He is Fy Brawd. My Brother." 

James knew it was slightly more than just being Tony's rage, and his eyebrows shot up as Tony had never referred to him as his brother before. Whatever this change meant in DubhMáel. Tony had grabbed hold of it with an edge of desperate hope that James could feel without even looking at his Aura. James just hoped that things went how he wanted.

James didn't know if he could watch hope like that get crushed.

He also knew that how DubhMáel was born and what he lived through were essential to this potential conversation, but James wasn't going to rush Tony into talking. He knew Tony didn't discuss this often. When they had last talked about it, the visceral pain that Tony seemed to be surrounded in? It set his teeth on edge. 

Tony slowly stood up, shrugging as he wavered on the spot. James immediately slipped an arm around Tony as he didn't seem that stable on his feet. He obviously needed _ rest, _ even though the Fire in his chest was entirely brighter than he'd ever seen it typically. Well, except for when they were in space. Tony also looked thoroughly exhausted, drained and raw, James was still kind of processing far too many things happening in such a concise period of time. He hoped that the contact was as grounding for Tony as it was for him, as Tony melted slighted and relaxed into his chest, he figured it was certainly helping...

As Tony didn't immediately volunteer any more information, Stephen shook his head before he summoned a portal. James certainly wasn't about to tell them what he knew unless Tony agreed, but the others clearly didn't seem to feel like the conversation was over. From the dark look on Tony's face and how he pushed himself closer to James, it is evident that he knew it was not going to be dropped anytime soon.

He needed a vacation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For a brief moment, I considered the terrible cliffhanger in this chapter xD, but I couldn't be that mean.
> 
> Sorry, I've been a little lax on the social media, tumblr and replying front, my energy has been quite low. Your comments really do cheer me up though, even when my pain is bonkers!
> 
> Random addition -
> 
> If any of you were already or became [Damh The Bard](https://m.facebook.com/damhthebard/?tsid=0.4782002648516699&source=result) fans reading this, he is doing a in-house concert on Friday 24th, 7pm GMT. Via Facebook live on his page (hopefully that link works). I will be in the chat cheering and hoping Spirit of Albion gets played xD. His concerts are great for uplifting and shedding the stress of the current situation for a little while.


	65. Fy Brawd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is hopeful. 
> 
> Tony is also kind of an idiot, but what are friends for, if not to stop you being a self-sabotaging idiot who takes the blame for everything and then bottles it all up.

**Tony POV**

Tony stepped out of Stephen's portal into his garden and frowned, immediately he could feel the energy in the air.

'Fy Machgen, did you leave the Fire open as you ran?'

He wasn't sure why he still tried speaking, even when he sank into the shared mindscape, DubhMáel ignored him. Yet, he was still his Brawd, so he kept trying. He had a thin line of hope that maybe he would answer this time. He had _ never _ saved a Reaper before. Never saved anyone. He had accidentally killed, intentionally killed and misconstrued his anger many, many times… but this was _ new. _

His Brawd had only been taught so much in his formative years that pulling away from that skillset was hard for him. Anytime he had tried to change his path had been met with brutally efficient methods to keep him on task. It was why the few times Tony had been helpless, awake and watching. He almost said nothing. Tony knew when a creature deserved no more pain, he could feel the balance in his soul, and it was drowned out. 

This action, saving two people. On the surface, it would not look like much to many people. However, Tony saw the sheer weight it carried. For one, James and Stephen were creatures of the light, with heavy promise in their future, of lives yet to be saved. Bringing them back into the equation alone carried serious weight. Two creatures that his Brawd had never met. Two that meant a lot to him. Stephen was almost his apprentice, even though it had not been formalised and James… James was different. The first incarnation of the Unifying Fire.

Tony could see serious unmet potential swimming in his aura. Also, personally, the idea of James being alone to take the brunt of Thanos' wrath… few things in this world could make _ Tony _ rage, without his Brawd to take the front. Tony instinctively knew that if Thanos had harmed him, there would be no corner of the Universe the Deviant could hide. No land he, nor his children, would ever be safe in, and nothing in his future but for complete and utter destruction. 

It was a side of himself that rarely emerged and the last time had been after his Brawd fell back and Tony learned every detail of what Molaich had done to one who was his. Molaich survived by necessity, but Tony had cut a bloody swathe through everything the twisted remnant of a person held dear. In his mind, that debt was still not settled, even knowing Molaich was trapped within the centre of the void.

These circumstances his Brawd had been forced to grow in were precisely why Tony tried not to rage even when his actions had cut him to the quick on more than one occasion. If anything, they never made him angry, just a wealth of sadness for lost chances and the weight of failure.

Tony took a risk this time, holding his breath and momentarily crushing James hand as for the first time, he gently nudged that part of his mind. Tony could feel that his Brawd was hurting from burning himself up, and it had weakened him. Even if he ignored his own pain to a scary level, he still felt it. His Brawd did not believe he was _ allowed _ to recognise it, to rest because of it. Tony was also aching from his time in the static place. Even so, he sent a curl of mixed Fire wrapped in the blue weave of Fae magic to ease his Brawd's pain. He was just about to pull back and leave him be when he _ spoke. _ Tony almost stumbled in the real world, but James easily caught him. James shot him a questioning look, but all of his focus was devoted to his Brawd.

'The mission was to rescue Sidan Du, I succeeded? Didn't I? Ryn? He is safe? I brought the Sorcerer too. He adopted Levi.'

The almost tentative way he asked nearly threw Tony again. This was so new. He sent back feelings of happiness and great thanks. That his Brawd had done something that he had been unable to accomplish. That he had taken his debt of failure upon himself, even though he did not need to. He had taken Tony's failure and balanced it, that was no small thing.

'Yes, they are safe and alive. You did what I could not. You reached where I could not go. You erased my debt of failure and brought Fy Sidan home. You have my gratitude, Fy Machgen. Fy Brawd. Rest now, please. You have drained yourself badly, and I do not want to lose you. Let me ease that pain.'

'Fy Brawd.'

Tony couldn't help the grin at that. Full-on grinning like an idiot that earns him some odd looks. James seemed pleased.

Even on the very few times he had spoken to Tony, and it was rare for him to talk much _ at all. _ One or two words would be a huge accomplishment.

He had never said 'My Brother' back before. No matter how often Tony called him such. He had never even acted as if he knew what it meant.

Those two words carried more meaning than the most prolonged ramble he could ever come out with. That when he sent a simple weave to ease pain and restoration after suffering magic burnout, it was accepted? That he consented?

Blinking rapidly, Tony brought his attention back to the outside world. He practically had to force himself to do so. The temptation to sit and help his Brawd was _ strong. _As soon as he turned his eyes back, he immediately felt eyes, heavy on him, that was disconcerting, and he knew people would want explanations. 

Which meant talking about things both he and his Brawd would rather forget.

Tony moved faster as he felt energy crackling in the air, increasing in potency the closer they got to his garden, as much as he would like to just sit and try to talk to his Brawd, this was not the time, and his Brawd needed to rest anyway. Tony had duties that came before himself.

James was still keeping him stable as the others were following them closely, as Tony sped up, however, so did James. He held his left hand out, drawing energy to him as they passed. Small Blue Flames pulled towards him, leaving the air clear.

His maze was still partially collapsed, leaving the centre and his standing stone bare. His Brawd really had just filled himself and ran, not wasting any time at all. 

His curiosity was burning at him, what happened as he fell back? 

Did he slay both of Thanos' children? 

Did he find out how they had masked the ship? 

It was maddening, the last thing he remembered was James caught in the ray, being beamed up to the ship. Tony wondered how he had burned through so much energy exactly? He can't imagine a single child of Thanos escaping his Brawd's field of battle after all. Even one gifted in magic, his Brawd would not consider the potential fallout of a death curse so he could not imagine the battle lasting long. Firewalking up to the spaceship would be taxing, sure, but not enough to send Tony crossing through the deadlands. He would look into this later.

As he found the centre of his garden, he also found Loki, who was back from Asgard it seemed—remembering then that Rhodey had mentioned him. He would have to get a replay from FRIDAY to see how his Brawd reacted to so many people without any injuries. Maybe his Brawd had finally met his match, those who made the compound their home we're an interesting mix indeed, his Brawd would expect to be feared, but Tony doubted he would find much in the way of fear.

Tony pushed that aside and moved faster when he realised how large of a tear his Brawd had inflicted upon the Fire. Loki was almost desperately using his magic to stem the haemorrhaging Fire. Not that there was anyone at the compound who could have done a halfway better job. They were immensely lucky that he was here in fact, his Brawd would not have thought about the convergence after he had fueled up. Not from neglect, it was merely how his mind worked, to hyperfocus on goals. It was him who thought about everything surrounding an issue. Neither way was perfect. Tony occasionally got so bogged down in sifting through potential strands that his action in the moment was less decisive and forceful than his Brawd's. Just as his Brawd's actions could have severe unintended consequences. When they worked together, or like this, acting in tandem? Or one after the other, balanced, that was when they were at their strongest.

Loki's magic, however, was not precisely compatible for the task at hand, he hadn't learned to work with the Blue Fire yet, they'd just gotten to a point he could speak to it. So, he was having to continually channel his Seiðr into a patch that was immediately being eroded by the much more powerful, almost unending Blue Fire. Loki _ looked _ tired too, and the _ relief _ on his face when he glanced up and saw them was apparent, which for a man who rarely let his feelings show on his face? That was pretty big. Today was a day of wonders it seemed.

"Finally." 

Tony sped up and dropped heavily down next to him. Without James holding him up, his legs were still not at their best and James glared at him for dropping down so heavily. Tony immediately reached for the same patch of land until Stephen grabbed his hand to stall him. On a typical day, such an action was fine from a person within his circle. Today however was not normal. So he couldn't help the low growl that caused everyone around him to freeze up as he slipped his control. Humans and even Asgardians tended to react in certain ways to Fae. Especially the stronger the Fae. 

Tony was a master at reflecting those natural physiological reactions, without the control; however, he was simply a high born Fae who was angry, and they would _ feel _that. When a species felt things as viscerally as The Fae tended to do, overspill was always going to happen. Right now, his Brawd was still too much close, which meant he was quicker to anger. Even when he was exhausted and sleeping, Tony packed it down and felt his control slowly wash over him as Stephen yelled at him. At least he had not disturbed his Brawd, and James seemed to be unconcerned, if anything he was looking at his arm where goosebumps had broken out in fascination. Not for the first time, he noted his Sidan was a peculiar sort, and it was little wonder he attracted Fae like he did. He was a light in the darkness.

"You have to rest, even if you just refuelled... _ somehow, _ you were _ dead _not ten minutes ago! And before that, you channelled an insane amount of energy!" 

"You were dead!?"

Well, Loki did not look pleased about that at all. People always got so angry at his near-death experiences. Tony never quite understood why, clearly he was fine?

"You've come a long way with the Blue Fire Stephen; however, I can't in good conscience let you heal a haemorrhage like this. I'll be fine. It actually _ can't _ burn me up completely anymore. Not like it could you. Touching this, even as much as Loki is right now could easily render you into the Fire. Loki has been taking a _ huge _ risk here, even with several layers of Seiðr between him and the convergence. Okay, Loki, release now, and I'm fine. See, all alive and kicking." 

Loki frowned at him in a way that said this conversation was not at its completion yet, even if Tony did not understand why. So he decided to focus on something he could heal. Focusing entirely on the veins beneath the earth, feeling the Blue Fire that stretched out and out and connected to other points. The Fire quickly answered his call, curling around him, not just in thanks but in satisfaction. Which surprised him, his Brawd had not just utilised Blue Fire. He had actively worked with it. His Fire was almost white-hot in rage at the mere idea that someone stole James from it. Not that he could throw stones here, he and his Fire were very much in agreement.

After assessing everything, he slowly turned his attention to fixing the damage. A quick fix would not do for a convergence like this. Tony was not sure when it happened, but this was no longer just one of many three-point convergences. It had become a vital node. Tony smoothed his hands over the ground that had been torn up just as Loki pulled his hands back. 

Tony's hand followed Loki's as he pulled the last of his Seiðr away, giving full control over the wound to Tony as he slumped back onto the standing stone to catch his breath. He watched intently as every when Tony was working with the Blue Fire. He summoned his Fae magic, as Blue Fire was quite partial to that manner of weave, mixing the dark blue tendrils with his Black Fire to slowly weave the Fire and Earth around it.

Even though Tony was pointedly ignoring how as he healed the Earth beneath his fingers, the grass seemed to come back a little _ too fast, _ a little _ too green. _ Exacerbated further as small, spring flowers of daisies and buttercups we're also sprouting, something that _ should not _ be happening and Tony had managed to trick himself into forgetting until just now. It was also much harder to hide than the grass, the flowers were small, but they were spring flowers, so they were vibrant and attention-grabbing—new and fresh beginnings within such tiny blooms. 

Loki out of everyone was watching it like a hawk, he definitely had noticed the change, and his eyes snapped up to Tony, immediately looking into his aura whilst most others lurking did not see the sheer enormity of what those tiny flowers represented. 

Tony did the completely adult thing and utterly ignored Loki's questioning gaze, earning him raised eyebrow for his troubles. 

His attention was diverted suddenly as he hissed in pain, we'll, it was more of a sting, or pins and needles. It was the shock more than anything, as he came across a weave of chaos magic. Well, that explained how his Brawd had sliced so deep into the Fire, he must have used the twinned blade to his Llafn y Dienyddiwr. His Llafn Anhrefn. Tony could tolerate Chaos magic, as well as his Brawd, could tolerate Blue Fire. Still, both of them needed a moment to prepare for the different energies, stumbling on it like this was not overly comfortable, but usually Tony didn't feel much pain from his Brawd's chaos weaves. 

As he picked it out of the wound, he frowned. The red was lighter in colour than Tony was used to. His Brawd was one of the very few in existence who not only wielded chaos magic to an exceptionally high level. He _ controlled _ it to a degree many could not conceive. He was the physical representation of it. As such, his chaos magic tended to be darker and smoother than most others.

This was very light in colour, jagged with sharp fractures and it was still moving erratically, even separated from its source. His brother tended to weave his Chaos magic in the same patterns Tony weaved his Fae magic. Tony was sure Maw had not had Chaos magic. If he had, he would undoubtedly have utilised it against him? Whilst Tony could not be truly harmed by the red magic because of his Brawd, it was still influential in battle, and few even knew of his invulnerability. 

He could not read anything useful from the magic, unfortunately. So he flung the magic up in the air where Loki quickly destroyed it for him and made a point to investigate this further later, as he slowly knit together and soothed the breach. It took a while, and it was damned painful, but it was required. When it was completed, he nearly wavered and dropped to the side, James, however, had sat himself very close, and he caught himself on his shoulder before revealing that level of exhaustion and weariness to everyone else.

"There, Stephen or Platypus, this will need some work on it, possibly for a few weeks to properly heal, but it isn't going to rip apart and split the land anytime soon. I'll assess it again when I return from Underhill. If it becomes concerning, contact me, I should be able to sneak away occasionally. Woo, no earthquakes or volcanoes." 

"Wait, was that actually a risk?" 

Before he had a chance to answer his Rhodey, Loki jumped in, exhaustion making him snippy.

"Why do you think I've been sitting here for so long and expending so much energy?! I did not think Anthony would have appreciated his compound being so destroyed by The Black Disciple." 

Of fucking course Loki knows who he is. Well, that was his reprieve gone. Sometimes he envied his Brawd. He would just walk away from this conversation and not understand why he should stay. Tony felt compelled to stay.

"No, that would have sucked, I like my compound, and I'm not a fan of lava. You did good Lokster." 

"Well, it's good to see you back. I was moderately concerned." 

"Aww, na I'm fine Lokes. I always come back." 

"He Firewalked into space, not even to a fixed point. And then brought back two passengers." 

Loki didn't look remotely impressed. He looked pissed in fact, and it wasn't even his fault! Tony wasn't exactly sure why he was being yelled at.

"He took an old trick of mine for interdimensional travel to static lands without a proper gateway. One of us would travel via the long route, and I'd craft a bridge from Fire for everyone to cross. I never considered the idea of Firewalking into _ space. _"

He was still frowning at the convergence, the presence of chaos magic that felt... _ familiar _ in a way, it was sitting heavily in his mind. Like there was something important just out of reach. His Brawd's signature, however, had wiped out everything else, so Tony was utterly in the dark. Rhodey had not mentioned another person joining the fray. It also allowed him to adamantly ignore the pointed looks both Rhodey and Stephen were sending him. Loki was curious too, but he obviously knew something already. The only person who was not curious in the same way was James, who was a solid presence at his side, but then he already knew more about his Brawd than most others. 

Even if he didn't, it was clear James priority was having him rested and recouped, and that he would not be allowing much of anything else until that happened. It still caught Tony by surprise sometimes, James would simply not allow him to work through like he managed to needle his way into with most people. Very little could convince James when he got it into his head that Tony needed to rest, then he latched on to the heavy, single-minded focus of the Winter Soldier until it was completed. Even though he clearly was not Seelie and had not chosen to carry the moniker of Winter, his sheer survival had attracted a shard of Winter. It was slight, barely noticeable, but it was a comforting presence that made Tony more amenable to his ridiculous demands of eating and resting. 

Tony hadn't worked out how to tell him yet, especially as it was stronger now his Fire had been unleashed. It had barely been a seed, but whatever happened when Tony had fallen back, when James had been in space... that seed rooted and flowered. He didn't want James thinking it meant he was bad, wrong, evil...

Humans had ideas about Winter and Summer that were completely incorrect, and Tony did not want to tell him until that knee-jerk reaction of Winter-Evil and Summer-Good was gone. His mother would help, she was of Winter before she had struck out and Tony got along with his relatives in Winter far more than Summer. When she saw this change, he had a she was going to be pleased, humans are ever so rarely blessed a court. James managed it without even speaking to a representative of Winter.

Rhodey jerked him out of his spirally thoughts. He had to shake his head to bring it back to the current topic. When Tony was tired, his mind was less ordered and tended to fall down strange paths.

"So, uh, Tones? Are you going to explain exactly what just happened?" 

"Well, I have no memory of it. I was fighting hammer-time, James… he was being taken into that spaceship with Stephen. Then I slipped back. I woke up with you three in the forest. I have no idea what he does when he is at the fore like that. We are separate people, and I am less well versed at remaining present." 

Tony would not be telling them of where he went, even though James had guessed much. Tony would, however, not confirm anything about when he fell back like that. It would hurt them. 

He had tried to do something about it, but it required his Brawd's direct contribution to alter a space within their mindscape. In the first few centuries he had tried to discuss it, but his Brawd was young, scared, angry and hated him. Now… Now it had been too long. Not to change it, no, that was entirely possible. It was too long because if his Brawd realised he could have helped now but had spent millennia ignoring him? That would hurt him. Tony knew this, and that was before _ today, _ before he risked his life to save a reaper. Before that change that made Tony _ hope _for the first time in millennia. So it was something that he bore in silence and would continue to do so. Although Tony would prefer to be lying down soon, his muscles were unhappy with this moving around after exiting that space, his head was aching, and he just wanted to curl up in a ball until the pain faded completely.

"I must say, I was surprised when he came back guised as you, I recognised his magic immediately and it _ finally _ clicked why your magic had been so familiar to me." 

"I take it, you two met?" 

Tony snorted at Rhodey's question. If he had actually met him when he was still bound in chains, then Loki would be dead. Especially if it was at a battle.

"Thor liked his battles when he was younger, so he and his friends travelled to many different worlds to join fights of all sizes, and I got dragged along too. We witnessed him fight a few times from a safe distance, Thor was quite enamoured with his prowess, and I wondered why sometimes his magical signature seemed to alter completely, I assume that was you?" 

Tony flinched violently at that as if he grabbed a red hot nerve, nope. He can't do it. He was too sober for this conversation. Talking about some aspects with James had been hard; this was a different level entirely.

There was a flare of unease from deep within his mind also, proving that both of them were idiots who didn't know how to rest. Tony was slightly grouchy at that, his Brawd had been sleeping lightly and might have slipped into a deeper sleep, but now he could feel his alertness. He didn't deserve to go through this again.

"I'm too sober for this. I'm going to get drunk. If you _ really _have to ask me questions on this, I'll be in my room. Getting drunk. This is a one time deal where I will discuss how he came to be, and... our time back then." 

He did, however, hold a hand out for James, not sure what he was expecting and the man surprised him by taking it without a moment's pause. No wariness or even distaste even though he knew more than even Loki. Tony quickly pulled him into his Fireworld and made the short trip to his room. 

Tony had expected… well, he wasn't sure what he had expected. Sure, Tony had told James some of he and his Brawd's story, but meeting him was _ different. _Tony was supposed to be protecting his new reaper after his run-in with the witch, and aliens had abducted him on his watch. James had brought him back from the brink and seen him with none of his glamours in place… and yet, no hesitation. Same open smile as if nothing had changed and as if he still trusted him. Tony was not sure what to do with that.

Comfortably ensconced within the Fireworld, he fell into a prewarn pathway to his room. It required less energy to follow a pathway that had been walked several times, and it meant the convergence didn't pull him off course. Ignoring the surge of pain as he did, he dropped straight onto the sofa grimacing. He grit his teeth again and summoned a bottle of his most potent alcohol too. James was frowning at him slightly, unhappy at seeing him in pain rather than mad for many other entirely genuine ideas. 

His Brawd's confusion at James' reactions was enough to make him smile. It was amusing that they were both being shocked and utterly confused by the Fragile Creature.

'Go to sleep Fy Brawd.'

'I want to see. You truly are not cross with me?'

He shook his head which earned him a confused look from James as he held up his hand, asking James to want a second. James clicked immediately, eyes widening as he came to sit next to him, moving slowly and quietly so as not to distract him. At the same time, he was a stable source of support.

'Of course not, why would I be?'

'When you get sent... there, you always come back angry.'

'You did well, you spoke to my friends, you didn't raise your blade to any I care for, you saved people under my protection. You righted a debt that was not yours to carry. I never blame you for where I go Fy Brawd, that is my cross to bear, never a debt of yours.'

'Oh, I thought you were angry I sent you back, I did not think my actions would affect you… I… I like your current Reapers. The White Flame, he was kind to me. Even when he knew it was me. They are strange, they do not fear me, even when I attempted to make them nervous, if anything it made the White Flame defend me more? I do not understand.'

His Brawd was slurring slightly as he spoke now, exhaustion weighing heavy on him. Tony sent a weave of blue Fae magic to wrap around him again, to soothe that pain, ignoring the twinge it caused himself. He was not sure whether it was smart to hope, but he did. Maybe… maybe if things progressed his Brawd could spend time out without being integrated with him, they could work together more. Tony was sure that Rhodey and James would be good for him. If he could fall back without worrying about what he would return to… 

Tony found that he was not remotely shocked that Rhodes had already made such an impression on his Brawd. Tony might have been human when he met Rhodey, but there had been a lot of Fae about him. He had been poorly socialised and growing up with Howard, dealing with Fae traits bleeding through… prickly was an understatement. Yet Rhodey had dogged his steps. The idea of Rhodey doing so to his Brawd amused him greatly. Maybe after they returned from Underhill, if he could convince his mother to lurk just in case, he could let the two get to know each other.

James was also a very strange Fragile Creature when it came to Fae. He took comfort in things that scared others. There was no hesitation, no wariness and also that he would not let Tony get away with his usual lack of self-preservation. If anyone could make his Brawd feel like more than a weapon, he had a feeling it would be them. They had had quite the effect on him, even before Tony realised what they were up to.

"Sorry, I just had to clear something up."

"He's talking to you?"

Tony let the shock and how much he _cared_ about that actually show, which had James widening his eyes slightly before bumping his shoulder. Tony relaxed a little, whilst he was enthused, he was also terrified he was going to fuck this chance up. With such a simple move, James had said he would be there throughout.

"Was Firewalking here really necessary? I'm sure walking here would have been less painful for you?" 

Tony chuckled that the tone James was using on him was practically identical to him trying to get his Brawd to sleep. James did not like him needlessly hurting himself, even though it was manageable.

"It's worth the few minutes of not talking about this whilst they make their way into the building. Stephen will take more offence at being a human taxi than his curiosity of my past, which gives me a head start. Maybe Loki will get bored and not join them. Unlikely, but maybe. I'm not good at talking about this. Talking about it is hard." 

James eyed his bottle, but there was no way he'd share this. Even enhanced as he was, this stuff could get himself, and Thor hammered in less than a bottle, he knew because they'd done it. He had no idea what it would do to a lower constitution and was not going to find out. Instead summoned a bottle of the rejuv that James was utterly obsessed with.

"You could tell them you just don't want to talk about it?" 

"Might work, if he hadn't turned up in front of them. People can forget that there is more than one side to me when he is asleep, to be confronted with it, is different. I'm actually surprised. Usually, when I come back, there's more… Well. It also takes longer too." 

More dead people. More dead _ friends. _ Even after he broke Molaich's control over him, he had an unerring aim for those he cared about. Usually accidentally. That was the thing that Tony got caught on every time. His Brawd was just... oddly innocent. He may be several millennia old, but apart from fighting his life experience was lacking, he was _ young. _ Tony had tried to talk to him, in many ways, even after so many years and accidents, Tony wouldn't give up, he was his Brawd bach, ei fachgen. (Little brother, his boy.) He was _ his. _

Tony still remembered the first time they'd spoken. He had begged for help after Molaich had bound him with chaos magic out of nowhere, not even warning him let alone offering a choice. Today… they had spoken more today than in hundreds of years. Thousands even. It was enough to give home hope that he had not dared to consider. Even when they had integrated to fight Steve, he had not spoken to him. 

Now, they were having whole conversations. It was more than a little overwhelming for Tony, that after so much time, something had changed.

Tony had no idea what had sparked this change. For him to risk his own life to save someone? That was huge.

"Maybe he was fine fading back after his mission was complete? He just appeared in space, told me he wasn't you, his name, offered his hand and then yanked us back to earth. It was all over very quickly." 

Tony was nodding along, and it took a second for him to hear when James had said precisely. That… that can't be right.

"Wait, he told you his _ name _?" 

"Yeah, I probably would mangle it though. It started with a D, like Doo..? " 

"DubhMáel, and he just... Told you?" 

"Is that weird? What does it mean?" 

"Well, he's even more paranoid than I am about people having control over him. This whole thing is weird, and he's never saved someone before. Fry, do you have CCTV footage of the fight, I want to see what I missed. If the magical signatures didn't damage them. 

"Máel is an old name, with many meanings we passed onto the Fragile it varies from kings to chiefs, but for Fy Brawd, it is _ Disciple. _ Dubh is Gaelic for Black. You heard Loki name him, The Black Disciple."

Tony couldn't help the scowl. He couldn't hear that name without seeing the person who gave it.

"I… never call him it. It was the only name he was given, but the man who gave it to him is one I _ will _ rip and rend one day. I do not know when that day will come, but it will. I never cared what Molaich did to _ me. He _ should never have laid his magic on _ him. _ He is _ innocent. He _ is _ mine. _ I call him Fy Brawd, my brother. Fy Machgen." 

He forced himself to breathe as FRIDAY answered his request for CCTV, his anger was too close to the surface, and he wasn't sure why exactly. If he wanted his Brawd to stay asleep this time, he would have to be more careful. He allowed it to bleed out of him, wondering why Molaich was getting under his skin so easily, it had been millennia since he had seen the bastard and his murder of crows.

"Sure thing Boss, I'll compile and clear through it all now! Dr Strange, Mr Liesmith and Colonel Rhodes are at the door." 

He sighed, he should have known he wouldn't get long of a reprieve as he took a long swig from his bottle. Leaning heavily onto James arm and trying to pack calm thoughts around his Brawd. There was no reason both of them had to suffer this conversation.

"Let them in." 

Stephen immediately swept in, angry with Levi twitching around him in agitation.

"You are an idiot! You need to actually _ rest!" _

"I'm fine, Stephen, see, look. Resting. It didn't even hurt that much. This is the only time I'm willing to discuss how Fy Brawd came to be, and I've already drank a quarter of the bottle. You have until I pass out. Go." 

"Tones, I'm just wondering what's going on, we're not forcing this if you don't want to." 

"Yeah, but then you'll always be wondering where he came from, being drunk is how I do this. Later, we can talk about him sober, but not how he was born, not how we were bound. He wants to get to know you." 

Rhodey seemed a little surprised at that but more pleased as he dropped down next to him on the sofa. He started at him a second, trying to get a handle on what was going on. Tony wasn't sure what he saw, but he decisively nodded before talking.

"Okay then, so, you're what, sharing your body with a slightly short-tempered, single-minded person who is nearly as poorly socialised as you at MIT? If anything, he is polite compared to when I first met you. So, where did he come from exactly?" 

"I think that's the nicest thing he's ever been called. I… you have my gratitude for that. It's not like how you are thinking; human ideas do not carry over to us well. Fae are… were less set in stone when it comes to some things. Aspects, different sides of a Fae are like different people, but not, we can have different beliefs, skills. The only reason he still looked like me was because he didn't want to waste any energy. He's not in my head like you think. Usually, he sleeps. He's closer the angrier I get. We have a shared mindscape that we can dip into, but he prefers to sleep, he deserves it. His start in Iife, it was not good, and it lasted for many years. Unlike me, he had no reference for life outside of that template."

"But you remember nothing when he's in control?"

"Not a thing, I completely fall back. I'm never sure if that's a blessing or a curse. He is better at being awake when I'm at the fore. I struggle to stay there when he is at the fore. I didn't have to live through what he does, but when I come back... Today, it's given me hope. Maybe Times are Changing for him as well as me. Loki can tell you what happens to people he came up against him, or me, when we were bound. When he is forward I go… elsewhere. It wasn't _ just _ him, though. He wasn't the only weapon. Many people forget that."

Tony involuntarily shuddered when he spoke about where he went, even though he tried to hold it back, he obviously had not lied when he had told James about what happened when his Brawd took over, but he also had left out some key details. James was watching him, however, as intently as Loki had watched him being Springs magic out and he had a feeling that he might have guessed or seen even more than he intended somehow. If he had a few days before talking about it, he would be able to cover better, right now, everything was too close and raw. James' sight was also _extremely_ sensitive, and he had learned how to pick up on subtle nuances very fast. It made usual Fae wordplay that made up for their inability to lie, tricky when it came to James.

"From what I had heard, The Black Disciple was a powerful weapon of mass destruction. The last time I saw him, he was under the control of another. I never saw him up close, but I could see the bindings from miles away."

"If he was a weapon of mass destruction, then so am I. It was not just him. He was not the only weapon. I refuse to allow him to be seen as the weapon and for my hands to be seen as bloodless or free from life debts. He was a child who was indoctrinated, and they still had to force him. He is still so _ young. _ The bindings were a bitch to remove, it took decades, and I could only work on them when he was not actively twisting my mind. You saw them because they were _ meant _ to be seen. So anyone who saw us knew Molaich held our leash and forced us to do his bidding."

This positively was not helping the whole 'being careful about his anger' thing. He thought as he snarled that out. Even saying Molaich's name felt like spitting Fire, maybe it was a consequence of them switching? A consequence of them getting closer together perhaps.

"The binding was too fine a magic for him to deal with, not his expertise, so I could only work on the bindings when I emerged, which was complicated. You're being too kind, Loki, when me and Fy Brawd were under Molaich's bind, we were not just weapons of mass destruction."

Tony was staring at the ceiling and almost missed Loki moving uncertainly, Tony had gotten started now though, and he didn't know _ how _ to stop.

"We were something even The Fae had never come up against before, and we _ know _ the levels war can reach. What Loki isn't saying, is how even Molaich and his people couldn't fight beside us. Even bound in that manner, they could not control us completely. If we were both integrated during a battle, it was worse in a different way than us alone.

"Put Fy Brawd on a battlefield under Molaich's will, and he will kill _ everything. _ Indiscriminately, he would ruthlessly hunt down everyone who escapes. Even if they were on Molaich's side. _ Especially _ if the Balance was disrupted, he raged and destroyed, and it was all they ever allowed him to do. And I could do _ nothing _ to protect him, _ nothing _ to help him, I was _ useless. _ Thor is lucky he never joined those fights.

"Put _ me _ on that field under Molaich's will. You know the strength of my mind. I would easily calculate the best way to control and utilise every force to my means, but he used it for the complete and utter destruction of whatever I was aimed at on that day. Sometimes he would have his people purposefully disrupt the Balance mid-battle whilst my mind was twisted, and I would unleash what I always keep bound. Integrate us? Both of those sides came together, and many referred to us as the Black Storm. So _never_ think it was just him."

Loki blinked in shock before quickly recovering quickly, even though Tony could tell that Loki knew that name and what it stood for. Whilst Rhodey and James were practically vibrating with unease on either side of him. Stephen had gone completely still. Tony actually hadn't actually meant to say _ that _ much, hadn't meant to show his pain of failures so brutally. Maybe alcohol was not the best idea. He should be more careful. When he started, it was almost as if he couldn't stop, even things he had kept hidden from everyone for so long. He had been carrying it for so long though. It had festered.

His friends didn't deserve to carry his shame and failures. He cursed inwardly at himself, stuck on remembering back then how _ useless _ he had been when his Brawd was so young. Was it any wonder he never spoke to him?

"I'd... heard enough rumours of him. I didn't know his story. No one knew how he ended up in those chains. I managed to encourage Thor to stand down. It helped that he hated the people in battle." 

Tony didn't bother replying to that. It wasn't as if he'd know what battle it was. Even if he had all of his Brawd's memories, there had been enough of them that he probably couldn't pick out one war from another. After a while faces, races, species, everything blurred into blood and death. There had been enough of them when he was alone at the foreground. His hands were just as blood-drenched.

"Is there anything we should do if he comes out again?" 

Rhodey jars him from his spiralling thoughts and actually makes him think for a second, which was probably his plan.

"Be careful, he… seems to be different now. I don't know why, he and I have not agreed upon much since the chains were broken—too many misunderstandings. You have to understand he was born in pain and chaos and then forced to fight and kill immediately, over and over. All he knew was servitude and pain. I _ tried _to mitigate what I could, but Molaich was whispering in his ear as I did. More than I could. Today was different, but please. Be careful. Don't push him, don't… don't hurt him. This is the first chance I've gotten in so long."

"Well, at least you know he cares about something now." 

He glanced up at Loki, a little confused and maybe a little drunk. 

"He went to space, risked his _ life _ for James, so it seems like you have that in common. He also listened to Rhodey, well, he didn't glare at him as much as anyone else." 

Tony was an _idiot. _

Blinking as things _finally_ clicked into place. 

The reason why James could hold him in place. 

The reason why James could quell his anger with a touch. 

The reason why he could talk freely about certain things, and the pain lessened. 

For some reason, Tony isn't even sure _ when _ it happened. His Brawd _ approved _ of James.

'He makes you rest.'

Tony jumped slightly, not expecting the sleepy voice to flit across his mind.

'What do you mean?'

'Ryn, you _ never _ rest. You are always moving, always working, always _ trying. _ You burn yourself out for anyone, everyone and everything and you _ never rest. _You are just... always working. I… I don't like it. I don't like watching you burn up for people, like how you did for me, over and over and over. Sidan Du, even when he was many miles away, he made you slow down. He made you do things for yourself.'

Tony stayed very quiet and still because he was floored, he wasn't sure what was surprising him the most. That his Brawd was _ speaking _ so much, or that he had _ noticed _so much.

Or how badly his choices had been affecting him, even in his sleep.

'You constantly try to make up for the debt gathered under Molaich, for so many life debts, but that is _ his _ debt. _ Not yours_. _ Never yours! _ So you will _ never _ be able to balance it, and you know it. I have to watch you practically killing yourself on this debt that you cannot affect, over and over and over! I try to help, but I did not know what to do. I made things _ worse. _ Sidan Du is _ your _ balance. I have known this for many moons. Before he even landed in this land. These Reapers don't just help you fight for the Balance of the Multiverse like those in the past. They Balance _you.'_

Did everyone know he liked James before he realised?

'Yes.'

Charming. Tony rolled his eyes but couldn't help feeling a little bit happy with how things had turned out. 

He hadn't realised how much he had worked. It was just his normal. He could take it. It was his duty. James had slowed him down, Rhodey had too. He still felt guilty when putting work aside, but they kept him busy enough that it didn't drown him. 

'Will you… will you stay awake occasionally now? Or do you just want to sleep? I think James and Rhodey might want to meet you.'

'... You want me to? Even after…'

'Yes, always, yes. Now I know you'll actually speak to me... I don't want to go back to sitting in the mind-scape talking for hours to myself.'

'I always listened.'

Tony sucked in a breath at that, well today was a day for revelations, and he wished that he wasn't on the ways to bring as drunk as he was because he was dying to talk to him. He would need to sleep likely for several days after this, and Tony had a feeling he would be counting down the minutes. It surprised Tony with the sheer strength of it. Rhodey jerked him out of his mind before he could reply.

"Well, I'm guessing you two aren't travelling today, especially not if you're this drunk. Just rest and I'll figure things out from my end. Don't worry so much Tones. No one sees you differently. If anyone judges you or him for what happened, they can come to me, and I'll be having _ words. _" 

'Smart Reaper, see he understands it is not your debt.'

Tony just snorted at that, because people always eventually saw him differently when they discovered what happened to them. His brother gave him a mental shove at that thought.

'Stop being an idiot. For a change.'

He opened his mouth to snark back but stopped himself. His Brawd had opened himself up a lot tonight. Not only risking his life to save James, but what he'd said after.

'I'll try for you, Fy Brawd.'

'Da.' <Good>

Tony grinned as he slipped into one of the languages the Fae had passed down to the humans. His Brawd knew he still favoured it over the others, even if he had not grown up hearing it. That he had cared to learn it at some point, not just speaking through the translation Ward. It made him happy. He wondered when he had done that.

'Caru ti frawd bach.' <Love you little brother.>

James had seemingly shooed the other two out whilst they had been talking and surprised him by staying. Even with all the crazy junk that had happened these past few days. James just huffed and rolled his eyes at Tony's confusion.

"I already knew about everything today. You aren't scaring me off that easily."

"Wait... Everything?"

"When we Firewalk, you look like you did when you woke up." 

Tony wasn't entirely sure what to do with that, he'd been taking James through the Fireworld for _ ages _ now. He had no idea that his glamours were down in the Fireworld, even those he anchored in the Fire. Frankly, he was now happy he was already quite drunk. 

"Oh, I uh, I didn't know that."

"I wasn't sure if you knew or not so I figured I'd just wait for you to decide. You don't look that much different, you know. You're still Tony." 

"Well, that's an awkward, confusing conversation I now don't have to have when we cross over. And you're just… fine with that?" 

"Tony, you're Fae, wearing a glamour is like changing clothes for you guys. I might not know why you were so adamant about returning it when you were in pain…"

"It's a holdover mostly. Humans were once as terrified of my people as they loved them, and they had every reason to be. I am neither there nor here in its entirety. I am both, yet neither. I made the Firelands my home and Fragile Creatures my kin. Yet a look beneath my glamour has actually terrified people to death at some points. Also, Molaich… would not allow me to use a glamour."

James flinched at the last part. Instantly catching the implications. Molaich allowed his Brawd to form a glamour so that people could tell them apart, but he was always forcibly stripped of his glamours. Sometimes would wait until he worked through the commands just enough to pull the glamour back before ripping it away 

"Well, how many people that saw you back then are around here?"

Tony hadn't actually stopped to think about that for… it had to be thousands of years now, and he was surprised at his own answer.

"Very few."

Even in Underhill, many that survived the exodus hadn't seen him as Molaich's weapon.

"Then I think you should consider taking it back. Humans aren't freaked out by Fae anymore."

James had a point. He had to admit that. When they returned to Underhill to sort out this mess with the Loci… he would be expected to drop his glamour. Especially if he was to be Foci. That was easier said than done after so many years, but James' question eased something in his chest.

"They should be."

"Maybe so, maybe not. They shouldn't be scared of you. Plus, I like your eyes without the glamour. Matches your cat fangs."

Tony had no idea how to respond to that, the fact he could hear snickering from the back of his mind certainly did not help matters. His Brawd was apparently loving this. Even if it was at his expense, Tony was happy that his brother and James would get along.

He was pretty sure he just blinked, but it must have been longer than a blink as James had now moved. Maybe exhaustion and alcohol were catching up on him and pushing him to sleep as well. Perhaps if he went to sleep his brother would finally get some rest too. James seemed to be able to tell this, and it wasn't long after he found himself being dropped back into bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Figure one of these is in order for anyone wondering!
> 
> Llafn y Dienyddiwr - Executioner's Blade
> 
> Llafn Anhrefn - Chaos Blade
> 
> Fy Brawd - My Brother
> 
> Bachgen - "boy, lad, youngster, servant, young man, son, child", and is used as a term of endearment for boys in the forms fy machgen (i) (my boy) and machgen (i)
> 
> Sidan - "silk, satin", and is used as a term of endearment.
> 
> Máel - derives from the Old Irish and Proto-Celtic “máel / mael” for chief/prince to Disciple
> 
> Dubh - Gaelic for Black.
> 
> [Gaelic Pronunciation Guide](http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaeilge/donncha/focal/features/irishsp.html)


	66. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor is really trying...

**Thor POV**

They had been back from Asgard for a few days now, and still, he was struggling to get his head around exactly what had happened on Midgard during their scouting mission. He was currently pacing in a dark, underground tunnel of Kamar Taj, doing everything in his power to wait, not rush foolhardy forward and most importantly, not fret for his brother. Who had vanished from his side after receiving one of those infernal text messages.

Before they had returned to Midgard, he and his brother had been working in tandem. In a way, he had not felt for many, many years. If only their mission had been less fraught with pain and suffering, Thor might have enjoyed himself.

Loki had been visiting one sector and he another, visiting several planets that had recently suffered a drop of 50% of their population. Some were doing better than others. One's with centralised governments and high levels of technology we're not doing too bad. Those that prioritised the health of their people, that to them, even a single extra death was unthinkable. That had provisions in place for such unimaginable disasters.

Seeing these worlds rally was a joy to behold.

Others had been harrowing.

Planets where starvation had become the norm, as they're just we're not the people left to harvest crops. Food ended up rotting in fields as people starved in their homes. Many seeing it as an unskilled job that could quickly be taken up, and then when tragedy strikes, reality hits home that this isn't so.

Planets where Thanos' Children had been a little more overzealous, and they had slaughtered much more than 50%. 

Planets where specific trades were worst affected. Where panic buying of specific items had caused shortages at every level of service, cascading back and back until many were left with little.

Planets dealing with severe sickness under the collapse of healthcare. Not built deal with so many sick at one time, especially when hospitals we're, at best, suffering a loss of staff. Not just doctors, the many that work behind the scenes to keep hospitals safe. Some hospitals set up during the fighting we're poorly managed or hit by Thanos' Children. It was horrendous as the death toll continued to climb long after they left.

Planets with fractured governments as many, if not all the leaders were wiped out. In those that dodged the fighting, hiding themselves away safely as their people suffered were prone to infighting. Those that spread disinformation to make things look better than they truly were. Those that sought only to profit on their peoples pain.

The ones that disgusted Thor the most? The Leaders that used this suffering as an _opportunity_ to consolidate leadership, disregard laws that would have kept them in check and force through barbaric laws on the vulnerable.

A few planets were simply dead. Without the army, or warriors, they had fallen victim to pirates or inter-planetary warfare. There were always those unscrupulous characters waiting in the wings.

What had honestly stunned Thor, however, was the _people._ Their endurance and optimism, how people were coming together help their neighbours. In dire circumstances, how people came together. Fighting to keep each other safe, to continue enjoying life in ways that he had not thought possible. It was humbling when faced with this quiet, yet unwavering strength and survival. 

He also knew they had barely scratched the surface.

Thor would not let this stop him. He travelled from each planet as diligently as the one before it. He linked planets together for trade. He used resources he had taken from Asgard to help where he could. It meant it was taking a little longer. However, he would not…  _ could _ not abandon these people.

These planets we're not of the nine, but they were people in need, and he was in a position to help.

His dossiers on Thanos' children were coming along well. Some advanced planets had more footage than others, some he had spoken to the people to gather the information. Every few planets he and Loki would meet up to compile not only information on Thanos, but also on the network of worlds they were slowly building up. 

They had returned to Asgard, and he and Loki were discussing with their mother what resources they could take out on their next journey. They planned on returning to earth for a few weeks too.

Tony, or rather the man who had become Tony Stark, had certainly woken him up to some facts he had been previously blind to. He had done it in a nicer way than Loki, and his father had too, so he was grateful for that. Loki had refused to give his name, and at first, he believed this was because his friend was still cross with him. Now, after he had learned more of his people, he accepted it was a quirk of his people. Thor had obviously heard of The Reapers. Few hadn't heard a story or two in the Nine, and beyond, he had respected their talent but had not understood their work. Travelling so far from their home? Now, Thor was possibly beginning to understand.

Thor had never quite seen the point of studying the other pantheons that also called Earth home.

They were not of the nine. They were not his to protect. As long as they didn't infringe on their territory, their existence was not something that bothered Thor. Loki was more likely to travel outside of the nine. Likely to gather friends far from Asgard. Once, Thor had not understood why he would do such a thing. That one of his friends was Vanir was quite out of place for Thor, let alone other _worlds _outside of Yggdrasil.

After he discovered the strength humans carried in their hearts, of Lady Jane and Lady Darcy? He was beginning to think that there was more to other worlds than he had initially believed. He had once thought that they were beneath Asgard so beneath his notice.

This task Loki and Tony had devised for him? To say his eyes had been opened was an understatement. Whilst he had seen a lot of pain and suffering, he had helped  _ many, _ seen such strength and courage, he would not change that.

He had been talking to Loki and his Mother in her rooms when his head began to ache. At first, he had ignored it, believing that it was from pushing too hard whilst travelling. Then his vision had blurred, then he collapsed. He could hear his mother panicking, Loki also was panicking, which made Thor smile a little at his care, and then there was nothing.

Floating in this dark space had been uncomfortable, but what he saw next had made him long for that darkness.

Thor had spoken to James a few times after the Captain and his friends returned to the compound. He was an amicable individual. Thor would not have known of his trials from speaking with him, not until James had told him. James spoke to many and had friends all over the compound despite suffering something akin to what Loki suffered through. His strength was something to behold.

So, watching this strong, courageous man have his mind torn into by Wanda? Hearing her thoughts? Understanding how she viewed people? Sitting helpless whilst her machinations and vile ideas flooded his mind? It had taken a considerable amount of strength in order not to look away. 

The visions had continued for a while, eventually cutting off as the three returned to the compound, seeing James trapped in nightmares and pain as Wanda forced him to smile. Forced to text Tony that he was perfectly fine. Each instruction and intrusion was _branded_ into Thor's mind until he woke. Thor was unsure if that was better. Free from the vision he could make plans to return, but now he would have no idea what was happening to James until she forced another change to James behaviour, or until they returned to Midgard.

He told Loki and his Mother immediately.

Their mother was angry, wanting to know what strange magic was giving him visions, he and Loki had explained the deal he had made. Loki had paled considerably on hearing what had happened to James. Immediately they made plans to return to Midgard. The time distortion had never annoyed Thor before this day, but now he cursed it. Knowing James would be forced to endure for potentially  _ hours _ before they returned.

Another vision struck Thor on the way to the Bifrost. Small pushes, small additions. Each layered and hidden beneath other magics that Loki had seemed very alarmed with when he had explained what he could to his brother. 

Magic that had been outlawed since their grandfather's time. 

Magic that was meant to be purged from the universe. 

Magic that thousands of casters from many worlds had come together to wipe from every realm. 

Magic, so  _ vile _ that Loki had told him even the dark elves had decried it. 

Magic no mortal should ever know about. 

Magic no Mortal could ever hope to master. At least that was what they thought.

They were on the Bifrost when the next hit. Loki caught him as he dropped and he cursed the black hole which Asgard circled for the hundredth time since that first vision had struck him. He recognised the layout of the meeting rooms as the Rogues had sat around a table. Wanda was once again touching James, something that filled Thor with unmatched fury as he was forced to watch her violate his mind.

The worst was that no one seemed to notice.

Steve sat next to them, laughing and smiling. The others were hazy. The vision was mostly focused on Steve and James because that was whom Wanda was focusing on. Clint occasionally came into view, and Thor knew something was very wrong there too. He analysed and watched, recording every single detail that he could pass on to his brother when he came out of the vision. Diligent in his task, even if she repulsed him.

Magic of the other realms was not something he was proficient in. He had a moderate talent with Seiðr that he had mostly neglected throughout his lifetime. Falling into the traps that many in Asgard had. 

In an effort to become closer with Loki in recent months, he had been reading anything his brother gave him on the subject. At first, Loki had doubted he would stick to it, but he had. Seiðr was vastly different to the magic this vile creature was wielding upon his friend. There were some fundamentals that he could recognise. It gave him points of which to focus on relaying pertinent information to his brother. So far, everything had made Loki concerned and very angry. Loki rarely showed his emotions so openly, which told Thor clearly this was much, much worse than he could see.

Thor had not understood at first why Tony would link him to visions of crimes the rogues committed.

He had not understood why Tony was so sure they would  _ do _ anything against the rules. 

Even when Loki had told him the focus was primarily on Wanda, he had not understood. Steve had told him about her. That she was good, a child forced into battles she couldn't hope to understand, yet she had put herself on the line to save the world at significant cost to herself, lost the last of her family in the fight for good.

Watching her violate a kind man's mind, torture him and seeing the pain that would most assuredly spiral out. Knowing that was precisely what she intended… he was very angry with Steve.

The UN had put him in contact with Steve when they were in Wakanda, not long after he had set foot upon Midgard. 

Thor had seen his team broken, fractured. At a time when unity was vital. He also had wished to see his friends again. When times are tough, such friendships are a balm to the soul, away from his home, Thor had wanted to gather his Shield Brothers of Midgard around him. Thor had gotten so caught up trying to help that he had not stepped back to view the bigger picture. He had ignored his brother's warnings. He had  _ believed _ Steve that _Tony_ would come around when they were all together. Steve assured him Tony would apologise to _them,_ and he would sort everything out. The officials at the UN had been friendly and assured him that he was doing the right thing.

Thor looked back on those first months of Midgard and cursed himself for believing people who clearly had an agenda that he had not seen. Thor had just not expected such duplicitous activity from Steve.

The vision continued, and Thor was torn between wanting to see everything so that he would be able to help, but he also wanted to be free of the vision to travel. He knew Heimdall would not give Loki leave to drag him back to Midgard whilst unconscious and he knew his brother would not leave his side in this vulnerable state.

Wanda was switching between James and Clint with small bursts of magic that Loki had looked very concerned at when he first described it, believing that such ancient spells would potentially not be picked up with the web they had settled over the compound. That she was somehow layering her magic in a way that he was not at all familiar with. It was magic that Loki barely even knew about, a line or two in a book hundreds of thousands of years old and yet this mortal was casting it with competence that spoke of an impressive tutor... 

It meant he was still in the vision when Tony and Rhodes tore into the room.

The relief at seeing Tony and Rhodes was palpable. They would still traverse the world tree the moment he was freed from his vision, but he was relieved to know that help had arrived for James.

Now, Thor had heard many stories of Black Bladed Reapers, but he had never _met_ one until recently. The first time he had seen one of the blades in person had been in that meeting room at his neck. Given what he knew of the Reapers, he knew that the meeting could have gone far worse. Reapers were not known for ignoring slights to their Patron.

He would not claim to understand or know much of who Tony was before his human life, but Thor could tell there was something intense about the man by how he spoke his name. Asgardian's are not susceptible to true-naming, yet he had felt  _ something _ .

Asgard had some dealings with the Shining One's, but after looking into it, Thor realised that they primarily dealt with the Mages of Asgard. Initially, he would have seen this as a sign that they were lesser in strength, but Thor was beginning to think that where Asgard was praised for its strength and might, Underhill was praised for its magic and power. That it maybe was not something to be easily discounted.

When Thor could practically feel the Shining One's rage through the vision. It made him once again look at the shorter man in a new light as he was trapped, watching things continue, unable to help. Seeing how he took Wanda down with barely a glance before swiftly attacking Steve—considering what Wanda had planned to do to his mind and what Steve had been blind to. Thor found himself quite comfortable watching those proceedings. Seeing the strength and power both Rhodes and Tony wield was comforting, as was the fact they had the Sorcerer to side. Loki had grudgingly admired the Sorcerer had quite the brewing talent in magecraft, for a mortal at least.

The vision continued even after Wanda's powers were bound, for a little longer as she attempted to bypass her bindings. Giving him a front-row seat to what had happened in the room. As soon as he woke, he was on his feet, not wanting to be delayed further.

Thor had ignored Heimdall's concern, and he and Loki immediately traversed to Midgard. Loki still taking notes from his observations to look up the magic the Witch had used, to help the case against her and for anything that might aid healing for those affected with such vile castings. Thor was going over every detail and answering Loki's questions, Loki seemed to have some idea of what Tony had planned, even though Tony had not predicted magic of this calibre.

He had been heading directly to the meeting room, and that was when they had bumped into Tony's mother, who immediately put them to work. Well, she put him to work, and Loki volunteered to help. As much as Thor wished to charge into that meeting room, he accepted that he would likely be a hindrance rather than a help. Tony would clearly be on edge and whilst he and Thor had slowly been moving past his first weeks on Midgard, both his Mother and Loki advised Thor not be in the vicinity.

Thor would not pretend to understand the Shining One's concept of debt. Their society was built on the premise of debt. Whether that be something you are owed, something you owe, a gift or an experience, a life or death, war or peace. All of it came back to debt in a way and how the scales we're balanced. Thor knew that he was instrumental in the Rogues return, and therefore Wanda being brought to the compound. Loki had also explained that Fae had a different concept of bonds, that they saw people as  _ theirs.  _ That Thor had been instrumental in delivering the Witch that had harmed one who was his would be something Tony could simply not ignore in such an agitated state. Whilst Thor may not understand these concepts, that did not remove their validity and it would cost him little to not blunder in.

Loki had been amazed at how he had agreed readily. Thor was unsure why, Loki had spent many nights getting it through to him that just because a society was not run in a similar manner to Asgard, did not mean it was wrong or lesser. Just different. So as they were given a mission, they immediately travelled to the eatery from Thor's first vision, in order to track those who could potentially be suffering side effects to her sorcery.

Entering the establishment had been harder than Thor had expected. Even as they spoke to staff and Loki was doing something with magic, Thor found it hard to concentrate. His eyes constantly dragged back to the place he knew they had sat. He forced himself to task more than once as they gathered names of those who worked on the premises. Tracking customers would be more complicated, but Pepper was apparently speaking with hospitals within a certain radius and had a team putting out information for those who may have been harmed but might not have sought out medical help. Thor did not understand why they would not, but Midgard was a very, very large, complex land that Thor did not pretend to know everything about.

Thor knew that he was limited in what he could do to help these people, which burned him, but they persisted. He would do what he was able, no matter how little, this was an undertaking he had taken on when he had agreed to his deal with Tony's mother, and he would do it to the best of his ability.

After Tony's mother took their findings, he had retreated to his rooms to sort through the dossiers they had collated. To rest and go over what had happened within his mind and with his friends. Even though the vision did not dim, he still took the time to write up his observations of each vision. Pausing only when Tony's mother had inquired if he would be willing to travel to Kamar Taj with Stephen, as back up security for the witch.

Loki had seemed impressed with the strange bindings that they were placed upon her as they had arrived. The Witch had been rendered unconscious for such a procedure given the intricate nature of the bindings. One would potentially mistake them for back leather, but Thor had a good reason to believe they are much more durable. Similar to bindings for rouge casters on Asgard, her mouth and hands were heavily targeted. Both being potentially lethal weapons to a magic-user of course.

There were intricate symbols all along the straps that allowed her a surprising amount of mobility he believed. On Asgard, the different bindings would be chained together most likely. The bottom half of her face and her neck were moulded beneath the black leather. For her hands, leather gloves that went up to her shoulders. Thor could see the straps of the gloves attached to the facemask through the sleeve of her shirt as Stephen secured them. Front and back. A securing belt also went across her midriff with a repeated significant symbol the entire was around. Lastly, there were simply two straps at her ankles that Loki had described as genius as they were devious.

Everything else was designed to stop her using her magic, those small straps at her ankles, ones that Loki suggested to be cloaked to her—adding his own magic to the powerful bindings. Wanda would not even notice their existence. Not that she was capable of removing bindings laid down by the Sorcerer Supreme, Loki and The Morrigan and crafted by Tony. The ankle straps grounded her magic out. They were depleting that which she carried with her and stopped her from building any backup.

They waited until Stephen confirmed any magical stores she had left were repeated before she was woken up. Thor had enquired as to why she was not kept in such a state? Surely it would be easier to keep her unconscious? However, the Accords did not allow for such treatment of a suspect apparently. Thor did not quite understand. 

She had obviously committed these crimes. However, he knew that different worlds had different judicial systems. 

He comforted himself with the knowledge that Loki was sure of her pending conviction, and that Tony would likely be called to remove her magic. Loki was quoted pointing out the fact that merely binding her magic would be unwise, that it would be kinder to kill her or keep her in those bindings. Binding her magic and removing the ankle bracers would drive her to insanity.

Thor had spent some time helping situate the angry girl who after she realised it was not working, dropped any pretence of begging or being sweet and innocent. Stephen had had to rush off to deal with a situation in a different dimension, and Thor had volunteered to stay on hand until everything was in place.

He and Loki had just finished setting up her cell when news of a spaceship over New York came to them.

Thor wondered if he was ever to be on time for something as his brother vanished in a burst of green. Thor had scowled at the spot his brother had once stood. He was unsure as to the location of this temple or how to return to the Avengers compound without Stephen or Loki.

What was worse, was that the little rectangular devices that Midgardians carried about their person we're not exactly compatible with him. The longest one had lasted had been seven weeks, and that was partially because Thor intentionally avoided carrying it. Tony was still working out how to have one last around him. Thor apparently carried an electrical field with him. Thor assumed that they were referring to his ability to call lightning to his hands. The delicate circuitry of many Midgardian objects, unfortunately, did not do well under this electrical field. Tony had started ordering his toasters in batches of 10 which Thor thought was very kind of the man given his love of pop tarts.

Thor sighed as he paced, trying to distract himself from the fact that some of Thanos' children were here and he was stuck. The sorcerers in the area he was waiting in all had the same colour robes, which meant they were apprentices and unable to summon a portal. He could leave this location to search out a sorcerer with such a capability. Still, Thor had seen how confusing this temple had been on the winding, ever depending bowels leading to the magically defended cells Wanda had been placed in. He could march off, find no one and then miss his brother returning.

The longer it took Loki to return, the more his concern grew, and that was where Thor was now.

A sorcerer finally appeared running towards him, and Thor surged towards them.

"Do you have news of the battle in New York?"

"Yes, I'm sorry we did not realise you were still here, we registered Loki's departure and incorrectly assumed the two of you had gone together."

"It is an understandable mistake; do not worry. My brother has grown quite attached to his friends in this realm, and his Seiðr likely drew him before he had a chance to consider my predicament. That he has not returned is greatly concerning for me."

"We just received word that the Sorcerer Supreme has been returned to the planet. Your brother was required for a magically intensive task and was unable to leave his post, but all is well. I can offer a portal to the compound if you wish? The Sorcerer Supreme advised against your brother coming to get you. Apparently, too many idiots are nearly killing themselves over transportation, and he refused to oversee any more of it. Not that I have any idea what that means. That he is complaining usually means the danger is passed, however."

"I would be appreciative of any help you can offer. I am glad the troubles seem to have passed. Waiting and not knowing was weighing upon me."

The Sorcerer nodded before stretching out his arm and an orange circle appeared. He saw the Avengers Compound through the portal. The gate was quite recognisable to him by now.

"Huh, I intended it to be within the walls, I apologise. I wish you safe passage."

"You have my thanks!"

Thor called again as he jogged through the strange portal. The Sorcerer's portals always felt strange when he passed through, his Seiðr wanting to rise beneath his fingers as he passed. Loki had however lectured him for many hours on not doing just that. It did not take long for him to be through the gates and heading towards the first building he spotted in order to speak to FRIDAY.

"Miss FRIDAY? May I trouble you with the location and status of my Brother?"

"Of course Mr Odinson, he and Dr Strange are in one of the magical training rooms, I can lead you there if you wish?"

"That would be most agreeable. I was informed that he was to be resting. May I ask why he is in the training room?"

"He is resting as Dr Strange has threatened him with his terrible bedside manner should he attempt any magic for at least a few hours. Their chosen location was for a secure place to talk, not for training. Shall I inform them you are on the way."

"Of course Miss FRIDAY, I shall be there momentarily."

The base was mostly quiet, given dawn was still a few hours away, but there seemed to be more lights on than usual. Thor assumed that it was because of the battle. As things seemed relatively calm, Thor felt comfortable assuming that they prospered. FRIDAY surely would have informed him if anyway was harmed. Thor knocked on the door, Stephen and Loki might be resting, but Thor had learned the hard way not to just walk into the magical training rooms.

"Brother! You are a sight for sore eyes. I have been worried about you."

Now, Thor had gotten a lot better as of late when it came to reading his brother's moods. Thor had expected much. He had not expected Loki to be blisteringly angry. He was unsure what he had even done this time, which did not bode well for him. He approached the mages cautiously and sat down next to them.

"I am recovering, but I figure I should give you a rundown of the battle, yes?"

Thor nodded, carefully. Because that was Loki's most dangerous tone of voice.

"Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian arrived and went up against two Sorcerer's and Tony and James. Who is now a Reaper by the way."

Thor blinked at that. He had not expected that. Two Reapers in one place, that was an impressive addition to their forces. Even if Thor assumed he was new to the position. He was also surprised about who they went up against. Thor would not have thought two sorcerers, Tony and a younger Reaper would not have stood a chance against some of the stronger members of the Thanos' team.

"Unfortunately we don't have a full play by play. Stephen was rendered unconscious, and it turns out Tony has more than a single aspect like many of his kind. One which you know of."

"I do?"

Thor was even more confused now. He had not thought he had any run-ins with the Shining Ones until recently. Loki's words robbed him of his breath.

"Hmm, tell me, brother, do you remember watching The Black Disciple fight?"

"Are you saying… that the man or Iron and The Black Disciple share a form?"

"Not only that, brother. When together, they are The Black Storm."

Now he understood when Loki was angry at him. Thor was also painfully aware that even after he had made a point not to underestimate Tony… if he Truly was part of The Black Storm, he had more than underestimated him. Tony had been more than easy on him. Thor was now starting to realise the enormity of his action and who he had at one point been baiting, had considered him a lesser power.

"Well, at least you are starting to understand. We have a video of Cull's death but after that things got heavily magical and the interference stopped us recording and the only person present will be sleeping for a few days. This video might interest you. Stephen informed me James defeated Maw, by hurling him out to space. The Black Disciple then tore into the Fire of Midgard, channelled it into himself and used it not only to port across space to a location he had not seen, but one that was moving very quickly. Then he brought Stephen and James home."

Now Thor might be new to understanding different magics, but he knew from the looks of both Stephen and Loki's face that what Tony, or rather, The Black Disciple had done was far above his understanding. As he watched an enemy, they had rated as concerning be sliced apart before The Black Disciples feet even touched the ground.

"I really screwed up on this, didn't I brother."

Loki laughed, which was not comforting in the slightest.

"More so brother, Tony and James are venturing Underhill on the morrow, do you want to know why?"

"I'm unsure, but I don't doubt you will tell me."

"Hmmm, there is a potential issue that Tony is hoping to clear up and ignore, but I don't think it will be so easy. Not since I've seen his Aura slowly changing or how his powers manifested as he healed the Fire. Not only did you anger a potentially extremely powerful, competent Fae. You angered one who may return to this land a Faerie King of Seelie Lands."

Thor remembered enough of his recent lessons of Underhill to understand why Loki was angry. 

Loki had been annoyed when Thor had carelessly angered a magic-user of an unknown level of power who was potentially a leader within the compound.

When that unknown magic-user had turned out to be amongst other things, The Patron of Reapers and Battle Magic he had been angry.

Now? He was also The Black Disciple, The Black Storm and Seelie a Seelie King. Loki was incandescent, and Thor could understand why Loki was so particular now about Thor's actions. Loki had told him that things could quickly evolve. Thor believed he had been at most, shrugging off a petty grievance of a human, where he was now? Was several orders of magnitudes above Thor's scope.

If he had already not pledged to do so, he would once again pledge to listen to Loki's counsel in the future and hope he could balance out these wrongs he had blindly committed.

As Tony and James set off to Underhill, Thor had wished them well. After the last few days, they  _ deserved _ a break from this realm. Even if they were travelling for a reason which he assumed was not the relaxing holiday that they sorely deserved.

He had just shown Steve videos of what he had collected so far about the Witch. Told him what he had heard inside her head, offered to share the visions with him, but he declined. Concerned they could be tampered with to convince him to turn against Wanda.

"I do not understand why you persist in defending her?"

"If not me, then who else? Everyone has just written her off as evil!"

"I watched her rip into James mind, forced him to endure torture and horrific visions. Whilst puppeting him around against his will. Such a thing is horrific, and has he told you himself that what she did to him, as you watched."

"I just can't believe that she did that! Wanda is a good girl. Everyone just has it out for her. Just like they did for Bucky. Wanda told me that Tony had been playing about in Bucky's mind, so how do we know he didn't cause all of this?"

"Everything Tony did was sanctioned, and James gave permission. Wanda was planning on shredding Tony's mind and faking that it was an accident. Planning on training James to act like Bucky through torture. You can't condone that."

"It's not her fault, she didn't ask for these powers and yet she used them to help people. She doesn't deserve to be gagged and bound!"

Loki strolled into the room, picking up on the conversation quickly.

"Unfortunately that is the only way to contain her safely. Such binding is safe for her, as well as others. Unlike the collar which I viewed, this method doesn't allow magic to build up inside her body recklessly, which would most assuredly lead to the woman being pushed to the brink of insanity. It is not as if she is a pillar of mental health and stability right now. Which clearly has been manifesting within her magic as unhealthy obsessions, delusions of grandeur, a driving need for revenge and a willingness to perpetuate the vilest acts of mental manipulation I have had the unfortunate pleasure to witness.

"This method renders her close to the state she was in prior to being experimented upon. Having the invasive magic removed from her body would probably be good for her, not that she deserves such mercy."

"You can't just take her powers away from her, that's not right!"

"I will be doing nothing of the sort. I am touching nothing to do with the mind stone. Removing magic such as hers would take a person stronger than myself."

"So why are you here?

Thor was getting irritated with the man and predicted that he was going to end up with a migraine before this task saw completion.

"Have a care how you speak to my brother."

"I am delivering your first batch of cases from The Morrigan. A car with a driver knows each location you are expected to visit today. Do not try to deviate from your schedule; we don't want you not making it on time now do we?"

"Thank you, brother."

Loki handed Thor his files and dropped Steve's in front of him. Thor immediately began to leaf through, wanting an idea of what they were walking into before they got there.

This was a sensitive situation, these people had been seriously hurt, and it was up to Thor and Steve to assess each case for how best to help each victim. There were so many, scattered all over the world most likely, but they were starting with those within driving distance of the compound. The level of interference and what was done differed wildly, and such specific details were currently unable to be devised by The Morrigan's sight without more information.

They would assess each victim which would give the team's at the compound the best chance of matching up a team to help or heal those who had been harmed. In the case of those who had passed on, it was up to the families how much involvement they wanted.

Thor had initially wondered why they were travelling as a pair, believing much more ground would be covered alone. After speaking with Steve, Thor understood.

Like he had had to experience many uncomfortable things to improve himself from the foolhardy boy of his youth, blinded by captivating stories of War. Steve needed to see the damage which Wanda had wrought upon innocent people. Destruction that he had authorised and overseen. Damage that he found easy to ignore or brush under the table when it was out of sight.

Thor would not allow Steve to blind himself further. He would help his friend see what he had been a part of, when he had accepted that? He would help his friend heal these wounds he had unwittingly rendered upon innocent people.

If he continued to blind himself to the suffering that came from his orders, from his choices? Then Thor was confident that he was not worthy of his position of leadership.

Nor of being his friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was working my way through this one last time. Still, my body is catching up from insomnia, and I keep passing out, so I'm worried I'll accidentally destroy half the screen and when I've put it in ao3, taking it out removes all formatting 😅 . Hence, I apologise of anything more serious slips through the net! I will poke it later :)
> 
> Underhill is next, now I have a good buffer of at least seven chapters, and I am hoping this means my arm problems won't cause too much disruption whilst I'm still unable to go the docs. You are all awesome!
> 
> Gave the Tags an Update too, as I realised I haven't don't that in forever. BTW if you think I should tag something and I have not? Feel free to tell me! I can't add things to the Character section that aren't already 'a thing' anymore however.


	67. James Grand Fae Adventure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooof. Who goes and gets ill during a pandemic? Me! 
> 
> 😅
> 
> Terribly sorry I have made you all wait so long for the start of James Grand Fae Adventure.
> 
> Nice long post to make up for it. Also I'm adding a thing with the Court information in the series thingy.

**James POV **

So, despite the utter crazy that the last few days had been, it was fair to say he was extremely excited slash terrified. It was crazy to think it had been merely days since Steve invited him running. So much had happened, it felt as if weeks had passed. Tony's presence was good for keeping his mind from straying down dark paths.

James had quickly packed a few things that Tony had vanished in a blast of Black Fire, without cringing in pain, and they'd just finished setting up a way for Rhodes to contact them in emergencies. There wasn't much he needed to bring because '_ magic' _. Tony had even upgraded some specs for sensors that Rhodes was going to see added to the satellites. He had a feeling spaceships would find it harder to just appear on their doorstep again.

Tony had woken up with a slight hangover and burst into his manic work mode. James had had to throw him over his shoulder to drag him away from work to eat and take a break. 

Now, they were in Wales again, walking through the lovely… grey, cold, damp woods. It's Winter, in Britain, it is a pretty grey, damp island at the best of times. It was still beautiful, but he wasn't a fan of the weather. Tony had mentioned there were more links to Underhill, even some in America, but he hadn't investigated them, he preferred crossings that he had personally mapped.

They hadn't had a chance to talk much about the kissing thing, but there had been murder gnomes, actual damned royalty, real damned aliens, alien abduction and Tony's less talkative, other self made an appearance, James knew _ that _ had thrown Tony more than this potential royalty issue. James was pretty confident in thinking there was _ a lot _ more going on with that too. Basically, yesterday had been _ busy. _

They climbed what felt like the hundredth hill when they came upon the mists and James was left wondering if there was a single plot of flat land in Wales when they came upon the Mists.

It looked like fog. 

He didn't know what he had expected '_ The Mists' _ to look like. Being a barrier to a different, magical dimension and all that, but seriously, it just seemed like fog. The thick, soupy kind that you can't see through and they stretched out in both directions. Shifting and moving in the wind. 

"Right, you sure about this?" 

"Completely." 

Tony nodded before offering his hand out and walking confidently into the fog. Barely a few feet in and James was wholly lost. It enveloped them entirely, nothing like a real fog, and suddenly it was _ everywhere. _ Even looking up or at the floor revealed dense fog. There was no sky, no ground, if he held his arm out in front of him, half utterly vanished.

Tony stayed quite close to him. Which James was quite thankful for as it meant that he could _ just about _ see him, watching as Tony's eyes were scanning around. Tony was seemingly seeing something very different to him, even with his advanced sight. He changed their direction multiple times, and James was pretty sure they'd made enough left turns that they were heading back the way they came, or going in circles. There was no sense of direction. No landmarks, no _ nothing, _ just _ endless _ fog. If he couldn't feel the ground beneath his feet, he wouldn't know up from down. It was wholly disquieting.

When Tony had told him humans that had accidentally wandered into the mists over the years, could get trapped for hundreds of years and go mad... Just walking and walking. Never growing hungry, thirsty or tired. He'd thought he was joking, or exaggerating maybe? It hadn't been something he could imagine. Looking around now? James could see it. He could feel it. Tony suddenly picked up the pace and slowly, the fog started to thin. Something he was quite thankful for.

"That was stranger than I thought it would be."

"Hmm, the first few crossings can be quite disconcerting to humans, it gets easier. I took a shortcut this time so you wouldn't have to feel it for long, with time I could teach you to navigate the mists if you are interested?"

"Really? That would be cool, all I saw was fog. If you had been a step further away, I wouldn't have seen you."

Tony stumbled slightly, looking obviously shocked as they seemed to clear the last dregs of fog.

"You could see me? That's… that's interesting. Most humans can't see more than an inch from their face."

"Well, I couldn't see much, couldn't even see my feet."

Eventually, he could start seeing the land again, the sky too. It was also warmer than it had been in Wales. There were green rolling hills for miles, but it seemed to have more colour somehow. Like someone had turned the saturation level up, and colours seemed more vibrant somehow.

There was a low-level hum of constant magic flitting across his new senses. The sky was a light, striking blue with a few clouds shimmering across the sky, that on a second glance were silver. Throwing off refracted light in scattered rainbows. Even the sun was pale; it had a silver shine to it.

"I brought us out close to Seelie Lands, this is unclaimed Land just beyond the borders, that Sun is one of the Seelie Suns."

"One of?"

"Mhhm, we have three."

Sure, having three Suns is perfectly normal. 

There were no visible landmarks here, no constructed landmarks anyway. Hills, trees, fields of flowers stretched as far as he could see. It was absolutely beautiful. With an untouched feeling, it had an almost… oppressive atmosphere of peace and contentment, which was just very strange. Like it was pressing on him to relax, attempting to lull him into complacency. For him to forget his worries and just relax.

It _instantly_ put him on edge. 

A beautiful blonde woman was standing next to two horses waiting for them. Tony perked up when he saw her. This must be one of his aunts he had told him about… Holy shit. Those... were not _ horses. _

Tony was _ so _ doing this on purpose; he was sure of it.

He was staring dumbstruck at the damned horns on their heads as the blonde lady smiled and Tony gently tugged him over. Tony was smirking, however, so he was _ clearly _ enjoying his reaction to the… _ horses. _ If this was the aunt that he was thinking of, Tony told him that she had actually been constructed out of _ flowers, _ he should probably get used to the weird pretty quickly. No matter how much he prepared himself for Underhill, James knew it was going to shock him.

"Ah, Flower, you didn't have to do this." 

"I am just facilitating little Scythe, Vakras is excited at your new appointment and wants you to come to your lands with his backing." 

"Hmm, you lot are just plotting again aren't you? Anyone think about asking _ me _ if I wish to bear a crown? Why are you lot _ always _ plotting? See what I have to put up with?" 

She tsked at him before turning to James, a bright smile on her face. He could see all the different flowers in her hair. It was an odd mix, but it seemed to work somehow as they surrounded a Crown that looked as if it was made of vines, flowers and silver. 

"We are always plotting against the dear boy, you see. It's the only way we can possibly keep up with his avoidance tactics." 

She winked at him as Tony let out a startled laugh, James so far quite liked this aunt. 

"Ah, what an interesting fragile creature. I will endeavour to visit early and maybe you could tell me stories from the Firelands and my nephew? That is quite the claim you are carrying, very interesting. I did not know my nephew even _ remembered _ many of these titles, considering how often he has played dumb regarding them. You are most certainly fascinating. Carrying the mark of The Morrigan too? Oh yes, I believe we will get along very well." 

He wasn't sure he'd have any exciting stories compared to the ones Tony seemed to have. He was a natural storyteller and always had one for nearly every situation. James didn't think he could compare to that, but she seemed excited at the prospect? And Fae took stories incredibly seriously. He was going to have to get to thinking before she turned up. Also, James had no idea what to do with everything else she said. Except to maybe ask Tony what titles? Carrying the mark of The Morrigan? James was just oblivious, apparently.

"Ah, sure?" 

"She's cool Snowflake. This is the Queen of the Court of Dreaming Song. To me, though, she's my cool aunt."

"And you are a pesky nephew, now, drop your glamour and come here and let me get a good look at you."

Tony tapped his chest, and slowly he shimmered into the form he'd seen in the woods. Long dark red hair that was in a different style than he had seen it before, so Tony must have changed it at some point since he woke up. Although James imagined that it would be bizarre to style your hair and then lay a glamour on top? He wondered how that worked because he only felt his short hair when the glamour was on, did Tony still feel his long hair? It was quite confusing. James had a feeling magic would be the answer to any questions about it and that he was probably looking into it too hard 

The dark red hair was striped through, sun-bleached even with lighter stripes, partially bound in several extremely complicated looking braids, some of them were wrapped up in silver chains or had silver braided into it. Hair threaded through occasional silver beads that had patterns carved into them. There was just an impressive amount of metal in his hair, really. It would take a while to sort through it all. The overall effect was quite remarkable. Unlike the few other times he'd seen Tony like this, his hair was completely pulled back from his face this time, revealing actual pointed ears that also had quite a bit of silver in. Far really had a thing for silver. He hadn't realised how many piercings he had, or the, you know. _ Pointed ears. _He was definitely going to look in on that when they had a chance. 

His gold eyes with black slitted pupils stood out against the dark woad band just like he had thought they would. All of his woad was visible that wasn't covered by his clothes, the lines and patterns down his neck and what was visible of his collarbone, short sleeves showed off the winding patterns on his arms. This shirt was cut so that the blue fire shone through brightly. The effect seemed to be emphasising the things he usually covered back home. He had a feeling his mother might have been involved as he recognised her warding style shining through quite clearly. Which made sense, Tony was grudgingly going along with this. He didn't imagine Tony fancied himself up voluntarily.

He'd kept his facial hair in his Tony Stark style. But then he didn't know if it had always been like this and his mortal form got the idea from him subconsciously, or if he grew to like it as a mortal and kept it—the clothes he'd similar clothes on Tony before, although they seemed a little different. The overall warding pattern wasn't one he recognised, even if he did recognise the style. Fancier than Tony's usual pick, his mother had undoubtedly been involved, they looked good on him, it lent a layer of gravitas to Tony's usual impressive effect.

There were enough similarities over all that James would recognise him, but enough differences from a human appearance for him to look more Fae, more _ other. _ He was the same height, but he had dropped even more of the human mannerisms that made him appear the harmless human. James hadn't realised he was still doing it, so it was a bit of a surprise. Now Tony's usual predator effect was traded for a dangerous aura shimmering around him, a waiting lethality under the surface. The idea of not waking a sleeping dragon came to mind. 

The Queen (how many Queens did this place have again?! He was going to have Tony draw him up a list. Also, how many members of royalty was he actually related to and forgot to mention?) slipped something into his hair on each side. He could only see the yellow flower on his side and a flash of orange from the other. Strangely, she looked much closer to human than Tony did. A few things made her stand out, she was beautiful in a perfect way you don't find in humans, her eyes were vibrant, and her blonde hair was closer to spun gold.

"So, I take it this is you, not so subtly, backing the Genius Loci?" 

"Nephew, Son of Neit by the Morrigan. I _ always _ knew you would take a crown one day. I just did not know what court you would take. It was why I named you as a potential successor dear."

"You just wanted to get one over on Arawn."

The look of her face right then was _very_ Fae, the same devious look he had seen Tony and Loki share many times. That was probably when it occurred to him he had come to a land where that personality trait was the default.

"Maybe. Still, I definitely didn't expect you to take up Seelie lands, but then you garnered much power in your quest of sticking your lovely head in the sand. Arawn sends his regards, of course, you have the backing of our courts. Your Mother and The Wild Hunt too, obviously. The Court of the Spoken Word and The Shining Star also reached out. I'm waiting to hear from others. Those contacted me before I even put the word out! You are well known, well-travelled and well-liked."

"So. The chances of me just clearing this up are zilch, is that what you're telling me? See what I have to put up with Fy Sidan? They're _ always _ plotting." 

"Mhmm, people are excited, dear boy. How long has it been since the last bonding? Since the last time a Seelie Foci was chosen? Mab and Titania have held court since before your birth! They are unlikely to pass their crowns for some time. Rumours are spreading that you have already brought the lost magic back to Underhill. You know how fast gossip spreads through the lower courts. I know you know, because you spent _ years _ playing with the court gossip as a child, don't think I have forgotten. Now, Fragile Creature, if you come here I will introduce you to Alaric, he shall be your steed and would like to meet you first." 

"Ah, you can call me James if you like?" 

“Mm, what a delightful name, heavy, full of promise. Do be careful in who you hand it to though darling. During your stay, our Scythe is going to meet kind sounding people who will happily torture him and yourself just for the prestige in having done so. Although those who truly dislike him are rarely silent about it, he has a talent for ruling people up. As you have given me the gift of your name, I shall return with the gift of my own, yes? I'm Blodeuwedd."

He nodded reminding himself that this was definitely not earth, the fact a freaking uni- nope. Horse, strange horse- was being _ introduced _ to him was a clue to that. Tony smiled at the interaction before mounting that absolutely huge _ horse _ in a step that James couldn't get his head around. He'd need something big to stand on, or a ladder, to mount the... Yeah, even in his head he was struggling to say _ Unicorn _. 

Scott had been asking about Cthulhu, but no one had thought to ask if sodding Unicorns were a thing.

"I'll remember to be careful, I just thought that you're Tony's family and so far his family members are great, so I figure you're in good company and you seem very kind to me." 

He wasn't sure why what he said seemed to have elicited such a happy reaction, but he wasn't exactly complaining. 

"Oh my, I forgot how earnest and _ real _ fragile creatures could be. You do so mean that, don't you? Your words will carry much weight and value Underhill. I can tell. Here, take this as a return for your kind words." 

She pulled what looked like a bright yellow flower from her hair; it was the same as what she had given Tony, and attached it to his shirt. She also tugged down his shirt, straightening it smirking at the band around his wrist, Tony seemed to be deep in conversation with his _ unicorn _, a statement he had never thought to make. He could feel Tony's attention on them, even though he looked utterly distracted.

"That is quite a nice gift he crafted for you. Yes, very interesting indeed. I will have to get you caught up on some Fae traditions as I doubt my nephew has bothered in return your stories."

When he glanced back, he realised his plain black shirt had changed even though he had felt nothing. The fabric felt… like nothing he could put his finger on. Nothing from Earth, that much was obvious. It was soft and light, airy as if it was barely there, but he somehow had a feeling in his mind that he would find it as strong as any metal. There were Wards threaded in a strange pattern, none that he recognised. They had a completely different feel to Tony's or his mothers, connected with what looked like vines—stitched in a silvery, shimmering thread. That might even be silver, come to think of it. It was absolutely gorgeous, and he was blinking down at it wondering where it came from because he hadn't felt _ anything. _

"Much better, I'm sure my nephew can see to the rest of your attire for arrival. Alaric has consented to be your steed. I'm sure our Scythe will prefer to help you up?" 

Tony rolled his eyes, but then he snapped his fingers, and what looked to be steps formed out of the hill, Black Fire rippled around the edges. He would be more amazed at the magic if he were not internally cringing at the thought of riding a... Yeah, he's just sticking to calling him a horse for now. Just a normal horse. That he was going to ride, _ bareback _. 

Oddly things were not as uncomfortable as he suspected as he got into place. Huh. Magic probably, he reminded himself that magic usage in Underhill far outstripped anything he'd seen so far. The mane which he expected to be coarse, was soft and beautiful and damn that was a _ long _ way down. These _ horses _ were taller and larger than the huge shire horses he saw as a kid. 

"I shall see you soon, Nephew. Goodbye, James, I look forward to your stories! We will travel to your fledgeling court as soon as I have mine in order, we hope to arrive early, but you know Underhill." 

He shivered slightly as she mentioned his name, before she vanished in a swirl of flowers, leaving several where she had once stood. 

"We've been here for 5 minutes, and I think I've already hit peak weird." 

"Oh Snowflake, you've seen nothing yet." 

"What did she mean about my clothes?"

"Hm? That was her subtle jab that I have not outfitted you correctly to enter Court. Generally, because I do not see my lands as _ Court _. I suppose that she has a point, I can correct that quite easily though, if you don't mind?"

James was curious, so he nodded as Tony directed his _ horse _close enough to make contact, this time he did feel something as his trousers and even his shoes were replaced. It was different from the gear he and Rhodes had. There were a lot more Wards for one. He could feel magic in the fabric. It was less battle-ready and fancier that was for sure, similar to what Tony was currently wearing. James could tell that they would still be useful in a fight. Tony rarely only covered one base. He had a feeling his family shared the trait. This time he did recognise some of the Wards, and Tony's style certainly shone through, it was just more decorative than usual. Somehow the different styles meshed quite well.

"Oh, and mother had something made for you."

The '_ something' _ was a thick, leather looking belt, because James generally accepted he had no idea what material most of these items seemed to be in. His mother's Wards were similar to Tony's too. The large buckle had a wolf that looked a lot like how his wolf had looked. With gemstone eyes. He felt practically _swamped_ in magic now, and he'd be the first to admit that he liked the feeling.

"Huh, okay. That felt tingly. I like it. This is awesome, also, why are Fae constantly making me clothes, should I take this as a hint?"

James grinned as Tony laughed.

"It means you are well-liked. You seem to have a natural talent for wooing Fae. They value your actions and words. So they return that with magic, protection and beauty."

Huh, he had been kind of joking, he hadn't realised that it was an actual thing, but he did seem to be amassing quite a collection of things come to think of it.

"Huh, okay. I am not sure what to do with that. So, how many Queens and Courts does this place have again? I remember some from when you told us how the Courts came to be, but I can't remember how many there are now." 

Their horses set off at a fast pace, and maybe he was occasionally running his fingers through his mane, dammit, he was on a fucking unicorn. Rhodes was never going to let him live this down. Scott was going to freak out, and Sam probably wouldn't believe him, he wondered if he could take pictures of the Unicorns… Oh, he was going to have fun with that if he could take pictures, just how much could he blow Sam's mind?

"Hm, a few. There are technically 20 Courts, but not all are full, active Courts. You know about how The Seelie lands became 2 Courts, there are now 5, but 3 of them are... Symbolic. Not really considered courts in anything but name, potentially combined now. Outside of Seelie Lands, there are the 15 Lower Courts. Bar The Court of The Final Word. Each has a linked court. Be it a fundamental opposite, mirror, or twin. My Aunt, for example, is Queen of The Court of The Dreaming Song. She mentioned Arawn. He is King of The Court of The Sundered Song. Life to Death. Not all are run by royalty. There are some councils and even a dictatorship. Each has a single bonded Foci though. There can only be 1 Foci at any one time."

"The combined Seelie courts are yours then?"

“Evidently, as much as I do not wish it. The chances of just clearing this up are not looking good. Autumn, and Spring, they've never been big enough to count as a _ true _ court, they are known as The Crownless Courts because the magic was lost that a Crown could never be crafted, which means it is impossible to rule them, even if a Foci was somehow born a Crown could not form without the lost magic being returned. It left them vulnerable. Iron wasn't even so much deemed a true court, rather the antithesis of a court. Anti-Seelie, the negative to Fae magic that saps it away." 

"This political crap makes America make sense. Your aunt mentioned the lost magic too. This is clearly a big deal then?" 

Tony snorted at that. Tony had pointed out several times that considering the age of his people, their system of leadership was actually far simpler to what they had back on Earth. However, it was fun to wind him up.

"Absolutely a big deal, the loss of seasonal magic is seen by some as our punishment for allowing the Seelie war to progress as it did. Others see it as a price for that war. There are many theories, but every Fae born of Underhill is born with the knowledge of it. It's like we all have a place in us for each season, even those who are not Seelie and can't access them. We feel Summer and Winter, and we feel the place where Autumn and Spring would have resided, we learn to manage it, but it is not comfortable. It can be painful to the young, especially Highborn Seelie. For Seelie Fae, it also goes further. It's at the core of our magic, branded upon our bones and embedded upon our memory, so we _ never _ forget the price of peace. The debt is carried by everyone born of Underhill, but the amount you carry differs based upon your station at birth."

"That seems a little harsh, for those who were not yet alive?"

"It is so we do not repeat their mistakes. We must never allow that kind of war to break out again. Underhill connects to many places other than Earth. _All_ were affected by our war. I can show you a glimpse if you want?"

James considered that for a second before nodding figured that he wouldn't get his head around this until he did. He knew War was terrible, Earth had its fair share, but the way Tony spoke about the price of peace, at the core of their magic, embedded upon their memory and branded on their bones. The first time Tony has said that, he had assumed he was being symbolic. Now, how he described the way they all feel the lost magic, he wondered if it was less symbolism and more… real. 

"This is just a small snapshot, if you want I can show you more when we are not riding. I was Highborn Seelie, so I carry a large portion of the debt. I remember each battle as if I was there."

Tony reached over, somehow perfectly balanced, if James tried that he suspected he'd fall off of his 'Unicorn'. It was like an image in his mind, like one of those panoramic shots, but huge he had no idea how many people were in the battle. So, so many of all different kinds with different armour. At first, it looked like one of those fantasy pictures until the sheer horror of it took over. The battle was fought on the ground and in the skies. The scale of it was staggering and made the wars of earth feel like friendly skirmishes. That was an image of a single battle for a war that raged for hundreds or maybe thousands of years. He remembered Tony saying that after the call for peace, the land bled for hundreds of years because so much blood had been spilt. James' mouth went dry at the idea of even conceiving war at such a scale.

"Okay, yeah, I think I'm starting to get it. You just have all of this in your mind?"

"All Fae do, everyone born of Underhill carries the debt to different degrees. The lower your station, the less debt of war you carry. Highborn Seelie Fae carry the most. The closer to the Seelie Queen's decrees how much you carry. You cannot lower your debt, but raising your station can increase it. There will be no leaders of Underhill that do not understand why peace is integral. Do you want a quick rundown of the courts now?" 

"Sure, although you'll probably need to tell me again when I can take notes. I feel like I'm revising for the strangest exam." 

"I'll write it all down for you too. It will mostly be a list of who to avoid and who I have allied with. As happy as people seem so far, some will be angry at my appointment. At least one will likely be annoying and very vocal about it. Depending on who they send."

"Why? It's kind of obvious that this isn't your idea? "

"Maybe, that makes it worse if you think about it. The Seelie Courts are far, far above the other courts. I have potentially gone from a wanderer who gave up all his claims, to a lord they mocked that then held a position they feared, and now? To a position of serious _ Power _ above them representing a substance that can kill them. That without trying, I could be forming a Seelie Court? On that Fae are highly vulnerable to whilst maintaining my position of Executioner and Enforcer."

"Ah, yeah. Okay. So that doesn't sound awkward at all. What are the other courts called? You said they come in pairs right? But there are 15?"

"That is The Court of The Final Word. Run by Dian Cecht, Underhill's most prominent Healer.

"Well, that sounds good?" 

Tony shook his head rapidly to that, and then James recognised the name as one of the few he'd mentioned before, that he'd _ rescued _ people from and one of the _ worst. _The dark look on Tony's face made him think there was something more to it too. 

"The Final Word is Death. It is the court where all things are given up. Eventually." 

The faraway look in Tony's face and the visceral full-body shudder, yeah there was definitely something there, and James was going to avoid the fuck out of them. Trust Underhill to turn a court of Healers into something that gave Tony chills. Not much unnerved Tony.

"The Court of Yearning Heart led by the Queen of Desires. _ Nothing _ is given freely or without obligation within its walls. They embrace everything between pleasure and pain to chaos and madness. They will be looking to cause trouble.

"The Court of Souls Ease is its pair, where _ everything _ is given freely and without obligation. Lugh is a good king. I have spent quite a few years there."

"I see what you mean about the courts being opposed to each other. They couldn't get much more opposed." 

"Hmm, the next pair are two I enjoy. I apprenticed with Math for many, many years with no pressure to join or land myself in debt to his court. The longest of my apprenticeships, in fact. He is the foremost expert in magic of all kinds Underhill, even that not of Fae nor Underhill. Even I do not know how many paths he has walked. He runs The Court of Spoken Word. Not a _ safe _ place really, but Math has a code. He doesn't suffer fools well and ignorance even less. 

The Court of Peaceful Days used to be a warring Court, battle-ready, formed from a travelling Warband. After the great battle that led to the Exodus from the Firelands, Dagda decreed all weapons are to be left at the door from my Father's last wish. My father was the first Foci."

James was undoubtedly going to need this written down as he was already pretty sure he was going to get these strangely named courts mixed up. Tony said the Seelie Courts were more complicated, but Summer and Winter were much easier to remember than The Lower Courts.

What Tony's aunt said, that she always knew he would take a crown was starting to make more sense too. James knew that Tony's father had been a King, and now he knew of at least two people he called aunts were queens, one in Underhill, one in Avalon. That he gave up 'titles', even though he didn't mention _ what _ titles precisely. Tony had also mentioned that Seelie Courts only bond with _ Highborn _ Seelie Fae, so James didn't think that was a title he gave up, although he wondered what Highborn meant in regards to Underhill.

"Pick another court that you like next." 

"There is my Mother's Court?" 

"Wait, your mother is a Queen _ too? _ How many family members do you have that are royalty?!"

Tony tilted his head as if he had to _ think _ about it, which told James that it was more than he probably wanted to think about. He'd met Tony's mother several times now. He'd made her _ waffles. _

"Why didn't you mention your mother was a damned Queen when I was making her waffles?" 

"Slipped my mind?" 

"Sure, the fact you're mother is a Queen is just the kind of thing to _ slip _ someone's mind!" 

Tony was chuckling at his expense, and James just had no idea what to do with this information. It was one thing that they were Fae, that they were Gods. Now they were _ royalty _ of God's. He wanted to hide under a damned blanket. He had not quite realised just how high Tony's station was in this world. It wasn't something he spoke about. Every time he thought he had worked it out, he was a step higher. Although his mother is The Morrigan, he probably should have seen that coming.

"Mother is a Tri-Queen of The Court of Blackened Fate. The Morrigan is more of a title. She is Badb, Macha and Nemain. Nemain and Badb were married to my father." 

So his mother was technically 3 Queens. This was not helping his internal freak-out. 

"Her twinned court is another favourite of mine. I've spent many, many years with them and riding with them. The Wild Hunt runs the Court of Reign and Fury." 

"No royalty?" 

"Oh yeah, It's like my mother's Court and run by a triple aspect king. Herne, Gwyn ap Nudd and Herlechini. There is an absolutely huge forest between the two courts that is ruled over by Cernunnos, Big C who you have met. My uncle, who leant me the power to grow the forests at the compound. He also _ isn't _ a king." 

That fact Tony seemed impressed to locate a family member who was _ not _ royalty was hilarious, and Tony seemed utterly oblivious to the fact he appeared impressed over this was proving James point perfectly... Especially as he still seemed to rule over a considerable territory of some kind, royalty or no.

"There is no chance I'm going to remember all of this. Also, your family is now way scarier." 

"I'll write it all down when we reach my house, want me to continue? We aren't that scary." 

"Sure you aren't, you just keep forgetting your family are kings and queens, what about the Aunt we met when we got here?" 

"Well, I do... kind of forget really if that makes sense. I avoid the courts, so I don't see them in court often. Plus it's pretty normal to me, I grew up primarily in mothers Court, but I travelled around many Lower Courts to see family as a child, it's where I got the need to wander from. The Court of The Dreaming Song in her court, an absolutely beautiful place, she and Arawn, who rules the Court of Sundered Song are some of my favourites." 

"Are the names intentionally confusing?" 

Tony just laughed at that, so he imagined that the answer was 'yes.' 

"We are Fae, things like the naming of Courts are like titles. They aren't so much planned as they happen organically. You'll like The Court of Shining Star. They are our record keepers, and it is ruled over by Loremaster Ogma. It's basically a library the size of a country." 

"Holy shit, that's huge."

"Hmm, helps that we are long-lived and have not lost much of our history. Lost our home, but never our stories. The twin is The Court of Fading Shadows. Which unlike Ogmas Court that stretches into the past, The Council of Time stretches forward. Knowledge of different futures, home to soothsayers and prognosticators."

How do you lose your home planet? Realm? He had meant to ask about that the last few times Tony mentioned it, but he didn't know how to ask.

"Wow, okay, I kind of expected a court of stories, but future? That doesn't sound disconcerting, at all. "

"Only four left. The Courts of the Elves are interesting, like the Seelie Court, they used to be a single court that was split and forced to polarise. 

"You lot have a problem with Courts splitting in two. "

"Well, even the youngest of our Courts are tens of thousands of years old, so compared with humanity?"

"Point."

"Hmm, The Court of The Moonlit Glade is home to the Dark Elves. The Court of The Sunstruck Plains is home to the Light Elves."

"Well, that sounds simple? Not like the seasons getting stuck."

Tony laughed at that, and he cursed himself, of course, it was complicated. It was Underhill.

"Moonlit Glade is stuck in a perpetual night. Sunstruck Plains is in a perpetual day."

"I know that answer is going to be magic, but this is all one planet, right? How can you have a court that's always night or day?" 

"Well, Underhill isn't a planet. It's a place of magic, will and intent. There isn't a single sun. There is no planet moving through space with a gravitational pull. There is simply Underhill that stretches out. I can take you to the edge if we get a chance. The Sun you see now is one of the Seelie Sun. In other parts of Underhill, you will find other Suns or celestial bodies." 

He had been pretty sure the sun in the sky was a normal sun. Like in space. But now he was looking at it critically. He decided to pick a crazy thing and focus on it for now.

"The edge?" 

"The Edge of Underhill as it spills into the void. The absence of intent, will and magic. Everything in Underhill is in balance, remember." 

"Right. Okay. I thought I had this solid in my head, but you've just thrown all that out the window. When you said Edge before I didn't think it was like an actual _ edge. _ Last two then my brain takes a break from all this hand-wavy, confusing magic." 

"The Court of Obsidian Dreams is the court of Wraiths. With many different species. Like the Battle Wraiths, I told you about. They have Death Dealers and Nightmares too. Those to Eat or Deal. The King is known as the Dark Warden." 

"And this isn't one of the terrifying ones you mention first to warn me?" 

"Oh no, The Warden is one of my favourites, as is his Counterpart. Queen Clíodhna, Queen of the Banshee. The Court of The White Scream. There you'll find many species there too, like Death Callers, Memory Shades and the Baobhan Sith." 

"Right, so how many of these courts are going to be turning up?" 

"If things are truly as I fear? Over the next few days? All of them. In some form or another at least. Regretting crossing over yet?" 

James was starting to think he was woefully unprepared. 

"Masak, do you and Al want to kick it up a notch, we'll hold on. It's been too long since I had this privilege." 

Tony flicked his fingers and had a feeling that even if he let go, he wouldn't be falling as something warm flickered around him. Just in time as the pair proved they'd been going slow as they ducked their heads down and _ ran. _It was fast enough that he joined Tony, throwing his head back and laughing, he made sure to make it known how amazing it was, the compliments must have gotten through as suddenly they were going even faster.

This place was confusing, terrifying, but it was also amazing.

James couldn't really put a name to the time, time felt… weird here, not like how he always knew the time back on earth now. Sometimes things far away came upon them really fast, at the same time something that looked to be just over the next hill _ always _ stayed just over the next hill. No matter how many hills they crossed. As they slowed down, he knew it had been a while because his body was feeling the ache, but the sun didn't look as if it had moved across the sky.

He was also now faced with the strangest thing he had seen so far that completely distracted him. To his left, was Winter. To the right, Summer. Literally, the seasons _ were _ the land. He knew these were courts or places, but that did not prepare him to see Narnia next to the middle of summer along more grassy plains. There was a forest on each side, one like the Amazon. The other was mostly evergreens. 

He glanced back and forth in confusion. The snow at the border wasn't even melting in proximity to the scorching heat that he could feel from here. The closer he looked, the border wasn't static, but shifting here and there. Snow was melting away where it was pushed back, and in reverse, it looked like the snow was actually spreading. 

He wondered if the Night and Day courts looked like this. 

"Mab offered her invite, so we're going to pass through Winter to my lands, are you two okay with that? The Unicorns are usually of Summer but align to Spring too." 

He didn't hear the response, Tony could apparently talk to unicorns, but that didn't mean _ he _ could. He felt magic flush around him and found a black, warm cloak around his shoulders. He pulled the shadows around himself beneath the cloak too so that as they crossed into the snow-covered land, he barely felt a shiver. They did not run as freely through Winter as they had before, hugging the border, heads down. The scenery remained consistent for a while until a huge mountain came into sight, the top vanished into the clouds. It was so huge that it cast a shadow on the sky. James was pretty confident thinking that anything on earth would look like a small bump in comparison to that mountain. It dominated the skyline, and he had a feeling they were quite far away still.

Not long after, a familiar white wall came into view. An intricate, massive black gate straddled the border. It took him a few seconds to see it wasn't decorated, but that the metal was worked into the shape of intricate Warding circles, it was half on Winter, half on Summer. 

"Crap, they're right, we should not have reached the gate yet. Fuck. I do so hate it when Faerie Queens are right. They're always painfully smug." 

"So, uh, your walls moved? Do walls usually move this much?" 

"Hmm, no. I charmed them to cover my lands. As the land expanded, the wall did. It's only meant to account for the fluctuations of Summer and Winter, to ensure I always have 50% of each as the seasons' change… Not _ this. _ I have a supply of stone that can be used if the wall expands; it must be reaching the end with how much they've expanded. Fortunately, I am paranoid and overstocked. _ " _

As they came up to the enormous black gates, James realised how _ huge _ the walls were, by the time they were passing through, his head was tilted up trying to take it all in. The snow on the left was gone too, on the right it now looked like autumn, trees were in a mixture of beautiful oranges, reds and golds. The scorching heat of summer on the right had cooled to a new spring breeze, trees starting to blossom. It was just as bizarre seeing these seasons so close to each other as Summer and Winter outside of the walls. They weren't so much like the seasons back on earth, it was hard to explain, but it was like they were the strongest, perfect representation of the seasons.

They rode at a steady pace after that. Tony had sat back, taking in what he suspected were changes to his lands. Which he imagined must be really weird for him if he was used to seeing Summer and Winter—being replaced with Spring and Autumn. They came up to what looked like a village, with pretty cottages and various buildings. Tony had said he had a house, with a few people here and there. James was starting to think Tony's idea of 'a few people' was not what he expected, as this was a _ full _ working village, much bigger than the compound. 

A few people came out and after Tony was spotted more followed them. Several children chased after them, and everyone was so... Different. There were people similar to Tony, darker golden-skinned with pointed ears. Some were similar but with pale skin like Tony's mother or Man. Some were a mixture to different degrees like Tony. There was a full range in many shades. But that wasn't the end of it. There were creatures with all kinds of different coloured skin, tall, short. Some looked ethereal, some floating, some flying. Some were running on four legs. It was utterly bizarre. Tony had said he took in people from everywhere, anyone who needed a home, and the utter bizarre mix of people proved it. 

They passed _several_ _more_ villages as they continued towards the Mountain, and he was now questioning Tony's version of 'House and a few people', his perception _clearly_ was skewed. Picking up more people here and there. Tony already had a kingdom from what he could see. 

Tony was chatting with anyone and everyone as they made steady progress, he obviously knew the people who lived in his lands well. Even after being gone for so long, it was clear that people saw him in a leader-type role too, others might mock his position as lord, but to these people, it was real. They were thrilled he was home. They looked up to him, and he had no idea how Tony didn't see it, but he knew Tony was King of Obliviousness.

Several people had even waved and welcomed him, this simply wasn't even remotely in his realm of expertise, but apparently, strange metal armed people were, he supposed not _ normal. _ Still, no one looked at him with fear. There looked to be no standard type of people; there was no _ normal. _ Kids were running alongside them, happily chasing each other. They seemed to like him? James had been expecting a few houses… When Tony said his 'Lands and Holdings' he really meant _ lands. _They hadn't even reached the mountain yet which he guessed that was where Tony's forges and his house was. 

Several _ more, _even larger villages later and the atronach road started to widen. They came to an even larger wall and black gate, which they passed through—waving at the people who had followed them. Inside was a damned castle.

Not a house. 

A _ castle. _

James wasn't sure if he'd ever _ seen _ a real castle before, at least, barring ruins of one. 

It was made out of a mixture of Atronach and a shimmering silver stone he couldn't identify, with thick black Veins running through it which he guessed was Iron. The entire thing was almost carved out of the insanely massive mountain, that again, was large enough that it cast a _ shadow on the sky _. Some sections were built further away from the mountain, made entirely out of that silvery stone and Atronach. He supposed he had to have some parts of his house that his family could visit? The whole thing was terrifyingly impressive and nothing like what Tony had once described as a 'Small house I built into a hill'. 

"You think this is small? You think this is a _ house? _This is a damned castle!" 

"It's barely the size of one of Mab's holiday homes. The Palace at the centre of Arctis Tor is several times larger. I suppose I could have built it bigger, but I instead put more into the forges and manufacturing. This bit is just my house. I had to expand the West Wing as there was too much Iron for even my mother to tolerate in the main part of the house. Mother is always on at me to size up, The Night Palace where I grew up is much larger."

James eyed the absolutely enormous, fuck off castle, squinting critically at Tony who seemed to be completely serious and not having him on. He seemed to actually see this as small, which definitely made him wonder how large his mother's Palace was.

Tony led them around to what looked like an impressive set of stables that had fields stretching out into Spring. Two people came out to join them. One had entirely black skin and a long tail that looked quite lizard-like, with yellow eyes and white hair, the other seemed utterly human. 

"Ah, it is good to see you return to us, and another Fragile creature? Which court did you rescue this one from? Get them down Zact, see to our guests." 

James just blinked, and he had no idea if the lizard kid was dealing with them or the unicorns. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Janes went and created a small overview of the Underhill Courts magically in this series. Maybe when I finally see a doctor about my arm and return to top for I could add some other world buildy stuff to it. As I have taken a bunch of Lore and sort of crafted my own version of Underhill. 
> 
> Most of the Rulers I chose, you can actually research if you want, I'll link their names to their wiki pages on that other document too, but you don't really have to. I'm not going to write a ton about them because I doubt that would be enjoyable for people wanting more MCU. This little arc is mostly James dealing with Underhill and Tony 🤣


	68. Light The Fires

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, took me ages to proof this as it kept growing! Can't believe these chapters started life at around 2k.
> 
> Three a week a 2k and this week was traded for 10k, so you're up on 4k of words xD
> 
> Mostly I still can't see a doctor about my annoying arm, so I still can't return to my nice writing rate. It is getting very annoying on my end, and I feel bad for my lovely readers. I don't want to run out of buffer zone chapters. 
> 
> James trip to Fae land is around 3/4s written, but I'm always adding whilst working on the last few pieces and planning the next arc. Whilst continually adding to the written pieces. I'm thinking some fun compound antics next. My little plot arcs are usually 5, 7 or 13 chapters because I have this whole number thing going on with this fic. I've been awake for nearly 40 hours, that's a perfect state for writing 😊

**James POV **

"Johan! It's good to see you. This is Snowflake, he arrived with me from the Firelands directly, and is one of the New Reapers. I have hardly been here long enough to start any trouble. Thank you guys, tell Vakras I'll be happy to receive him in return."

The kid was helping them down. He was more than happy when Tony also helped him down, because Unicorns are very, very large. He then ran off talking to the unicorns, speaking fast and quite a lot like Tony during a crafting binge.

James wasn't sure if he was going to get used to Tony talking to actual Unicorns anytime soon. Outloud or otherwise. 

Or, you know. The _ castle. _ Because it was sort of looming over them, and it was huge. It was impossible not to focus on it. It was utterly gorgeous now he could see it properly. Fae are almost effortlessly skilled at beautiful things. It baffles his mind at the idea that Tony built this.

It was carved out of the mountain as he had assumed, and it didn't look like it had been awkwardly stuck on. It worked with the mountain, and it truly was beautiful. He couldn't quite work out how many floors as parts seemed to stand out alone. Some windows were taller than three-story buildings on Earth. If he had to guess he would say the castle also went deep into the mountain, so some floors didn't outwardly show, then a few floors up another did. The dark silver stone seemed to be used the most as it seemed to be the stone from the mountain itself, only made into large bricks that were polished to an impressive shine. Atronach was certainly mixed in too, creating interesting patterns along with the iron itself. Some parts looked like natural veins that were left intact. Other areas were evidently added after as decoration. The windows were ridiculously huge and took stained glass to a new level. The images were not entirely static, either.

The section that was built further away from the mountain, so it was Iron-free, was a mixture of the silver stone and Atronach crafted with much smaller stones to create Celtic knotwork over the walls. Even though Tony seemed to view it as a small annexe, it was impressive on its own. James would easily call Tony's annexe a damned Palace alone. 

The patterns on the walls of the 'Pannexe' continued through the windows. There were a number of carvings on both parts of the castle, wolves were heavily featured, but James noticed that several enormous black crows or ravens proudly stood out around the rooms. There was a large magpie that looked to be crafted out of iron and Atronach that seemed to be around 15 feet high, wings spread out above one of the seemingly floating rooms. Some of it wasn't glaringly obvious at first look, the more he looked, the more he noticed more and more intricate detailing. Above the front entrance, James was sure the Sword and Scythe crossed were replicas of Tony's primary weapons.

There was so much detail and beauty that James was struggling to get his head around the sheer scale. The human-looking Johan snapped him out of his gawking and prompted him to stop being so rude. In his defence, the damned building was gorgeous, and James was pretty sure he could sit here for half an hour and not see everything.

"It has been a while since a Reaper has graced our halls, I assume you are both starving, of course, the kitchens are expecting you. I shall add the needs of a fragile creature, yes?" 

"Of course Johan, everything in my lands is to be made available to be given freely and without obligation to him, full pass. I'll light the Fires, and then I need to converse with the Genius Loci sooner rather than later. I hate to look like I'm abandoning you right away Snowflake, but this is much more urgent than I expected, you are OK with Johan. He runs, well. My everything. Think of him like Pepper."

"No, no, it's fine, go. I'll be fine. Can I uh, tell him my name?"

"That is totally up to you Snowflake, but Johan is cool. He's also human. Show him to my room, Jo."

Tony quickly jogged over and touched the wall of the castle and closed his eyes. James glanced back at Johan, who was gazing up at the castle. The lizard kid ran back around, skidding and panting.

"Did I miss it?"

"No, he is lighting the Fires now."

"Fires?"

The others were observing the castle, so James also kept his eyes on the building. They were openly excited. The kid was practically bouncing up and down on the spot.

"When Master Black Scythe is residing in the Iron Lands, he lights the Fires, so all those in the land know he is here. Should they need him, they can seek him out. When the Fires are dark, people write to him instead. The lighting of the Fires is my favourite!"

Johan nodded as the kid excitedly explained, and James noticed that several people had exited the castle, and there were now small crowds forming all over the courtyard.

He turned his attention to Tony and let his eyes unfocus, his sight quickly flickering to life, much easier Underhill compared to Earth. Tony Was replaced with a massive torrent of Blue Fire that James could now see was being channelled into the castle.

Veins of Fire spread out all over the outside of the castle, all the way up to the highest floating room and steadily making its way across. Now he looked he could see torches in strategic positions. None had lit up yet. It looked as if the Fire was waiting until he had filled the entire circuit by the looks of things. The carved statues also seemed to have concentrations here and there in the eyes or wings. He could see Tony had almost finished filling the circuit, so he pulled his sight back. Wanting to see what it looked like without seeing the tracks. This was a much larger casting of magic than he had undoubtedly seen before, Tony had said he was quite restrained with magic on Earth, if this was a sample then James had to agree.

James was just in time as his vision dimmed to its normal levels he heard Tony sigh as the magic channelled out, a smile crossing his face as Blue Fire exploded at every point simultaneously and it lit the castle up. The castle had been beautiful and strange before. Now it was certainly something he would have expected from Underhill. Ethereal, otherworldly, and so completely stunning. The highest looking rooms James would guess might be Tony's forges as there were three huge rooms of a sort, but there was no external wall, the Fire lit up the edges. Even with his newly enhanced eyesight, he couldn't see much detail of the potential forges, far too high up.

A few seconds after the Fires were lit there was cheering and clapping from people in the courtyard, but he absolutely heard cheering from beyond too. Followed by what he assumed was the Fae version of Fireworks, which made Fireworks back home seem rather dull and nosey as these lacked the signature bang and worked just as well in broad daylight. That was going on his list of potential souvenirs. James didn't think it would be hard to convince Tony to bring back things that explode. It was Tony. He loved things that exploded.

He thought that would have been exhausting, but if anything, Tony looked a little flushed and was burning brighter. He wondered if people's joy and magic of Underhill being directed to Tony was like faith back on Earth. He jogged over, messing up the kid's hair who dodged but seemed quite happy about it.

"Right, I'm going to start climbing!"

Tony caught his arm, squeezing lightly as he jogged off around the castle, and James wondered if there was a reason he could not Firewalk, as he was left with the apparently human Johan as the kid dashed off towards the stables. Johan was a surprise. He'd not honestly expected to find that many humans Underhill. Well, some yes, but he had expected Tony's staff would be Fae. But Then Johan had mentioned Tony bringing home _fragile_ _creatures_ as if it was a habit. Like the Fae version of a crazy cat lady.

"So, I'm James. You're human? How did you end up here? If, uh, you don't mind my asking?" 

"Well, I'm not quite as perfectly human as you expect James. I was taken as a child, you see, and I lived in The Court of the Final Word for several decades, before I was eventually traded to The Court of Yearning Heart. It was there I met with Master Black Scythe, and he traded to bring me here and saved me. That was a very long time ago. I grew up here. Underhill is my home. He helped me find my footing, and in return, I help run his holdings for him and generally run things in his absence when he returns to the Firelands. If you come with me, I will show you to his rooms so you may settle in. I can have food brought up to and a bath run after such a long ride."

James just nodded because two of the Courts that Tony had warned him off were the ones this guy had seemingly spent _ decades _ in! On top of being taken as a child. He barely looked a day over 20 with long, striking red hair and bright, vivid green eyes. There was definitely something _ 'other' _ about him. 

They entered the castle, which, again, _ Castle, _ and the first thing he couldn't help noticing was the size. There was a large open area just as he entered, a large staircase in the middle stretch up in several directions. It went straight and deep into the castle, so far that James couldn't even see the top. The large staircase also branched off several times in both directions. There were several rooms in both directions on the ground floor too. The outside certainly didn't give an idea of the scale as the castle continued into the Mountain proper as he predicted. So it was larger on the inside, somehow he found that he wasn't surprised. Where the windows did not reach, it was lit by floating lights all over that cast a light identical to the natural light outside 

The steps were sculpted as if they were made for a much larger gait. Not too uncomfortable for a human, but enough that James had to concentrate on walking. The doors he passed were much larger than if the only denizens were of a human height. James could even see Tony's uncle, Big C looking small near some of the doors.

He was too nervous to ask _ why, _ as the trend continued. The hallways were vast and impressive, and the staircases were almost uncomfortable to climb, the steps clearly not designed for a human gait and Tony ostensibly liked being high up here as much as he did back on Earth. So there were a lot of stairs, and they climbed a _ lot _ of them. James got the feeling several times that Tony had either made these choices to have people wondering just why to make them uneasy, or, Tony actually had friends who required such wide stairs, doors and halls and made sure they were welcome in his home. Both were plausible things Tony would do.

Everything was beautiful, but not excessively so. There was a lot of natural stone and wood, and it didn't take James long to realise the decorative carvings were Wardings. James bet the entire Castle was a Greatward. Honestly, James wouldn't put it past Tony for everything within Tony's Walls to be a set of concentric Greatwards. The windows were huge and several he had passed afforded a fantastic view over the entirety of Tony's lands to the point he was pretty sure magic was involved. The window just outside Tony's bedroom somehow showed you _ everything. _The level of detail was bizarre, and he could see trees moving in the wind.

James had thought Tony used magic a lot back at the compound, that was ostensibly _nothing, _just based on the Castle _decor_ alone. James also knew there was likely more he wasn't seeing. The _decorative _carvings increased dramatically outside Tony's room. There were several circles that flowed from the floor, up the walls and up to the ceiling. Thirteen in total, and instead of just being carved, they seemed to be filled even if James was unsure of what will. Three different Fires, Atronach, silver and iron were easy. The water and earth formed metals shimmered lightly. The other six James was unsure about, although the one that was bone coloured may be bone. Another gleamed a deep red that had a familiar feel. The deep green looked almost alive, another could be frost at a closer inspection and the last one that he was unsure about looked empty, but silver and blue sparked along the deep gouge. Within each circle, were progressively complex Wards right up to the door, which was completely bare. James had expected the door to be Warded too. The Blue Fire was the smallest circle around the door. James had a feeling that a person attempting to enter this room without permission would have a nasty time of it.

"Here we go, now I know this can all be a bit overwhelming, so have a rest before things truly get crazy. Master Black Scythe will be busy communing with the land for a while, and he has given you a free run of his rooms. They're the only open ones we keep open constantly you see. We can see about opening a suite for yourself if you are interested, we are currently rushing to ready suites for the Arrival of the Courts in the West Wing. This area has the highest concentration of Iron. You are as safe here as safe can be. There is a bell inside, it's enchanted, and myself or another will come as quick as possible for anything you require."

Now James had come Underhill expecting things to be odd, but he had no idea what to do with _ this _ precisely. When Tony had said 'house', he'd been ridiculous enough to think it was going to be a _ house. _ Not a _ castle, _ that had _ staff. _

"Yeah, OK, I'll have a bath or something? Won't say no to some food too."

He figured that running a bath would not be a simple task that he could complete alone. Did castles have plumbing? Did it have magic plumbing? It was totally going to be magic plumbing; he could feel it in his bones. Tony's bathroom was confusing enough on Earth, and that was with no magic.

"Excellent, someone will bring you food, and I'll have someone get on that for you. Someone will be by to outfit you too, probably tomorrow though. I hope you enjoy your stay in the Iron Lands."

Johan freaking _ bowed _ to him, not the sarcastic quirks he'd seen Tony and Mab exchange, an actual, full at the waist bow and as James had no idea what to do he stuck his hand out to shake which Johan returned with a bemused smile on his face before going back to his duties. Someone was going to outfit him? With what exactly? 

James put that in the corner of his mind titled 'deal with later' and decided to get an idea of where he was staying. Just as he expected, crossing the circles lit up his new senses like the 4th of July and he felt each element flutter across his skin as he walked through the door. By the time he was a few steps into the room, his skin was humming with magic, so much of it and he suspected it was currently dormant.

It took him a few seconds to clear his vision from the sheer power of the protection on the door, but when he did, he gaped at Tony's _ 'room'. _ If James had thought the apartments at the Avengers compound were huge… he didn't even know what to call this. It was beyond huge. 

The living space seemed centred around an insanely massive fire with two large windows bracketing it. There were three double doors on each side at evenly spaced intervals. He was pretty sure just one of the smaller logs in that fire was twice the size of him. Cara was already happily curled up in front of the fire on a plush rug that he was pretty sure was the size of his entire apartment. There was enough space but the room was not barren. It didn't feel empty despite the size. There were several bookcases along the walls, items hanging off the walls, a large seating area, a large, heavy wooden table on one side. 

He could see that there was a lot of iron in this room, the walls were primarily made of that silvery stone, but there were hundreds of thick veins of iron wrapping around the room, spider-webbing out to thinner and thinner lines do it gave the impression that the room was wrapped in iron roots. Pictures and beautiful items we're on the walls placed in a pattern that again made James think of Wards. Tony had a habit of placing and styling pretty much everything into a Warding of some kind. He rarely puts something somewhere without several reasons.

The closed doors around the circular shaped room caught his attention first. Each was an arched, double door made of a strange deep-red wood striped through with silver. It didn't look like the silver was decoration but rather the natural grain of the wood. The metal on the doors was black, and he would assume to be Iron, each entry also had a very different Warding around the edges. The Wardings were made from iron on the door itself and silver on the stone archway. They were separate lines, but the Wards were linked between the iron and silver as James could see lines meeting. The wood on each door was also carved with a different pattern, and there was what he assumed was an indication of what was in the room. However, the language was not one he recognised and the translation Ward didn't step in. But it had the general shape and position as an identification would have.

Each door was very different, but it certainly was part of a set, they worked well together. He was pretty sure the floor was another carved and inlaid Ward into the stone too, a scaled-down version of Tony's Greatwards.

James idly wondered if Tony was capable of not Warding someone and how long this room took to Ward. The different levels of larger Wards that were wrapped around the separate doors alone were painfully complex.

Drest suddenly appeared from behind him, twisting around his legs before heading towards one of the beautifully carved doors, throwing him a look over her shoulder that clearly said 'well, hurry up then!' 

Oh, so he was getting a tour. 

James also knew better not to keep Drest waiting, so he got moving.

The first room seemed to be an office of sorts. It had a familiar feel to Tony's mirror workshop, but more bizarre. Somehow. With enough moving things that definitely should not be moving for him to back out very quickly before he accidentally broke something, closing the door securely. He had reason to be nervous, considering the thing with Tony and the explosions.

The next was a bedroom, which again, _ huge _ and had a gorgeous four-poster bed that was made from the same silver striped red wood as the doors. It unquestionably dominated the room, with heavy-looking curtains that he could see were stitched with black and silver Wards. He ducked out before looking around too much as it seemed a little rude to nose around Tony's bedroom. 

He had kind of expected the castle to be cold. It was a castle with stone walls and floors in a land without electricity, after all. However, it was pleasantly warm, and even smelled nice despite the fire probably being the primary source of heat, if not lighting. The lights were what looked to be silver lanterns at intervals on the walls, throwing a warm, silver light across the room, similar to elsewhere in the castle. They had all come on when he entered the room despite it being light out. It was required, even with the enormous windows, the suite was large and deep enough into the mountain that the additional lighting was needed. In the middle of the ceiling, there was a cluster of silver, floating balls of light. It gave the impression of natural lighting from the sun. 

There was another room that was even more confusing as the first, one that was almost empty, it was a different shape to the other two on the left, larger and circular but made up 13 flat, mirrored walls in the same arch shape as the doors. Each mirror was edged in Atronach with a black stone at the top that he assumed was Black Atronach. The floor was carved with intricate, tiny Warding's and he didn't want to think about how long that took to carve. There was a black stone table in the centre that had his skin buzzing just standing near it. Drest stopped him from entering that one. Not that he was going to! That room was more nerve-racking than the office he thought as he closed the doors tightly, wishing he could read the text on the door.

James followed Drest to the other side of the room, silently hoping for a less terrifying room next if possible. The door opposite the office turned out to be an enormous library that had his fingers twitching. It had the same floor space as the other rooms, but the library went further up with ladders and shelves going up to dizzying heights. James had a feeling that was Tony's personal library as he suspected somehow that there was a more extensive library elsewhere in the castle that wasn't in Tony's private rooms. This was probably Tony's equivalent of having a few books on your bedside table.

Opposite the bedroom was a wardrobe of sorts and as all these rooms seemed to be precisely the same size, that was a damned impressive for a wardrobe. 

He finally came across the bathroom and the bath… could you call it a bath when it looked as if you could swim in it? Well, the pool/bath Was being prepared by two blue and purple people, that seemed to have scales framing their faces and arms, their hands were webbed, and their hair was long, braided and twisted up, pinned to their heads. Their eyes were both wholly black but for white, horizontally slitted pupils. Despite the Ward that allowed him to understand different languages and be understood by others, they were speaking, and he had no fucking clue what they were saying, it sounded oddly… like water. Like bubbling brooks and water rushing across stones. He did attempt to say hi, however. They apparently were still busy, and he was promptly shooed out, they were smiling though, so that was good? The room was the same size as the terrifying mirror room.

Food arrived, and James decided to take a break from the strange rooms. It was brought by another human-looking person, at first, well. The left side of them looked human. It was when she turned, and the right side came into view that had him doubting she was human, which was a thoroughly terrifying burned twisted mess that he was sure no one could have survived. It made the perfect beauty of the left seem almost macabre in a way. Her voice was gorgeous as one blue eye and one purely white eye locked on to him with a half-smile. He made a conscious effort not to stare at the right side and got a broader smile in return. 

"Welcome to the Iron Lands, Reaper. It has been some time since we have entertained your kind. It's always best when he brings friends back with him. He can get lost in his forges ever so easily you see. Having a person to keep him company and draw him away from work is always good, you've already endeared yourself to many that work here."

"Yeah, this place is great. Strange, but great. I'm glad people like me? Not sure what I've done to earn that. I just try to do my bit is all, get him outside occasionally and remind him to eat food. Are there many other humans here?" 

"The Master has collected people from every court and every corner of the changing lands, some other lands too. Many originally came from the Firelands. However, he welcomes all who need a home, and we guard him in return."

Well, that was a not so subtle, effortlessly terrifying threat.

Did people Underhill have classes on how to add terrifying things to the end of sentences with a smile? 

Or was it something Tony did and his people did?

"Yeah that sounds about right, he seems to inspire loyalty." 

"That he does, you seem good for him. He rarely returns smiling or without any glamour. Especially under such circumstances. A few of us wished to thank you for that." 

She simply smiled, handing him a wooden box before turning to leave whilst James dropped heavily onto the obscenely comfortable chairs. He was thoroughly shattered after the ride, hours, maybe. He still wasn't sure about time here. Yet, hours bareback on a _ unicorn _ had him sore in places he didn't even know existed. The food was simple but flavourful. A mix of thick, flavorful pieces of bread, different meats of some kind that he didn't recognise at all, but tasted good, and cheese that didn't taste too different to what he would expect. It came with a light, golden coloured drink that smelled of honey, and wasn't as cloying as he'd expected it to be. It was sweet but not overly so and refreshing. He had expected it to be sweet. Fae seemed to favour all things sweet along with the beautiful and warm. Honey was a particular favourite he was starting to realise.

James didn't quite realise how hungry he was until he started eating and he'd quickly polished everything off before he even realised it, and finally was considering getting himself ready for that bath. Or that swim would be a more accurate description he thought, remembering the size of the 'bath'. He hadn't gotten that good of a look of the bathroom before he had been bundled out by the giggling colourful creatures.

He had a look through the box first and was shocked to find a number of odd items inside. A silver brooch of a delicate seven-pointed star with a bright blue stone at its centre caught his eye first. There were all kinds of things, a few rings, chains, delicate silver jewellery, but also ribbons, a white flower encased in crystal, it was quite random, but oddly every item had a weight to it that he couldn't explain. He very carefully returned it to the box wondering who each piece came from and why he was getting such things when he'd been here all of five minutes?

As he made his way to the bathroom, which was much bigger than any bathroom had a business being, it was more like a pool room, with more than one he noticed, wondering what the difference was between them. The largest one was what had been filled. The exposed stone that was in the other rooms was mostly covered with tiles in this room. The floor was a mix of silver and black tiles, creating all kinds of patterns throughout the room. The 'bath' was surrounded by complicated knotwork which continued into the 'bath too. There were a number of symbols under the water and the way some were glowing. He had a feeling they were less for decoration and more function. He was so not touching any of them.

James was certainly happy that he hadn't tried to run this bath himself as there wasn't anything like taps, from what he could tell it was just that large section of symbols. He very nearly considers pressing some of them before he got into the bath, curious as to their purpose and to how the bath functioned. He managed to resist temptation, however, as he got into the bath/pool.

He needed a bath like this back home. It wasn't so much the size, although that aspect was remarkable. The water didn't _ feel _ like any water he had felt before, and the water also wasn't still. He could already feel the pain being pulled from his muscles at a much faster rate than humanly possible, even with his enhanced healing. Not long after entering, he was floating in the sweet-smelling water feeling warm, fuzzy and pain-free.

James was really starting to get an idea of what Fae liked in general. He was beginning to keep a list in his mind, also listing differences between humans and Fae. Figuring it was his best chance of avoiding inevitable clashes from the interaction between two different species with very different cultures. Tony might have been human several times in his lifetime, but when he returned to Fae, he was bound to forget some things.

Tony put a lot of work in to make humans comfortable around him, to reduce the natural effects Fae had on humans, tamp down his instincts and so on. James figured it was the least he could do was to reciprocate, maybe find out some of the more Fae things Tony pushed back to make humans more comfortable and show that he was happy for Tony to be himself. It was an ongoing project James had going, ever since he realised just _ how much _ Tony was doing to make others comfortable. As far as James was concerned, he deserved the same consideration and if Tony did things the human way for them? Then he could do some things the Fae way for him. So he enjoyed his bath whilst analysing the room for hints.

That one wall of this room was a huge stained glass window that threw beautiful colours all over the room, mixing with the floating silver blobs at the ceiling. James knew they probably had a different name, but he had made an art form when it came to renaming magic things to wind Tony up. 

The room reminded him of the compound library that Tony seemed to find himself in often. Add in hot water that was somehow the perfect level of hot he wanted. The temperature also never changed either, even when James spent quite a while floating and swimming around. He felt like a kid in a giant bath and just getting to have fun.

James was pretty sure baths on earth were now wholly ruined for him. 

He was wondering just where Tony was and, now he was positively relishing his _bath,_ whilst idly wondering if he _could_ get a bath like this back home. Probably not, he was pretty sure this was one of those 'intense usages of magic' things. The kind of heavy usage that Tony and Loki avoided on Earth. Not wanting to introduce too much magic to Earth at once. Tony had told him that Earth, whilst not alive like Underhill would likely flourish under such magic, but what Tony did not know was how it would affect the humans. Magic users Underhill were not only plentiful and exceptionally strong because they practised often, but it was also partially because they lived, breathed, ate magic in a way. It permeated the soil and the food grown from it. The magic had a different quality too. Tony had described it like a tree takes in co2 and returns oxygen. Underhill took in their magic and then flooded their world with intense, high-level magic. There was probably more magic laid into this bath alone than the compound back home. He could feel it humming along his skin.

It certainly was amazing. Everything felt different here. Everything felt _more _somehow. James had a feeling it was more than the movement, bubbles and whatever had been added to it too. There was just something more to the water that he couldn't place, but he could feel. Under his sight, the crystal clear blue water had a golden sheen to it. 

He had not been here very long, but already James could now understand why so many humans had been lured here. Humans were sensory seeking creatures as much as Fae were, the difference being that they were not used to such luxurious, indulgent and downright hedonistic feelings from just a _bath. _Just a regular part of people's days. Yeah, it would not be remotely arduous for a Fae to get a human to stay after they started to experience Underhill. 

He wasn't entirely sure how long he spent in the bath; he still wasn't sure about the concept of time Underhill. Not when he had gotten so used to feeling the time back on earth that he had stopped wearing watches. Especially when it still looked as if that Silver Sun had barely crossed the sky. When he did get out of the bath, his skin was thoroughly humming with infused magic.

He just hoped everything went well for Tony and his conversation with the mountain.

  
  


**Tony POV **

Tony left the iron pathway and started to retrace his path down the mountain with ease. Barely noticing anything that he passed, his mind was a whirlwind of motion, but he wasn't _ really _ thinking of anything specific. Replaying what just happened over and over as he still couldn't believe it was happening to him.

Part of him had truly not believed what was happening. 

Even with Mab's message.

Even with his Aunt and his family meddling. 

Even feeling that pull in his chest! 

That warmth in the ice-cold places where Spring and Autumn lay. 

The feeling of joy that thrummed through him anytime the tentative magic answered his call. 

No. 

He hadn't believed.

Part of him had been so sure that he would get there and find no Loci.

Then he _saw_ the entrance _ . _

Only a Loci could have crafted something like that, and it was _ beautiful. _ The entire pathway, even at the entrance, it was formed from this pure, thick iron that was so _ rich _ in magic that Tony had felt it in his bones long before he approached it. 

He couldn't _ not _reach out to a thing of such beauty and sheer power as it danced across his senses; he was halfway in the pathway before he had intended to take a step near the entrance.

Still, he hadn't believed. 

Sure there was a Loci. 

But it would not want _ him. _

The further he had walked, the heavier and heavier the pull of the iron became. As it strengthened him with each step, Tony quickly calculated the possibility of another Fae making it this far. Even non-Seelie Fae. Even Iron-touched Fae… this was too much iron. A Seelie Fae, especially High born, wouldn't have made it one step into the iron pathway. Probably be unable to approach the entrance. Let alone making it to the chamber at the end of this path.

It wasn't just that he could stand there either; it was something else. Something _ more. _ Something was _ pulling _ him along as he slowly walked that twisting winding pathway. His hand running along the wall feeling that heavy, velvet black magic of Bane effortlessly jumped from the iron to wrap itself around his fingers. Pushing further and further as it's confidence grew. His arm was practically covered up to his elbow before he realised it, not that he minded. It felt _ incredible. _

The pathway was so beautiful too. Warding patterns that we're so similar to his own decorated the iron. The Loci had been investigating his magic that was for sure. The amount of Wards he had carved into the stone of his home would tell him enough, but some of these Wards we're similar to those he surrounded the villages with, those to protect his people. 

How long had he been here? Waiting and learning, ignoring all other messages from any other Fae and crafting this beautiful, magic rich pathway, deeper and deeper into the iron heart of the mountain. Stubborn.

He still hadn't believed it then.

Bound to the Firelands as he was, there was no reason for a Loci to choose him. Not one with this level of sheer power. When he had thought maybe it was a case of no other options, he had felt a brush of the mind at the core that quickly disabused him of _ that _ notion. It was clear. It had _ chosen _ him because he _ wanted _him.

He also wanted him to hurry up, apparently. Bossy too.

For a moment Tony let himself fall down a path of wondering, what it could be like to be a Foci, of bonding with this beautiful being, before remembering that he was there to try and talk him down. To maybe convince him there were others better than himself.

To maybe be one of the lower courts? That was also shut down quickly, and Tony knew it would be, he could feel this Loci's power, and he hadn't even _ reached _ him yet. No, this Loci could _ never _ be one of the lower courts. 

Not with Underhill's Executioner as it's King.

He twitched as he realised his thoughts were straying into the dangerous territory of hope and wondering. He could not have this. Such a thing was not made for creatures like himself. He already had more than he could hope to deserve.

His Blue Fire lit the chamber as it had the iron pathway, and it was remarkable. Tony just stood in awe until the Loci approached and he couldn't help grinning when the Loci chose the wolf as it's form to greet him. Good choice. Bigger than even James when he shifted, he thought as his fingers sank into the velvet back fur and magic. Not that he even remembered approaching him. One second Tony had been hovering in the door, next his hands were sinking into that velvet black and soft fur. 

Polished, shining bright iron practically glowed in the light from the Blue Fire that hung around his neck. A thick, long chain with blue stones wound in it. The Loci had taken what Blue Fire into itself, from years of casting it upon his home. Used it and his own skills to craft an item of beauty that Tony had little choice but to accept.

Tony had had so many plans.

So many things to say.

So many arguments to broker.

So many ways to get out of this.

Yet... all of them left his mind as he rested his head against his Loci's and his mind quietened as a heavy hum of magic and _ home _settled over him.

Hetaris.

** _Hetaris._ **

He had felt his clothes change and shift around him in a beautiful, stunning burst of bane magic that left his nerves tingling with the sheer _ power _ of it. Any silver on his person vanished under the force. Fuck that could be _ his _ and damned if he didn't _ want _ it. 

Amongst other things, he didn't want to leave Hetaris to be alone, because that was what would happen if he walked away from this. 

He would doom him to a life alone. 

Leave this wonderful being to a _ short _ life alone.

Barely able to speak to his own kin without hurting them.

No other Loci could tolerate his presence without a buffer. 

No Seelie Fae could come deep enough to speak to him. 

Tony… he could bridge that gap. 

_ No, _ he _ couldn't _ leave this young, bright Fae to die. 

Because that was what would happen.

Sorrow could kill Loci just as assuredly as any Fae. 

Tony would be lying if that was the _ only _ reason he and his magic instinctively reached out. It was part of it, but only because Hetaris was already _ his _ and he protected what was _ his. _The answering hum in his mind amused him. That Hetaris saw him the same.

Tony had worried. 

A Loci born on the bloodiest border in all of Underhill? 

A site of death, war and spilt blood?

A Loci fated to be bound to himself?

The land _ had _ influenced Loci's personality. Not as he had feared, those had not been the aspects he had taken on. No. 

Tony had built his land under the premise of protection for any who needed it. Soothing pain, healing trauma and forging a home. 

New Beginnings and Stalwart Defence.

Spring and Autumn.

Sometimes fate was annoying. Sometimes it felt like it was trying to tell him something.

_ That _ was what Hetaris had been born into. Not that many would understand, they would just see Bane. Like many just saw The Executioner in him.

They made quite the pair.

The rest of it had been lost a golden haze and the feel of magic over his skin and down through his bones and pouring into his core after exhausting himself. Typically, to add a new thread to the weave to your power, to pick up a new discipline, it can take decades, centuries even. There were shortcuts, of course, they are always dangerous, you are messing with the very core of your being, add a thread incorrectly, and the entire weave of all of your power can destabilise. It is almost like a rope, with many strands wound carefully together. If one is too tight, too short, too thin, too frail, too thick, any number of things and it can affect the entire rope

Bonding with a Loci, however, requires a Foci to learn the new thread, or more likely, multiple threads, in under an hour. It is one of the things that makes bonding dangerous. High-intensity magic comes with dangers anyway, draining all of your reserves into the Loci so they can pull the potential Foci's core up and out is dangerous but not without remarkable, incredible rewards. In this state, the Foci cannot defend themselves magically against anything. Even physically, they would be compromised.

Tony and Hetaris worked to drain everything, channelling it into Hetaris to help him grow. This leaves Tony dizzy and weak, yet warm and safe because Hetaris would guard him. Seeing his core like this is certainly new to him. Usually, you have to sink into your mind, but this way it is entirely exposed. Not a level of trust Tony is used to offering up. The different threads he had wound together over the years were wrapped neatly around a vibrant, strong core thread of Blue Fire that had replaced his original core when he nearly died as a kid. It is why his magic is so different from his kin, but it is something Tony is proud of, it is what gave him his resistance to Bane. 

Bane was already one of his threads, one he had learned many millennia ago, well worn and cared for, but Hetaris gently untangled it from the weave. He doesn't discard it as he can tell Tony is quite attached. Instead, he winds more and more threads and increases its complexity and density. Creating a weave on its own. It is a sight to behold, and Tony wished he was a little more coherent to watch. When it is returned, it is nearly as strong as his Blue Fire. Iron and Blue Fire are exceptionally compatible, and it doesn't take much encouragement from Tony and Hetaris for the Blue Fire and Bane to entwine and the other threads of Tony's weave to twine around. When it has settled, they are ready to start again.

Spring and Autumn, Gold and Red shimmering, delicate and so new came next. They decide to untwine everything again, it takes longer, but Hetaris agrees that having the vulnerable, old magics exposed to the edge of the weave would not be best. The plan is that they want to wrap them around the core tightly. So Tony's other magic will protect them. Everything slides into place as if it had been waiting for it.

The gaps in his power that had been cold since he was born were flooded with warmth. The pain every Fae is born with was swept away with a strange feeling that he can now feel all four seasons, stranger still is the knowledge that two will answer his calls. Every Fae _ feels _ the seasons, but for them to _ answer _ your call is something indescribable. 

The last, undefinable thread that he knew to expect, and yet it still surprised him when Hetaris brought it forth. Not a magic he could ever weave with, not magic you can call or cast, nothing he can call to his hands, this is something very different. The Stone Table was Underhill's First Gift. This is Underhill's Second Gift to Foci's, to thank them for bonding with her children. Underhills Second Gift bolsters _ every _ strand of magic in the weave in a way that caused Tony to nearly blackout and nearly missed something hazy at the end before he blinked blearily, the chamber coming back into view as he was practically clutching Hetaris neck. The new threads winding together flawlessly to produce a robust new core that Tony can already tell is significantly durable, powerful, larger and complex. This is going to take some getting used to. Tony can already tell looking at it; his usual tactics to avoid people seeing his power affect the world around him will need serious updating...

In his defence, adding a thread to your core to this level takes hundreds and hundreds of years typically. Sometimes thousands, depending on the strength and complexity of the discipline. Bonding with a Loci made that happen much, much faster. Hetaris was a solid presence and helped him stay standing. Tony found it difficult to catch hold of details, it was hazy, but a pleasant haze. He could feel that link binding them together now. He could hear Hetaris if he wanted to speak to him, even away from the chamber. Not that he would not visit him in person often, it was good for them both to spend time together.

He vaguely remembered Underhill investigating his Fire and his link to the Firelands. Remembered her adding something after the gift? He understood why she was curious. A bind to an entire world of one of the purest forms of magic in the universe? Yes, he should have known that it would catch Tilly's eye. He just had not thought of it, had not _ realised _ meshing with a Loci _ involved _ Tilly, _ no one _ had mentioned that to him! Yet another one of those things no one could talk about that bites him in the arse. That had been an experience he had no interest in repeating and he absolutely couldn't afford to let others know about, not safely. It might not have been so painful if not for the past few days, the pain had mostly faded, and soon it would pass.

Which was when Tony remembered he had come here to _stop_ this process, and instead he bound himself to his Loci.

Whilst all those arguments he had planned when faced with his Iron Wolf had fallen apart, they were still niggling in his mind as he walked back down to his house. 

They were still very valid. 

As much confidence that Hetaris seemed to have in him, Tony was entirely sure he was not Seelie King material. Or any King material in fact.

He had been running for seven millennia for a reason.

The Stone box he was carrying home belied that, however. His fingers clenched around it, but he did not open it. Still not sure that he was worthy of such a thing. No, that was a lie. He knew he was not.

Tony could already feel the changes in his magic, and he knew that was _ nothing _ compared to what it _ could _ be. 

What a little consent… what the Crown could change...

It was a lot. It was like releasing a bind, those new threads would burst to life, and Tony wanted to know what that felt like.

No, he could not do that.

He turned his attention to the changes in his magic. The Bane magic had settled, the seasonal magic was slowly building, and Tony had no idea how much that would grow. Were the lost courts truly coming back? He had no idea. How would that gift of Underhill augment his power? _What did Tilly do?_

The timing couldn't precisely be much worse. He had so much to do. He had Thanos to focus on, and then he had to concentrate on the Fomóire. He had no idea about the time limit on that prophecy, but he had reason to believe maybe it was connected to Thanos, why else would he be given a prophecy of Fomóire when he asked about Thanos? There must be a connection. 

Tony didn't have the _ time _ to enjoy himself. He didn't have time when he had work to do. He had a duty to this battle, and this seemed a selfish detour.

Hetaris had pointed out that if this was true, then the timing was perfect.

That a Seelie King would leverage much more power in the coming battle.

Hetaris had too much faith in him.

Irritation snapped through him at the thought of Thanos, and he worked to temper it, not wanting to wake Fy Brawd, he still needed to recuperate after his stunt, waking now would be highly detrimental to him. At the base of the mountain, stone finally gave way to grass and trees, and he steadfastly ignored how the trees leaned slightly in his direction. How green leaves were shifting or reds and golds, and some were even flowering. That was going to take some serious getting used to. To learn how to mask that reaction like he did the rest. Now he understood why Mab often trailed ice in her path, keeping this down would be very tricky.

Seeing it was just as staggering each time, part of him did not _ want _ to mask that. Why was _ he _ out of all of those Underhill being given a chance to see something so rare?

He paused in an effort to centre him and stop mindlessly affecting everything around him like a damned apprentice, but his mind was in turmoil. More of him was thrilled about how things had turned out than he would like to admit. Not that he would ever admit that to his family. 

It felt _ good _ to reach out and feel the seasons reach back, not just _ good _. 

_ Amazing. _

_ Fantastic. _

_ Incredible. _

It felt like part of the debt of war was being balanced, but that couldn't be right. 

Not with his blooded path.

How many battles had he fought in?

How many had he killed?

How many were taken too early? 

How many threads cut short prematurely?

How many families torn apart?

How many innocents had he killed?

How much damage he alone had wrought upon The Balance?

How much destruction did he rain down when The Balance was disturbed?

He might as well have been _ involved _ in the Great War.

At least they know the tallies and the debt from the Great War. No matter how hard he tried, he could never truly discover his debt from his time beneath Molaich. He truly does not know the answers to these questions, and that is what bothers Tony the most. He specialises in feeling the balance of debts, yet for this one, his senses are blind. 

Tony has spent millennia trying to balance a debt he _ cannot _ feel.

His family had been pestering him for millennia that his power was not complete, that he would not feel settled until it was and now? He could feel it getting close and damned it felt _ good. _

Which was the problem.

With the deaths on his hands, he _ did not deserve it. _ Not with that delicate, tentative magic of Spring curled in his chest. Terrified of crushing a delicate flower. Autumn, he felt more comfortable with, but both Seasons were seemingly adamant in their choice and thought his arguments ridiculous. His fingers wound around the iron chain Hetaris had gifted him, before sighing and pushing it out of his mind for now. Attempting to focus on what was in his hands.

There was little point tormenting himself with arguments when he could feel the magic crash coming on him. He knew this. Not that that had a remote chance of stopping him of course. The magic involved in that first stage of bonding was designed to use up the entirety of the Foci's stores of magic. That was the only way to bind the new threads to his weave so quickly.

He wanted to crawl into his bed and replenish desperately and to curl up on James. The man had a way of silencing his mind with his presence. It allowed him to _ think _ or _ rest _ when he was worked up like he was now. Stopped him tearing himself up.

He didn't even have the energy to _ Firewalk, _ and he wondered why he had so many stairs in his house. They had seemed like a good idea at the time. When he did not have to climb each step to his room. After the trip down he was now practically climbing halfway back up again but inside. He might create some links from his house to the heart of the mountain someday. Pausing as he realised he was already making plans. Plans as if this was done and dusted when he knew it was but the beginning.

That he should be fighting this.

Shouldn't he?

Did he want to?

No. He didn't.

That didn't mean he shouldn't. 

Even with Hetaris in his ear telling him to stop being an idiot.

Tony finally reached his room, laid the box the Loci gifted him on the table very carefully and took a few steps away from it. He could still _ feel _ it—the _ sheer strength _ emanating from such a _ simple _ stone and iron box.

Well, he knew it was no simple box. No box that held a Crown of Underhill could be called _ simple. _ It was blocking off a good 90% of the power from the Crown.

He stretched his senses out for James, as he had done countless times before, except this time instead of scanning over the area, he felt the damned building answer him, which was new. Even exhausted and drained as he was. Even only at the first damned stage.

The absolute flood of information of every single part of his home blanketed his senses as he began to sort it all out. Tony was lucky really, that he had had millennia of practice dealing with a vast intellectus.

Which didn't feel like Fate's sticky fingers getting involved with his life again, not at all.

The Blue Fire was an intellectus. A being or power that existed within, but separate from time and space in a way. There is no need to reach or strive for knowledge in its remit, as it already has it. It is why if he touches a vein and then he knows everything about it and everything that stems from it. Hetaris was also an intellectus, just younger and far, far smaller. The Mountain and Bane of Underhill were now like the Blue Fire, touch a part of it, and he _ knows. _ The tricky thing about Intellecti is you must _ know _ what information you wish to know, _ before _ touching it. When he reached out to James, he was not looking for James or Black Fire. He was looking at a complete overview; which meant he got flooded with information instead of just knowing where James was. 

Usually, his senses would ping for closest life form and then he could locate James' signature. Now a general scan would encompass _ anything _ that touched the stone of the Mountain. A lizard sitting on a rock at the base of the mountain was of the same importance as humanoid life forms, all of it flooded his mind. Luckily it was not a strange feeling to him. It was barely a blip compared to holding the entire Blue Fire in his mind.

Dammit, he was _ old, _ he was _ plateaued. _ He wasn't _ meant _ to come into more power like this anymore. 

No matter what his family said or how _ right _it felt. 

Whilst Tony was conflicted on whether he was the correct choice, whether this was a terrible idea, he just could not bring himself to regret it, which was confusing him the most.

Tony was 100% sure he had done the right thing.

However, at the same time.

Tony was also 100% sure he had made a selfish, wrong choice. One that he was undeserving of, that a weapon could not be a Foci.

His family forgot what he was far too readily.

Underhill Foci were many things. They were nurturing and integral to the life of their courts and their Loci. Teachers, Healers, Guides, Family. 

They were not weapons.

Never weapons.

Let alone weapons of mass destruction of his calibre. 

"Hey there Doll, are you OK?"

Tony very nearly jumped out of his skin when James appeared behind him. His senses were still clogged up with information from the house. He was still going in circles about why he was a terrible choice to be a Foci and King. Terrified he would damage the magic of Spring that somehow had complete faith in him, and mostly? All of his magical reserves were drained, new threads had been added to his core magic which was an exhausting process _ normally, _ when it was done _ slowly, _ over _ hundreds _ of years rather than in an _ hour _ bonding with a Loci. Tony was tired, sore and feeling a little sorry for himself, guilty, because he also felt amazing. 

Guilty, because he _ ached _ to open that box.

So James had managed to sneak up on him. Tony, however, was not complaining when he looked instantly concerned and wrapped his arms around him. All the different tracks in his mind ground to a halt and _ finally _ his mind quietened as he slumped against a perplexed looking James. Tony was slurring slightly from exhaustion but was mostly impressed he was still able to stand up and hadn't instantly passed out.

That must mean he has done something right, Balance wise. If he had reached this level of exhaustion last week, he would have passed out long ago.

Steadily, he managed to relax as James Black Fire wrapped itself around his Blue Fire, causing him to smile even though he was totally in over his head. 

James had not been a Reaper long, and yet he was comforting him like a Reaper. 

Not like a human. 

James had instantly dropped the barrier in his mind, separating his Reaper mind from his everyday mind. Not that James built much of a distinction, no James was _ happier _ being a Reaper than a human, so he only did something similar to Tony. Tamped down how he affected the world around him rather than trying to appear wholly human. Without that barrier, James Black Fire practically jumped at the chance to wrap around him. It was amazing how that action instantly quietened his mind and stopped his back and forth attacks on himself as Tony let any barriers in his own mind fold back.

"Fuck, I don't know James. This is… it's more than even I expected it would be.." 

"Shit, you're shaking, come and sit down."

He felt himself get drawn down onto the sofa as James practically scooped him up and manhandled him into place. Huh, he hadn't realised he was shaking, but then his chest was quite painful. Hetaris had even been quite cross with Tilly for her interference. It was not her fault; she was curious, none of her Fae Children carry Fire as he does, her curiosity whilst a little painful, was quite reasonable. She was a dimensional being. Fae were small, delicate butterflies to her. It was hard not to dust their wings.

"Want to tell me what happened?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's an unconscious rule I have, the more BAMF I make Tony, the more issues I put in his brain.
> 
> I just imagine how utterly unimpressed James will be if he actually works out what is going on in Tony's brain right now...


	69. What Words Will Weave

**James POV**

It had taken a lot of energy for him to actually leave the bath, which, in his defence, was the most comfortable thing he had ever experienced. His clothes had also vanished from where he left them, which posed a problem as if what the hell was he going to wear when he exited the bath. Also, where were the towels?

One of these dilemmas was kind enough to solve itself in that clothes very similar to what he had worn on the way in, but with less Warding, just _ appeared _ where he had left his clothes. He then decided to hunt out towels which was when the second dilemma solved itself. Exiting the bath dried you off. Which felt as peculiar as you imagine it would. 

He had just finished dressing when he heard someone enter the main living space and assumed it was Tony. Which it was, but as soon as James saw him, he was instantly concerned.

He had seen Tony through a lot of different moods now, whether they be closer to human or Fae and yet, James had never seen Tony _ look _ so… conflicted. Or _ feel _ so conflicted through the Fire. It wasn't even just that. He could tell Tony was so wholly distracted that he had slackened the tight control he always had on his magic. James was willing to think he had dropped the control entirely, or maybe that had something to do with the sudden exhaustion coming off of Tony in waves. 

Even without his sight, James would be able to see and feel it around him, how it seemed to _ affect _ things around him too. James certainly understood why Tony kept such tight control, as things had changed in his immediate vicinity, a small plant was no longer small and was listing in his direction, for instance. At the same time, James was immensely curious as to how things would look if he shut that control down when he wasn't stressed out, given Tony seemed entirely unaware of it. He packed away that thought for now, however, as it was not important. That fact Tony still hadn't registered him entering the room was _ very important. _

Tony looked shell-shocked. That was probably the best description he could come up with right now, his hand was beating out a rhythm at his sternum, and he had been so focused staring at a strange, ornate looking box that he didn't seem to register him entering the room, or anything happening around him. Which considering how hypervigilant Tony was… it was surprising, to say the least. Tony was a few steps away from the box that James could _ feel _ practically rippling with magic from the second he had entered the room. It was almost like he was holding himself back. James couldn't always read what people were feeling through the Black Fire, but Tony was oddly _ open. _ He was caught between wanting to step forward but thinking he _ had _ to step away. James was even more surprised, because now? Open like this? He could feel just how much Tony _ wanted _ this.

The very thing they had come here to _ stop. _

The very thing James had been so sure Tony _ did not _ want.

That Tony almost desperately _ didn't _ want to bond with the Mountain. 

That Tony categorically _ did not _ want to be King.

But, he _ did. _

He _ wanted _ to bond with that Foci. He _ wanted _ to open that box so much that James felt it like a physical pain lancing through his chest.

Which just left James very confused. If he wanted it, then it was his? The people James had met obviously loved Tony as a leader. The way they were already reacting, they practically already saw Tony as King. There were several other rulers Underhill that also wanted him to be King. Very powerful rulers at that. If James guessed correctly, he bet there was a Crown in that box, which James knew was a _ big deal. _ Things were set up rather easily for Tony to become King. 

The increased power would likely help Tony with the coming battles too.

So, why was Tony holding himself away from the crown? In almost a desperate fashion? As if he didn't even trust himself not to reach out. Why was he tearing his mind up and tormenting himself to the point it was affecting the area around him? Something James had _ never _seen Tony do. Even fighting the witch, even discussing his past Tony had never become so distraught that he lost that vice-like control of himself 

Stranger still, James had been able to sneak up on him, without even trying. James had _ never _ been able to sneak up on Tony before. He had tried. Many times, with Rhodes too, using help from Loki and Stephen and they still had failed, which made this even more strange as he was walking heavily so as _ not _ to creep upon him.

All of this had James, surprisingly itching to want to hit someone. He wanted to know who was responsible for this and he kind of wanted to kill them. That would be the 'light' Fae instincts that Reapers got then. 'Light'... Ahuh, about as 'light' as the compulsion to end that creepy, balance disrupting alien 

"Hey there Doll, are you OK?" 

James pulled him into a hug because he knew that it was a sure-fire way of slowing Tony's mind down, what his thoughts were racing along too many tracks. Also, the fact Tony _ jerked _ in response to him speaking concerned him. On an average person, that movement was minor, barely noticeable. On Tony? That was major. Which meant James was worried and instantly on even higher alert. That beginning of a barrier in his mind that separated him between his more Human-self and his Reaper-self? It flew apart before he even realised what was happening.

There wasn't much of a difference between James' Reaper-self and his Human-self. Rhodes went all out, when his barrier was up, even very sensitive individuals could miss that Rhodes was something… more. Something not human. James' sight could see through it with ease because of their connection through the Black Fire. But Stephen and even _ Loki _ barely got a blip around Rhodes with his barriers up. James knew that Rhodes loved doing this and that he also relished suddenly dropping it, baring his teeth and scaring the shit out of the people he was fighting. 

When it came to building his barrier, James had found one simple fact. He didn't want one. James was genuinely comfortable in his skin, feeling the Fire racing around him. So he had told Tony that he didn't precisely _ want _ to appear human. Humans had been pretty shitty to him anyway. He was happy being _ other. _ So, James barrier worked more like Tony's. Even magic-nulls got a sense that Tony wasn't human if they hung around him long enough. Still, he had a barrier that had stopped his power affecting the environment or people unless he intended it to. It numbed the natural reactions people had to Fae. His barrier was still in its infancy, but it kept his Fire tucked flush against his skin and reduced the predator feel that people picked up on.

James main issue was that his powers seemed to be _very _ keyed in to Tony, especially since the Blue Fire had found him again after the whole alien abduction thing. So if Tony let his barriers slip, his just vanished completely. James' Fire reacted and moved to Tony before he realised it, but as soon as he realised what he was doing, he encouraged his Fire. James' arms were wrapped around him, but so was his Black Fire. With his barrier gone and Fire free to help, Tony started to relax. He had been wound taut as a bowstring and was steadily beginning to uncoil. James had to shut off his sight before Tony's Blue Fire reacted to his Black, and his vision was practically flooded with Fire. The warmth of the Fires was comforting to him, which was good as James was perplexed, worried, and he still wanted to punch someone.

"Fuck, I don't know James. This is… it's more than even I expected it would be.." 

Whilst he had improved, Tony was still not doing great, James knew that because Tony was fucking _ shaking. _ He had _ never _ seen Tony react like this and it had his instincts up and raring to go for a fight.

From this, James was starting to understand a little better why Tony reacted to certain stimuli the way he did. James hadn't been a Reaper long, his instincts were still more Human than Reaper. Tony never supplanted a Reaper's instincts, as humans had a unique way of seeing things, but the Fae instincts were layered on top. It gave Reapers better range when it came to senses. It allowed them to perceive things beyond the realm of human understanding. It also meant they had to learn how to control an entirely new set of instincts. Humans instincts were passive things—a hint here or an uneasy feeling there. Fae instincts were not passive. They pushed and pulled, they wrenched your head to look somewhere, it hammered through your veins with the need to act, and you could sink so far into hyperfocus that everything else in the universe faded but your target. This was a slow, gradual progress, so a fresh Reaper didn't get overwhelmed with the 'light' version of Fae instincts. 

However, right now? They felt anything but _'light'. _James even had experienced some of these through Tony's link, so he had believed himself to be well prepared. Exploring through the link and having your own instincts almost hammer out a second heartbeat were so far apart it was almost hilarious. He also got why Tony stuck to him like glue after the thing with Steve, because _nothing_ was going to get in the way of James plastering himself to Tony, or he would shoot them. Fae instincts were more physical and visceral for a species so profoundly entrenched in magic, but they were also a highly passionate race.

"Shit, you're shaking, come and sit down." 

James tried guiding Tony towards the sofa, but despite being ridiculously light, it was actually very tricky to move a Fae without their active participation. One had a better chance of moving Thor around. James, however, was quite happy to cheat and just picked him up. Tony blinked a few times in confusion which really wasn't helping that instinct that made him want to go and kill someone.

Especially as James was starting to get an inkling of an idea, a bit of intuition, that there was no one to attack, and that the demons Tony was battling? That they dwelled primarily within his mind. He couldn't untangle everything Tony was feeling, but despite being Fae… it was… familiar. Achingly so.

What James could at least do was get him off his feet and curled up on the sofa. What Tony seemed to be feeling was achingly familiar to the months he had spent longing to have Tony release the bind on his powers, when he had been convinced he was unworthy of such a thing. Just why _ Tony _ was feeling _ this, _ about taking that crown? James had no idea. 

Tony was a classic case of _ 'do as I say, not as I do'. _ So, Gods only knew exactly what was tripping him up right now.

Between his Fire and the fact James still ran very warm despite the super-soldier serum barely being a blip in the ocean of his changes, Tony instantly folded towards him despite his stunned fog of confusion. 

Now James was closer to Tony's aura. He could feel that his magic felt dangerously low, so low that James could hardly feel anything. Warm and resting, James could provide that, and it took the edge off the instincts currently hammering at him to hunt and attack whatever or whoever made Tony like this. He now saw Tony glueing to his back and playing with his hair during the confrontation with the rogues in an entirely new light. James was just getting the light version, and he honestly wasn't sure how Tony didn't just kill _ everyone _ in that room. He took a breath and tried to think past the barrage instincts pushing at him and focus on Tony.

"Want to tell me what happened?"

For a few minutes, James wondered if Tony had heard him, he just curled up on him, with his head on his shoulder and held onto his metal arm with a vice tight grip, still shaking ever so slightly and now pointedly _ not _ looking at the stone box that was a constant, heavy presence on James' senses. All whilst James hoped he was helping somehow, hopefully soothing Tony's frayed senses from his internal fight, running his hand up and down Tony's back. He was steadily losing that wound tight tension he had walked in with—agonising inch by inch. Tony didn't feel like he was going to snap any second now. That was a win. James jumped slightly when Tony suddenly started talking as he had focused all of his attention on calming Tony, the answer to his question jarred him.

"The land chose me as a Foci. It was born along the Iron vein. Refused my offers to be on par with the other courts, The Iron Court encompasses Spring and Autumn and is an official Seelie Court." 

He knew that was Tony's real worst-case scenario, no wonder he was stunned. Just... Tony didn't _ feel _ just upset. This didn't _ feel _like a worst-case scenario. 

James was getting a conflicted, convoluted mash-up of feelings that were half in the same, heavy complexity of Fae emotions that had layers upon layers, and were probably 90% beyond the realm of human understanding. Now, the other half James was getting better at muddling through, that was when Fae seemed to narrow down to singular block concepts a kind of emotional fight or flight response was James' current working theory. The complex emotions were all excellent and such when there was _ time _ to somehow _ feel _ that sheer amount of confusion. For humans when the fight or flight was activated, they were flooded with adrenaline with a human to attack or flee (or that delightful freeze option), it sped up their mind, made things appear to slow down, a number of things to increase chances of survival. For Fae, it allowed their minds to streamline in a way humans could not. Allowed them to act without 30 things niggling at them or slowing them down. Complex feelings of say- sadness, and the betrayal of a family member attacking you. It would just become betrayal—something Fae took very seriously.

However, just as humans were not a perfect species, neither were Fae. Sure, they seemed to be way further down the evolutionary path than them, but then they were an old species that had been sitting in a vat of pure magic for generations—cheating in a way. What Tony was currently trapped in was one of the downsides of this survival mechanism, and it seemed to result in something similar to the human's freeze response. Instead of feeling one type, complex or block, Tony was swamped with both that were not meant to go together. It also felt as if Tony was attacking his own damned mind. 

James was pretty sure he was simplifying it, but Tony seemed somehow ecstatic, shameful, thrilled, guilty, optimistic and devastated... _ all _ at once. Guilt alone was layered so _ thick _ that James was practically choking on it, and this was just the _ overflow. _ James just wasn't entirely sure _ why _ (or _ how, _ because James wasn't sure how anyone was sane feeling all of this shredding their psyche) all of this was happening at once. A raw thread of 'unworthy' and yet… 'hope' was tangled together with the strange weight of Fae emotions, heavy like the single blocks and yet layered deep enough to drown in, at the same time, which James knew was not good. James wasn't sure _how _ Tony was feeling so many directly conflicting things, all at once. 

Considering Tony seemed _ caught _ in the middle as if something was pulling him in both directions, James was sure that this was not intentional. Tony was both desperate to back away and move forward. Caught in place, not moving back but also unable to go ahead. Entangled perfectly between each, both exerting identical levels of pressure so Tony couldn't move anymore.

James was exhausted just from catching the edge, and he didn't even know what Tony was _ thinking _ to go with this mess.

The more he paid attention after pulling out from Tony's emotional maelstrom, James finally noticed that Tony was dressed differently, too. The other Reaper blade, with the complicated sheath, was at his hip which was a little awkward given he was now curled up in James lap. It was also odd. Tony usually summoned his weapons when he needed them. He didn't often wear them like this unless they were actively _ in _ a fight. Tony had not mentioned fighting when talking to his mountain.

James wondered why the changes and what they meant. Fae rarely did things without reason, and how a person was composed said more in Fae culture than it did for humans, it was like glamour, everything _said _ something.

"I know this is bad, that I _ should _ regret it, that this is… I am not the right person for this job. But I…"

James waited as Tony struggled even to articulate what was going on in his mind; different sides warring made completing sentences tricky. James could feel that Tony needed to talk, however, as he catalogued just what had changed. 

His shirt was completely different. It was darker but with a noticeable metallic sheen. The Warding on it was pure pitch-black, and the style was different. He could feel where he was stroking his back that there was a large circular Ward with three large symbols in it. Very odd as Tony tended to use smaller Wards all linked together around the edges of people's clothes. It was cut low enough in the front that Tony's Fire was left clear, the edges of the material loosely laced up with what looked to be a thick, black chain. The material felt different from anything he had felt so far. The trousers were similar to the ones he wore when he fought as a Reaper and that he'd left in, but more... Ornate. The same material as the shirt and all the Wards were black. There were far more symbols running down the outseam of each leg, different on each side. He had a feeling the change was more important than a different set of clothes. These obviously said something other than 'Reaper'. His hair was suddenly completely unbraided too, not that he was complaining, it meant he could run his fingers through the curls. Every complicated scrap of Silver Tony had left with was gone. Even threaded silver for Wards. James has a feeling that the only metal left on him right now was iron.

When it was clear Tony wasn't going to carry on without prompting, he rested his head on Tony's—nudging him slightly. James knew that Tony didn't feel regret. It was as if he felt he should feel regret and regretted that he did not. Trust Tony to complicated matters, but James could feel that there was no real regret, no matter how clearly he felt he should feel it. That was blindingly clear, it crackled around him, the changes in his aura same with it. There was a sour note though that he didn't know. 

James could read a lot through Fire, especially with Tony as that link snapped into place and hung on. James had had a crash course with how crazy things had been, he could feel _ echoes _ of what Tony felt, but it didn't tell him _ why. _ Plus, James was still new to feeling Fae emotions, he didn't know if he was getting something mixed up, so he needed Tony to tell him.

"But?"

"I don't."

"You don't what?"

"Regret it. James. He's… he's beautiful and so, so very young. I couldn't just abandon him. Who else could walk that path? Who else could accept that bond?"

"Not many?"

"Not _ any. _ Plus, he told me he would reject any I brought. He's been studying my Wards too, even created some of his own. So stubborn, and obstinate too."

James can feel how conflicted Tony is and James wished he could help that. Because he just doesn't get the side of Tony that doesn't think he is the _ right person for the job. _ It's much stronger and fraught with pain than he had thought, like it is hardening as it goes on. He's barely been here a day, and if he didn't already know Tony was not the King, from just how his people behaved? He would have assumed he was. James had no idea _ where _ Tony got this _ ridiculous _ idea that he is a bad leader from, but he wants to punch them. Several times. Then smack Tony for being an idiot and listening to them.

"If you don't regret it, then that's good, isn't it? I mean we came here, so you didn't get forced into something you didn't want. If you want this…? It sounds like you two are well matched. What's his name? I can't believe I am asking what your mountain's name is..."

Yeah, even watered down Fae instincts seemingly make you want to attack the person who hurt your person, evidently. Tony got to punch Steve. James isn't sure there is anyone to punch. He did, however, get Tony to chuckle which resulted in him releasing the death grip on his arm. Tony, of course, utterly ignores the more important part of what he said.

"Hetaris. I think you'll like him. He has a ridiculous amount of confidence in me just like you do."

The only thing James doesn't like about this entire thing is how little _ choice _ Tony seems to have. Tony had had his agency stolen for him far more than anyone should ever experience. So yeah, James wished he had more of a chance to consent. He doesn't like the idea of Tony being forced into something just as much as he doesn't like the idea of Tony denying himself something he _ clearly _wants.

"Hmmm, between the two of us, we might even convince you that you are worthy of that confidence."

James couldn't see, but he felt Tony smile as he finally relaxed, all but melting as his breathing evened out and he stopped shaking. James concentrated on running his hands through Tony's hair. It was quite a good tactic for calming himself as much as Tony. 

"It sounds like you're pretty perfect for the job. You want it. You want to bond with Hetaris. He wants to bond with you. Everyone seems excited. You don't regret the steps you have already taken, so why are you tearing your mind up Kotenok?"

Tony just shook his head to that, James could tell there was obviously something _ more _going on, and he wasn't sure about his chances of picking this apart whilst Tony was so shaken. Tony flicked his fingers to remove the sword. 

"Such things are not for Fae like me."

"Tony, I might not have read everything, but I have read enough, I think I have known you quite well by now. Such things seem perfect for you."

"What my brother did, he didn't do it alone, James. Debt I carry will become my courts. Will be my people's. How can I force so many life debts on them?"

James paused, blinking because now he was plain confused. This couldn't be what Tony was saying. It just _ couldn't. _

"Tony, again, I am new to all this. But you told me I carry no life debt for what I did under Hydra's control."

Tony looked confused at the topic shift.

"You don't."

"Then why are _ you _carrying this debt. You were wrapped in chains that tortured you and bound in magic that twisted your mind! You fought every day. How much debt are you carrying?"

"I truly don't know. It's what makes atoning hard. I do not know if I am balancing the scales or if there is simply no chance."

James wasn't sure if he was being stupid right now or if Tony was. 

"Tony, from what you have told me, you can feel debt clearer than practically anyone. Let alone your own debt. Have you ever thought that you can't feel it because it isn't there to be felt?"

Tony sucked in a breath at that and shook his head. The Fire practically lashed out around him, James own Fire thankfully jumped to calm the Blue Flame. James had a feeling this was going to take some convincing. He might speak to Tony's mother or Aunt for some advice. This wasn't something he was just going to leave to the side and if Tony still thought he carried this debt when they left Underhill? He was _ so narking _ to Rhodes_. _Tony had done so much good for the universe and the Balance. He had created a safe haven for broken people in a land that is not known for its kindness. He cared for his Reapers.

There was also what he had done for James. Beyond healing him, giving him a home. He had given him a purpose. He gave him opportunities. Tony had taken James' small life of pain and servitude and blown it wide open and now he was a protector and warrior of the damned universe. His life went from anxiety and depression to having a massive family of hyperactive weirdos. Had given him a brother that cared for him as if he was blood. He was getting to walk in a different dimension right now, and he knew he was safe because of Tony's claim wrapped around him. He had met a damned Queen! Two queens actually. All because Tony thought he was worthy of his Fire. He would somehow have to convince Tony that he was worthy of that Crown.

James was all for Tony dodging this business… _ when _he thought Tony wanted nothing to do with it. 

He still was a little rankled that Tony did seem to be being backed into a corner. However, if Tony wanted this? Then he would damned well support that and convince the idiot he was worthy of it. 

James doubted he would be in possession of that frankly quite terrifying, ominous little box if he was not.

Tony sighed deeply, jerking him from his determined thought process before he watched Tony pack it all away, it was like he had given himself 10 minutes to freak out and _ feel _ before deciding he would have to accept things and keep moving. James was honestly surprised he'd given himself 10 minutes even though he wished Tony didn't feel like he had to keep putting his own feelings to the side, which tended to make James frown. 

The fact that Tony had _ let _ himself freak out _ and _ be comforted for so long (in Tony's world) was a pretty huge step, and James was honestly impressed with him judging on his previous tactics on how he felt with binding to his Fire, or anything to do with his brother. Which is why he didn't say anything, was just happy Tony had allowed himself to feel something other than ' _ fine' _ and trusted him with it. Even if he still had no idea what exactly was going on in Tony's brain. From what he has so far, that was enough that he was starting to formulate plans.

"Can you... Can you see if my link has changed? You are very good with Fire and right now… my magic is too low to assess myself." 

James frowned at the topic change but complied. Tony shifted around to face him so he could see. The Blue light was still there, much brighter than it had been but that had been like that since… since Wales. He also made a note to ask Tony why his magic was so low as he let himself slip into the focus he now attributed to examining Fire.

He knew Tony wouldn't ask him unless there was a _ reason. _ He wouldn't ask unless he genuinely thought something had changed his Fire. Something that left James cold and anxious because Tony's Fire was what kept him alive. It was curled around his heart. It was his life force. It was the core of his magic. So James took this damned seriously. He had been about to shake his head, that it was the same since Wales, but then he saw... something. The barest flicker of purple.

It moved fast, barely a flicker and then it was gone. Hardly noticeable. James straightened up and pressed his hand over the Fire and instantly felt Tony's Blue Fire leap to his arm, wrapping securely around his wrist as it moved back and forth. Now James was starting to get quite good at understanding Fire, to be honest, he was probably better with Fire than he was with humans, so he instantly knew that Tony's Fire was _ severely agitated. _ Tony could pack down emotions all he wanted, but his Fire was apparently happy to tattle on him to James. Tony had been in a lot of pain very recently, but it was mostly faded by now. There was now something _ other _ than the three Fires at Tony's core. 

It took a second before he could coax the flash of purple back, it was tiny, much smaller than the twinned White and Black Flame inside Tony's Blue. It was hiding, vulnerable and a little scared, but eventually he coaxed the Purple Flame close enough to at least see it. The other 3 Fires were currently unsure with their new addition. James wasn't sure where it came from, as Tony did with his other Fire, when it bound with him, it changed, making it closer to Tony. Like Tony's Blue Fire was closer to a brother of the Blue Fire of Earth than being a part of it. James wondered where this purple Flame hailed from.

"There is a Purple Flame, tiny and timid. I can tell that it's already yours, but it is hiding behind the others so I can't see more…"

Tony went ashen, and James promptly went back to trying not to freak the fuck out. He was not accustomed to Tony looking like _ that. _

"Fuck, I can't believe it, Tilly has infused me with the Fire of Underhill. Faerie Fire. James, _ never _ tell anyone about this. _ Even _ if we trust them. I probably shouldn't have told you, I… just… I'm being selfish. I shouldn't have asked yo-" 

"You can't carry everything alone, Tony. I'd rather you tell me so that…. I might not be able to help… but you can't just carry on taking everything yourself."

James cut off _that_ line of thinking right away. He could feel Tony working up to an apology that he promptly cut off. James didn't give a fuck if it was dangerous that he knew Tony was now carrying a fourth Fire. If he could help Tony with Purple Fire, he damned well would. _Faerie_ _Fire. _James had read something about that when he had been reading about Faerie Courts. Each one had a fountain of the Purple Fire, and the land around it prospered. That was the extent of his knowledge.

James was happy Tony had told him, it was better than Tony continuing his policy of taking on everything and never allowing himself to feel or stop like an idiot. Ever since he told him about how he bonded with the Blue Fire, Tony had been lighter. Same with other things in a way that made him think until recently, Tony firmly had taken everything on himself. 

Especially as James was getting the feeling that this was yet _ another _ thing Tony was not given an option on.

Tony fidgeted himself around until he's sitting on James lap, facing him full on instead of awkwardly twisting so James could see his Flame. His hands rested on his shoulders as if to anchor himself, looking at him very seriously. James knows Tony isn't sure about remaining unglamored, but fuck if he isn't gone for Tony's pure gold eyes. His pupils had widened slightly in the dark of the room. He liked his hair like this too, and his right hand was idly wrapping a few curls around his fingers. He could tell from Tony's posture that he was slipping into story mode. James forced himself to relax back. Tony didn't need him angry or wanting to attack someone right now. Tony responded to events like this by slipping into story mode. James didn't know if just the act of telling was comforting or if it helped Tony detach himself from the events, but it did help. He kept his metal arm wrapped around him, to hold Tony close to him, knowing it made him feel better. Tony Fire stubbornly stayed wrapped around James' wrist, shifting in an agitated, unsettled fashion that belied Tony's calm.

"A Genius Loci like Hectaris is like a whole person. Just, he is land instead of having a single body like us. There are some on earth too. Here, they don't like to be alone, so they pick the most powerful, most suitable person to bond with like I told you before. The Fae, or in some areas, other creatures, but it's primarily Fae, gets a boost of power, the land becomes more and more defined, stronger as a personality. They're _ very _ vulnerable at first, even ones as big and strong as Mount Bane. Hetaris, which you might have guessed from the name, he isn't spring or autumn-like I expected. He is pure Iron but able to call Spring and Autumn somehow. Maybe because the lost magic was lost in the space where the border grew, but he isn't a mixture of the three, he is a 100% pure Iron Soul. Born at the heart of the Mountain. When I stood in the chamber, even when I reached out my senses for Earth, I felt _ nothing. _ At least a kilometre of solid Iron surrounds the place he was born. Maybe more.

"He is beautiful. Came to me as a Direwolf this time, made you look like a pup. There aren't many Underhill who could bond with him and survive. They wouldn't get anywhere close to the chamber without dying. Seelie Loci _ only _ bond with Seelie Fae, Pure Seelie Fae are those with the highest intolerance to Iron. There is no Fae ruler in the entirety of Underhill that could even _ approach _ this room. If mother stood in here, it would kill her. Let alone get near that chamber. This room has barely a fraction of a perper cent what his chamber has. The Iron here is a mixture of quality too, the higher the grade, a mere splinter could kill some Fae."

Tony pulled something out of his pocket. At a guess, he would say it was iron given their conversation. It was polished to a high, mirror shine. The links looked heavy, durable, but somehow… delicate and beautiful in their own way. There were blue stones woven into the chain at odd intervals. Each stone was different, all blue, but not one was identical. He didn't recognise many out of the 7, the largest Sapphire he had ever seen in person was gorgeous. Lapis Lazuli was another. One looked like glass with a swirling blue mass locked inside, shimmering with hundreds of shades of blue at once, it was mesmerising.

Another shimmered with Blue Fire that James recognised well. He could feel that it was Tony's Fire, but that it had been in the stone so long, it was also Hetaris'. One was so dark it was almost black, only when the silver lights in the room showed the blue. In contrast, there was one that was a bright, shining white that only showed hints of blue in the shadows. The last one he saw was like someone had captured an entire ocean, waves and all in a single stone.

Tony _ visibly _ calmed as he wrapped it around his hands and James made a note to Thank Hetaris for this somehow. This length of chain meant a lot to Tony. He could tell by how he ran his fingers over it with a similar reverence I'm as the Blue Fire.

"Did he make this?"

What is currently breaking James' heart is that Tony is not just happy about this. He's damned overjoyed. James can see how thankful he is, how much this means to him. Yet something in his mind keeps telling him he can't have it, telling him he is wrong. It takes all of his self-control not just to shake Tony, but Tony is stubborn. If he comes at this straight on? Tony will double down.

"Yeah, 7 Bluestones wrapped in Deep Iron. Highest grade. This iron is the same as the Iron in my blade. The purest form, bound in bane magic. It is so much more powerful than any iron you'd find on Earth. It took me hundreds of years to mine enough for my blade, this… this is unbelievable. You know Atronach feels good to magic users? This is… it's more than that, and he polished it in Blue Fire too. Few people have crafted something for me as well as this, and he did it before meeting me. Just from studying my magic, my Wards and my people."

James is pretty sure Tony and Hetaris are alike. Because that is the kind of thing that Tony does for his family. As much as Tony is unsure about this position, James has a feeling that it would be good for him. Being able to speak to Hetaris in his mind from Earth would probably be good for him too, it would give him a closer link to his people. He has a feeling Hetaris would call him an idiot when he is being one.

"Anyway, all Loci of Underhill, they all come from Tilly. From Underhill herself."

"So the entire land has a personality, and then there are lots of smaller personalities based on areas? I think I remember this. Does Tilly have a Foci."

"No, Tilly is far too big to bond with any one person. There are a number of us that Tilly occasionally… takes an interest in. Last count, there were around 400 or so? I don't know. We don't know each other. She told me there was around 400 many years ago. Tilly never sees more than one of us at once, and it is not talked about. Those who are favoured by Tilly are only to tell one person about it."

"So uh, should you be telling me?"

Tony glanced up from the chain he was focusing on whilst talking. From his posture and lack of eye contact, James is starting to think being favoured by Tilly is not precisely a _ good _ thing. He was worried about Tony telling him in case that gets him in trouble with the sodding dimension about telling multiple people.

"You are the one person."

"Oh… okay."

"She's part of the reason I'm so strong, but also, just, she's like some Fae. She doesn't understand that something can be horrendously traumatic for someone else if she is having fun. She just… likes to _ play, _ she is a dimensional being. We are like delicate butterflies. It is not vindictive. She just… does not understand. It isn't her fault. I have not heard from her in several hundred years, but that's normal. Usually, she calls, and I go to her, even though she is everywhere she has places she has a condensed presence at where she coalesced into her chosen form. This time though, she didn't call me. I guess it is _ another _ thing not talked about. As Hetaris was adding his final weave, Tilly turned up. She had never paid my Fire bond much attention before, apart from calling me Seren. For the star at my core. She had not been able to touch it, but my bond with Hetaris gave her a doorway."

Tony shuddered from that and while got the feeling that it was painful, maybe what his Fire was talking about. Tony was generally extremely good at hiding pain, so him shuddering was a huge red flag. Tony being Tony, shrugged it off. Because, of course, he did. Which had James frowning again.

"Tilly controls Faerie Fire. There is a Faerie Fire fountain within each Court. The land around it prospers. It answers to _ no one _ but Tilly. I... have been able to talk to it before as all Fire generally likes me, but it would never follow my instructions. I might have to test it after the fountain breaks ground but carefully. No one can know."

"Okay, we can do this, but not anytime soon. No rushing. You and your brother already burned up bad enough you were showing pain. And I know this Faerie Fire hurt you settling into place."

Tony was about to argue that he hadn't been in pain, so James fixes him with a Rhodes level raised eyebrow and glare.

"I know it hurt you. Your Fire told me." 

"Okay, fine, it was a bit sore, but no big deal. She didn't _ mean _ to hurt. Plus, on the good side, I might finally be strong enough to defeat Thanos now instead of more infuriating stalemates. Even if I don't take the Crown, that Fire and the first stage... So there is some good from this.

James switched to his own frown/glare that had become his go-to face anytime Tony is being an idiot and forcing down all of his very genuine feelings for the _ greater good. _ Tony is struggling with his own conflicting feelings, apparently feeling terrible about a debt he is not carrying and now on top of this, he has a fourth Fire that he is unsure he can even tell his kin about. Even though it was again, not his choice.

As much as Tony keeps defending Tilly, James is feeling far less charitable.

Plus, convincing Tony that he is even _ allowed _ to be unhappy about things instead of ignoring his own feelings is extremely difficult, so far he has managed it once, and he isn't about to give up now. 

Words tend to carry heavier meaning, more potential Underhill. James hopes to use this in his favour.

"Are _ you _ okay, though?" 

The confusion and look of shock on Tony's face takes him back a little, not sure why. He had hoped that to be good or comforting. Come on, Underhill, work with me!

"Did I say something wrong? I just mea-" 

"No, definitely not. No wrong. Not wrong at all. You know how I said words and thoughts have more meaning here? It's just… you _ mean _ that, completely. The strength behind your words is… You have seen Warding, drawing the power. There is another branch called Eiriad. It is casting Wards, but with speech, I thought I felt it when you spoke to my Aunt, but as it was not aimed at me, I could not be sure. It is exceptionally rare, tough to master, and it starts with what you just did. You are quite the natural."

James had no idea what to do with the magic aspect, well he had asked Underhill for help in his mind. This was a place of intentions and magic. James quickly packed that away in his "will freak out about later" box. 

That box was starting to get quite large.

"Of course I do, you didn't want this, you've had so much forced on you, never getting to choose. You should get a choice. You would fight the fates to give your Reapers a choice. You wouldn't even influence me when dead people pushed you! Even when you disagreed with my reason to hold off, you didn't push or influence me in any way. I just… _ why _ do we get choices and you don't? I don't know about it being magic, I just, I don't want to see you forced into yet another thing."

Tony smiled at that and leaned forward, resting his forehead against his, clearly exhausted. Whatever had happened up in that chamber had exhausted him. He was surprised Tony hadn't done his usual trick of fainting. James took the opportunity to pull him closer. What he wanted to do was bundle him up in blankets and make him sleep. 

"I don't know. I love the Blue Fire though. I love all my Fires. I love every Reaper my Fire has ever found. I might not have had a choice in these things, but I am happy about them. If I had been given a choice, I don't know if I would have stepped into that Fire, certainly not as a child. I could be… I would be alone. I would not _ be _ Fire. No Fires. No Reapers. Which means no Hetaris too. No, You. No. I do not wish to live in that world."

"Do you remember what I told you? When you first told me about your Blue Fire?"

"Of course I do. _ 'Just because a good thing came from something awful, it doesn't eliminate the pain or awful things that happened. You're still allowed to be hurt and sad over the awful thing. Even if you love the Blue Fire, even if without it you would have died. Being upset or hurt doesn't mean you love it or care for it any less'. _You have power in your words."

James blinked, he hadn't expected Tony to remember to the point he quoted him. The words sounded… well worn strangely.

Exhaustion was catching up on him too, all of his weight was now being held up with James, and he was forcing himself to blink rapidly to try and keep himself awake.

"Well, is your link with Hetaris like that? Or is this something you do want but in your Tony-brain you've decided you can't have? Because it sounds like this is something you want, but you've decided you can't have for a debt you don't carry. The Faerie Fire? That sounds like you had no say, even if you come to love it like your others. You're allowed to be mad."

"I just...can't. I can't be the Iron King."

Tony looked beyond exhausted and somewhere between torn and hopeful too.

"What if you could?"

"My power would change. I would still care for my people. Care for Hetaris as he grows. But-"

"For now, just leave it there. Just think about that. Don't think about what you can't do. Just let yourself think about what you want to do. Can you do that for me? It is what I want to settle one of these debts I am carrying around."

Tony's eyes went wide even though he still looked half-asleep, and James felt one of the debts from Tony's apologies shift. It didn't vanish, but it was as if the quality of it changed. It was hard to describe seeing as he couldn't see or touch a debt, but yet he felt it. He had made an offer, and now it was waiting.

"I… I think that is something I can do."

Tony offered him his hand; James had no idea what was actually happening. He had just had a vague idea and kind of ran with it. Black Fire entwined with a Black velvet Ribbon wrapped around their hands, followed by a shimmering silvery-blue ribbon that James had never seen Tony use before, it was beautiful and delicate. Still, somehow James knew that it was strong and resilient. The Black velvet ribbon was not the same quality of black as the Fire, making them look quite strange. Black Fire always somehow looked as if it was lighting up the place, despite being black. This other magic was like it absorbed all light. Utterly dark and beautiful. The debt changed in his mind again as the magic soaked in. Leaving him humming with the feel of magic and Tony sagging into near unconsciousness.

"Now you need to get some sleep. You can tell me what the fuck just happened in the morning. You're exhausted, and terrifying people are visiting your castle soon."

Tony had mostly slumped forward now onto his chest, but he mumbled something into James in reply as he effortlessly lifted Tony up. He didn't know what it was, but Fae were just so light. Loki and Thor weighed the proverbial tonne. He wondered why the drastic difference. Maybe something to do with the black hole? Thor broke the scales in Tony's workshop the last time he tried weighing himself.

James smiled at Tony's mumbling, somehow he felt lighter and less conflicted, it was a vast improvement to how he was when he returned, there was still a ways to go, but it was something. James might not be able to do much in the grand scheme of things, but he did this much, and he is proud of when he did. So Tony's happier, sleepy mumbling made him smile. Somehow the agreement helped Tony quieten the forces in his mind pulling him in both directions. He didn't believe that Tony was done thinking he carried this considerable debt, but maybe it was a first step. Fae were stubborn, obstinate creatures, but Tony _ listened _to him, as if his words were important and carried great value.

"Try that again, Kotenok."

"S'not a castle. House."

"Tony, I hate to be the one to tell you this. Actually, no, I don't. This is not a house. This is a castle. We are in a castle right now. A very large castle that you carved out of the largest, most impressive mountain I have ever conceived off and then lit by Fire. _ Castle." _

"Mother has a castle. It is huge. She prefers the Night Palace though. This is a house. Black and Fire House. _ 'Tŷ du a thân' _ is its name."

"Ahuh, you keep telling yourself that. This is a Castle. _ Castell du a thân. _"

He grinned as Tony jerked awake a tiny at that, the smile on his face was worth his rather bad attempts at working out Welsh. He worked out a bit here and there. It didn't help that the Fae had passed on the language to humans a very long time ago. So there were differences in the Fae version to how the human one had evolved with time, but this was easy. He knew _ Fire _ by now because of Tony. DubhMáel calling him Sidan Du got _ Black _ into his mind and Castle was easy when you spend 30 minutes in the bath trying to learn how to pronounce it. James had no idea how Tony had made it, so his phone still had an internet connection, but he had done _ something _ to make sure they could contact Rhodes. His camera also worked, that was going to be very fun. He hadn't expected the name to be as easy as "Black and Fire', he had thought it would take him longer. Tony was still smiling whilst half dozing, so it had been worth it. 

It was step one of his plan of 'Make Tony realise he lives in a fucking castle.'

"Also, were you ever going to mention that you're a prince?"

"I'm not a prince."

"Your mother is a Queen, yes? And your dad was a King? So, you'd be a Prince. Of two different courts! That lives in a magic Faery Tale Castle. Were a princess and some singing animals short of a damned Disney movie."

"I was, but I gave all titles inherent to any court I was bound to when I became, nomadic remember. Including any attempts to declare me the heir. My primary titles in Underhill. The first five I used on your claim are-

"Cloriannau, Balance.

"Dienyddiwr, Executioner.

"Trí Dé Dána, Gods of Craftsmanship.

"Arglwydd Tân, Lord of Fire

"Arglwydd Haearn, Lord of Iron. 

"I added some others too, but that's the gist of it in order of importance. That might change now."

"Well now you're going to be a King I guess I can let the Prince thing slide."

Tony stuck his tongue out as he shrugged his shoulders and his clothes shimmering into a loose-fitting pair of trousers that James couldn't place the style of, definitely not earth. Tony then did the same to him a second later, but he recognised them as a pair he had packed. James could definitely get used to this. Tony was frowning at them; however, and James could tell exactly what he was thinking, and it had him chuckling.

"If you want to change them into some fancy super soft feeling nightwear, you can."

"Really?"

"Mmhmm, I have no idea what this fabric is, but it's nice."

Tony tugged him into bed, switched his nightclothes and positioned him into a pillow all at once. It made Tony smile when he switched peoples clothes, and James very much wanted that rather than stressed and in shock, Tony. Plus, the fabric was awesome, and he didn't question how they fit him perfectly. It was Tony.

The lights in the room all shut off somehow as soon as they hit the bed. He noticed the curtains at the windows closed too. Which had James squinting because the bedroom was in between two rooms... So how the hell were there windows on both side walls? One showed a view over Tony's lands, the other, which even if it was not against Tony office, was facing into the mountain. Yet he was sure he saw a forest before the heavy dark silver curtains shuttered out all of the light. 

His newly enhanced vision meant he could just see the highlighted Black Warding, shimmering along the sleeves of his new pyjamas. James wondered if there was any clothing Tony _ hadn't _ Warded, even clothes he wore _ to bed. _ Tony waved his hand, and the curtains on the bed also closed, but the edges of these curtains snapped together with a flicker of silver magic. So these were different somehow. Even with his enhanced sight, the world was dark.

"What do the curtains do?"

"Hmm? Oh, it makes sleep more restorative, and it helps reduce nightmares, not entirely, but it does help. The sun is still up, and I like to sleep in the dark. I've become used to human nights and days. Instead of 24, it's around 100 here, and an 'hour' is longer too. Also, it can do this."

Tony was half asleep, and James kicked himself for asking, but his curiosity got the better of him. Tony had his eyes closed, but he felt Tony shift and flick his fingers towards the top of the bed. The pitch-black around them shimmered slightly until it was replaced with silver stars and an aurora of golds and red with Blue and Black Fire showing up here and there.

"That is amazing, sleep now Tony. You can tell me tomorrow about how you aren't a Faerie Prince who lives in a castle."

He can practically feel Tony rolling his eyes, but he's chuckling at the same time. 

"Okay, bossy. Just like your Fire."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Think I would have learned by now not to put chapters into individual documents, I'm more likely to keep adding to them and all the Underhill Arc chapters are all in separate files. I've even made a little spreadsheet to try and control/track how many words 😅.


	70. ARD - Rhodey Edition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Underhill Intermission 
> 
> Avengers Recruitment Drive 
> 
> Rhodey Edition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had this idea stuck in my head xD usually by Wednesday is be working on the next proof but my shoulders and back are all locked up, so something a little easier until Saturday :)

"So, who are you going to first?"

Rhodey glanced behind him and discovered he had found himself with two people following him like lost puppies. It left him squinting and wondering why the universe had conspired to have Deadpool and Danny trailing after him like excited pains in the backside.

It wasn't as if today's venture was doomed enough without picking up random Avengers left, right and centre.

"Why are you two following me?"

"FRIDAY always sends me audio and video from Bossman's recruiting, it's top-notch entertainment. She informed me that the Recruitment Drive is powering up again, which I thought was odd seeing ass Bossman has gone to Faery Town. So I had to check this out."

He was definitely calling Underhill 'Faery Town' from now on.

"And you?"

"I lost the latest round of elimination rounds to convince Tony not to terrify the unsuspecting hero, and not so hero, world with contracts. And you know. Himself."

"Fair."

Rhodey wondered if Danny was ever going to realise the elimination rounds were horrendously rigged. Considering he had bet on the fact he would lose two more times? He would not be mentioning a thing.

Having so many Avengers and Civilians living in their own little town had spawned many things the list of house rules that Rhodey could barely keep up with was one. The other was the betting pools. They had a system of sorts. Separating the pools into three categories, short, medium and long term betting pools that ranged from the random, the fatuous to the outright bizarre. 

Rhodes had good odds that the next band of aliens would be friendlies, for example. It ranged from who was next to get dumped in the lake, who Strange would make fall for an hour, how many toasters Thor destroyed each week, how many times Loki would stab Thor or how many items Tony would _borrow_ via his fire and then forget to return. Many like this were recurring and reset each week.

It had started as a board with papers pinned to it. It had now evolved into a living beast on the Compound-Intranet. Rhodes was pretty convinced that Tony had programmed a secret AI to manage it and everything. Loki was heavily invested and had become the defacto Bet-Lord.

The Avengers took ridiculous things  _ way _ too seriously.

"But then I heard it was you! Which I thought was great, you don't have the same utterly terrifying aura, which, when paired with such a tiny cheerful person, is terrifying. Wait. Don't tell Tony that I called him tiny!"

He and Deadpool snorted, oh, it would be a race as to who told Tony _first._

This was precisely the kind of thing that would create a betting storm.

It wasn't even as if they bet with money, occasionally maybe, and they had at first, but that got rarer the longer the bets went on. They started with money… as time had carried on, the less likely something as  _ bland _ as money would be accepted as payment. For this, Rhodes entirely blamed Tony for introducing the concept of Debt to humans.

Overpowered, overly excitable humans who just so happened to be hyper-competitive idiots.

Sure, humanity knows what debt is, but Debt? Now that is an entirely different beast that the Fae have spent who knows how many millennia perfecting into an art form. Add in a dash of humanity and a touch of hyperactive, hyper-competitive powered people? That somehow the compound counted as Fae Lands now? At least according to Tony...

It made their cards of humanity games look  _ tame. _ Which, considering Strange, Tony and Loki had crafted decks with magic, well they were pretty crazy anyway.

"But then I wondered how you were going to do it, you know, because you can't, you know… Poof into fire."

He would also be saying that to Tony when he returned. These two were comedy gold for annoying his brother.

"No, I cannot 'poof into Fire', that's why I'm speaking to our resident… teleporters about potential transport..."

Both Deadpool and Danny made a mixture of cringe noises and facial expressions which summed up how he felt about this entire venture.

There was a reason he left recruiting to Tony, and the porting thing was honestly only a bare fraction of it.

Tony was a force of nature. 

He didn't see the difference between walking up to Xavier or Magneto, Punisher or Daredevil. Rhodey was pretty confident his abilities were still higher than anything natural humans had managed to achieve. Still, there was a level of bravado Tony simply had from surviving millennia fighting the biggest of the BBEGs that he just had not obtained yet. 

Tony had been a general in wars that would terrify humans with the mere idea of the scale on a daily basis, let alone who was involved and the hundreds of years that raged for. And those were the ones he had walked onto rather than bound in chains. Tony was born on a blood-soaked battlefield to two very powerful entities. One was a Goddess who flew above battles, the other being a war God. Tony knew how to sculpt a battlefield as if he were an artist in a way; he understood it on a visceral level that was in his blood and on his bones. 

He knew who to recruit, when to recruit, how to go about it and when everything was ready, he knew how to organise the sheer chaos and madness of war that no one on Earth could understand. His kind we're all born with the knowledge of the worst war their people had, the higher their station, the more debt of that battle they carried and Rhodes was starting to realise Tony's station was significantly higher than he suspected.

He didn't discuss these things much. Rhodes had picked up bits and pieces from Tony himself. He had read more. There were very few battles and wars depicted in Tony's library, where he had _no_ involvement. Which, considering Tony had  _ nothing _ written about his time under Molaich, his time with his Brother, where he had done little else than fight and fight, Tony had a level of experience and expertise that he could not replicate.

There was also just Tony's baseline personality. As much as Danny complains about Tony terrifying the unsuspecting heroes and villains of their world, he had a 100% uptake. Part of that was that Tony could be your friend, your brother, the guy who had prank wars, a confidante, a shoulder to cry on… but he was also capable of being a good, larger than life, fantastical creature that was, frankly, terrifying. That had a level of steady calm and made decisions decisively. With the sheer power to back it up.

When you are scared of your enemy, having your ally be way scarier is a comfort.

Also, to him, '_the list'_ as Tony called it? There was a problem.

To Tony, he just seemed to _know_ things about the people on the magical list. He knew it was a melding of magic and technology. He had seen names move up and down, vanish, appear, appear with little notes that sounded like Tony, followed up by FRIDAY.

For example 

Purple Man - Isn't that Clint? - No Boss, heroes don't get to own colours. - They're just lazy. I totally own colours.

Squirrel Girl - I don't want squirrels on my battlefield. This sounds very distracting - Boss I'm sure she isn't distracting. - What's with all these animal superheroes anyway, and I thought titles Underhill were odd. We Fae got nothing on Humans. Bizarre.

Immortus - Do you have any idea how annoying and pompous time travellers are? - Not quite Boss. - Consider Reed. He just bounces through dimensions talking to himselves, now imagine that is  _ time. _ -I doubt he is more annoying than you, Boss - Say what now!?

When he went into the completed section, there was nearly an entire page of FRIDAY and Tony arguing that Fury was dead and that meant he didn't have to talk to the Ghostly Pirate.

Tony also knew whether to go in strong, fighting or putting on a show. To Rhodey, they were just names on a list.

He suddenly found himself at Loki's door first, his feet carried him whilst stressing out about this. Strange was on site, but he actually felt he had more of a chance getting Loki to port him somewhere than he had with Strange.

Fuck, if that didn't say  _ something _ about their lives, he thought as he knocked on the door.

Loki had two modes when you knocked on his door. Creepily opening before your hand ever touched wood, or he would make you wait a good ten minutes.

Ten minutes had never felt so long with the audience of Deadpool and Danny taking bets on how this was going to go.

Even wouldn't take those odds.

"Yes?"

"Loki, I'm sure you know, Tony is currently off-world."

Rhodey resolutely ignored Deadpool's comments of Stargate. 

"Of course."

"Well, he asked me to cover a few names on his recruitment list and was wondering if you wished to join."

"You wish me to port you across Midgard?"

"Kinda?"

"As fun as that sounds, I am meant to be taking things easy, have you tried Stephen?"

"No.  _ Please _ don't make me ask Strange."

  
  
  


Well. Rhodey knew how well that would go as he made his way to Tony's magical library. Instead of Two lost puppies following him for entertainment, he now had three little puppies following him. The three of them conversing about how doomed his quest was.

He would love to argue, but Strange was far, far too much like Tony.

Except with Tony, Rhodey had a fucking guidebook written by Reapers over thousands of years, and even without that, he had his own Rhodey Style way of convincing Tony to do things. When that failed, Rhodes shamelessly utilised his trump card. James.

He didn't have any of that with the Sarcastic Sorcerer.

One thing he knew, Tony did not often take on apprentices. The few times he had, they were always on a path for serious power… and gave Tony's Reapers headaches.

There was this whole section where an apprentice of Tony's, accidentally blew up half of a castle they were defending in the middle of a battle. They'd made it work for them, sure, Tony usually has several tricks up his sleeve and apparently back then, Dragons actually hung around Earth. So he pulled a Gandalf calling the Eagles move. But with Dragons. 

In other words, Reapers knew to beware Tony's apprentices. Rhodes had not even realised Strange was Tony's apprentice until he was at the same table with Tony and his mother discussing the Snarktastic Sorcerer. His mother had enquired innocently as to how his apprentice was doing. Tony had then started talking about Strange.

Rhodes had nearly choked on his drink and shared a look of dawning horror with James as everyone continued on as if an omen of the Apocalypse hadn't just been struck with an ominous gong. Both of them knew the title of apprentice was something to be very, very wary of from reading the Reaper Chronicles.

There is a particular... personality type Tony seemed to gravitate to when it came to magic users. To other sane people, this personality type was fucking irritating.

Considering Loki and Strange, maybe magic users we're just arrogant dicks? Yes, he definitely including Tony in that assessment. He loved his brother to bits, but being adept in magic meant constantly knowing and understanding your strengths and weaknesses. Tony called magic the universe's cheat sheet. After a certain level of power, it's hard not to be an arrogant dick about it occasionally. From what he could tell, the attitude was an integral part of being a higher level magic-user, that confidence, that sheer force of will was an essential component. At least if you listened to Tony. Ritual bored him, as such, Tony supplants it by sheer force of will. The ritual components we're generally designed to focus the mind, help the magic-user along, to Tony this was an unacceptable crutch.

Although, Wong seemed more... long-suffering. Probably from dealing with people like Strange and Tony on the regular.

He cut off the train of thought as he spotted Strange in the Library.

"No."

"You don't even know what I'm going to ask!"

"Fine."

"I was hoping you-"

"No."

_ 'It would not be a good idea to set everyone on fire.' _

Carol's parting quip before he set off on this mission came back to him.

"When Tony gets back I am so telling him you lot are utterly unhelpful."

Strange didn't even glance up from the book he was reading.

"I'm positively quaking."

Rhodey's span on his heel and headed towards the Quinjets, the long way it was! That cut down several people on the list who Tony was unable to get appointments with. Tony had only managed to square away one appointment, and he actually was looking forward to it.

Bruce had told him a lot about Jennifer.

Otherwise, Rhodes was painfully aware his Recruitment Drive seemed to consist of Avengers appearing and being thoroughly unhelpful.

  
  
  


"Oh my Gods, you are taking forever!"

"Flight checks are important!"

Rhodey came to a stop. He had gotten close enough to the Quinjet that his enhanced hearing was picking up something.

No one had this Quinjet booked today.

Also, Rhodey _recognised_ those voices.

"I'm pretty sure you've done the flight checks three times now."

"This is round 4."

Harley, Peter, Cooper and Sams's nephew Derek.

Rhodey is starting to feel like he did something terrible in a previous life. That, or this is Tony's revenge for something.

"Boys, why are you on the Quinjet doing flight checks?"

The four kids span to face him at the same time. Cooper had the decency to look slightly chastised. Now the other three, they were the top of the pack of 'Tony's kids'. Cooper was getting there, but he had been living on a farm with no people for most of his life. It was taking longer for Tony to turn him into a little shit that enjoyed making Rhodey's life annoying.

Harley, the ringleader, of course, didn't look _remotely_ chastised. That smirk was pure Tony Stark MIT Year's, and it was nigh terrifying for one reason.

When Rhodey had been dealing with 'Little Shit Tony', there was one very clear distinction to the 'Next Gen Little Shits'.

There was only one of the fucker.

Because next to Harley, there was his right-hand man. Peter 'butter wouldn't melt' Parker who was a total little shit and no fucker, but him, saw it. Well. Tony saw it, but again, Tony was  _ Fae.  _ He encouraged it.

Just as humans had a few basic tenants shared broadly by the human race. So do the Fae. They're little shits—the lot of them.

Harley's other right-hand man was Derek. Sam had himself a little hoard of nephews who had taken to life at the compound with utter glee. They actually had enough kids now through different families and a few that occasionally stayed over from Xavier that there was a pack of the little shits. However, any chaos the hoard produced, these three were usually at the centre of it, grinning like little maniacs and making Tony and Loki coo with pride. Which really should say enough about the entire situation really if Tony and Loki were watching with pride.

The girls were just as bad, Lilah and Tara were terrifyingly intelligent and far too adept with projectile weapons.

He was just going to invite Jennifer to the compound. 

Seriously.

What is his life?


	71. The Hounds Descend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit *I have zero clue what happened there, but the version my phone ate got posted like seven times? I decided to keep this version as I can't remember what tweaks I made in the final post, so ever so sorry for technical difficulties. Sometimes doing all your writing and posting on a mobile has downsides! The other one somehow lost 7k of words too o.o Eeek.*
> 
> This one went long, major hulk out of this chapter.
> 
> Partially because anything above James and the Castle was actually in the previous chapter. The nice little end of the last chapter hulked so bad it got shunted into this chapter. I suppose I could have split this chapter, but when I do these little plot arcs, there is a set number with short blurbs. (Yes, this chapter started life as one sentence once upon a time.)
> 
> Sorry that this is so late, proofing and running through Grammarly and the undoing Grammarly turning any were into we're took quite the time! Also, after I finished formatting on chrome, it crashed and made me start from scratch. 
> 
> Anyway, enough glimpses of my brain. Have the nearly 14k of words my brain produced.

**James POV**

James slowly woke up, forgetting where he was for the moment as he felt very heavy blankets covering him, but he was warm, and he was curled around the source of that warmth. He didn't think he had ever slept so well, or woken up utterly rejuvenated. Underhill was spoiling him between magic baths and magic beds.

A gasp of pain brought him from mostly asleep to completely awake in a fraction of a second and he was searching for what woke him up, his eyesight flickered, and the pitch black of the bed suddenly shifted, allowing him to see but not in normal vision. There being no light his Umbrakinesis kicked in, it certainly wasn't heat vision like Rhodes, it was similar to night vision tech, but silver instead of green with what he assumed magic shining brighter where the Wards were. He added it to his 'investigate later' box and was just happy that it allowed him to see in the complete darkness of the bed. It didn't take long to realise that it was Tony that woke him up and that he could feel him shaking slightly, his jaw was clenched, and he was curled into James. 

"Hey, Tony wake up, come on doll, come back to me." 

It didn't matter how many times he shook him, Tony stayed stubbornly asleep no matter what he tried, after his first attempts failed where he was still careful of him. James might have gotten a little reckless after the first few attempts failed, and he was probably lucky Tony didn't wake up punching at that point. Then he had a flash of insight. If he reacted to his name when he was awake, if it could summon him, then maybe it could work.

"Cadeyrn, wake up now, you're safe." 

The reaction was instantaneous, he jerked awake, eyes wide and shot up before he practically collapsed back into James' arms. Leaving James blinking slightly, not expecting that, but it definitely worked.

"There we go, you scared me for a minute there, you OK?" 

"Yeah, yeah, m'fine." 

"Ahuh, want to try that again? What was that? "

"Bonding with a Loci is energy-draining, it meant when Tilly… investigated I had… nothing. No power. No magic. No defence. Especially on the back of what happened, Fy Brawd burned us up quite hot, absorbing all of that energy. I'm just still a little sore." 

Which was _ Tony-Speak _ for indescribable pain. James frowned because he hadn't realised it had been that bad. 

"I could have come with you yesterday, you know." 

"Absolutely not Fy Sidan. You would not have survived standing in the chamber whilst me and Hetaris bonded. Even without Tilly's interference, with her, even if you had been in the passageway… no. Not safe. Loci have a lot of magic that could rip a person to pieces accidentally, even when you have no issues with Iron. Young and bonding Loci do not have control, not until I teach him, which I am. He is a Mountain with hundreds of millennia worth of magic. When he has settled in, you can meet him if you want. It'll be best if we don't introduce you to Tilly if possible. She likes Fragile Creatures, a lot, and she tends to.. Alter them to increase their chances of survival Underhill. She doesn't quite understand the concept of consent. Hetaris… he was born within my magic, so he does. He even got angry at Tilly."

Tony stretched as he woke up properly and the lighting within the bed shimmered slightly, casting a low-level silver glow. His hair was going in about 50 different directions. Sleepy Fae were evidently ridiculously adorable. Or he was just biased to Tony.

"Well, the parts with Tilly sounds utterly terrifying. I'd like to meet Hetaris when it's safe, though."

"Accurate. I will tell him when his magic has settled."

"So, what are we doing today?" 

"We start preparation for my announcement, I guess, I am thinking about the crown. But you are right. Me and Hetaris, we are bonded, and the idea of another going near him is... unpleasant. If I am not fighting against this… it means people from all the courts will be turning up, on my lands." 

He absolutely didn't imagine the growl Tony had about that, which was different, they'd discussed it before, what would happen if he couldn't reverse it. Whilst he hadn't been happy, he hadn't been growling over it. James was also quite satisfied that Tony was thinking about what he said, he could still feel the active pact in his mind too, which meant that Tony must truly still be thinking about the crown.

"Well, we kind of expected that? I'm happy you're still thinking about this, just want you happy Doll."

"Hmm, back then they were just my lands, now… I did not realise the level of the potential bond. Hetaris… he _ is _ the land, and we are bound. The land is a part of me now, and there are some courts I never want touching me again. I'll be fine. We'll both have to sit through the outfitters too for formal dress. Just to make sure everything is correct and Vax is quite pedantic. He knows my size and yet he still makes me stand, I think he enjoys tormenting me." 

"That sounds… Fun?" 

"Boring is the word you're looking for there, Fy Sidan. I'd much rather stay in bed. We will have to make time for me to show you some of Underhill or my lands. Time for fun?"

Any retort he was starting to think of was cut off as Tony slid closer to him and he hummed into his throat, his breath hitching as he grazed his sharper fang across his skin, soothing the pass with his tongue after. 

"We could put breakfast off for the rightfully important job of starting on your blade. See, I need to get more familiar with your magic before I call your Fire if we are to weave the metal that will become your blade." 

Tony was very good at distracting him when they were meant to be doing things. Plus they had barely stopped moving since his powers were unlocked, James was suddenly very interested in this plan.

"Ahuh, and how do we do that?" 

He was only slightly paying attention to what Tony was talking about really. The rest was utterly distracted.

"I'd need to release the hold that keeps our magic inside of us, like the first time, what do you think?"

Oh, he absolutely loved that idea. That had felt amazing the first time when Tony was just leaning against his back. Now he felt closer somehow, practically tucked under his chin, legs entwined.

"That sounds like a very interesting idea." 

Tony shifted closer still somehow, said something that was unquestionably not English and left his skim humming with power from those words.
    
    
      "Bod yn rhydd"
    

Then they were surrounded by magic again. He wasn't sure that he'd ever get used to that. His senses didn't blank out this time. He stayed able to see and feel everything as it surrounded him. The curtains of the bed seemed to keep everything in somehow, which appeared to jack up his sensitivity.

James had expected it to be _ less _ intense the second time around, but it was just as, if not more intense but in a different way. All of his senses had been steadily increasing, and he could feel all the shadows around them, he was hypersensitive to any movements, and now he could identify more. He could understand more, could see different parts of Tony's weave. Tony's woad was shimmering slightly too. It was like there was so much more sensory information in the magic saturated place. The air felt heavy and loaded with energy, and they were soaking in it.

He could feel the now-familiar heavy, comforting presence of Tony's Blue Fire. It moved slower than his Black Fire that darted around the place like an over-excited collie. The Blue Fire stayed with it, and it was so strange watching the two Fires move around them seemingly happy together and fine utterly ignoring himself and Tony. Tony chuckled when he spotted what James was looking at.

"Want to see what we are going to use to form your blade? I need to pull Fire from you if that's okay?"

"Definitely okay."

Tony slid his hands down to that star at his sternum. Concentrating as James suddenly felt an odd pull at his chest, a strange but not entirely unpleasant feeling as Tony very slowly pulled his hands away from his chest and a sizable amount of Black Fire came with it. He ran one hand closer to his chest and with a light touch that had him shiver slightly, the Fire coiled into Tony's hands.

"We will wrap this around my Blue Fire, with… hm, can you call some shadows for me?"

James knew Tony could do it himself but was happy that he was involved with something so important. He thought back to the information Tony had slipped into his mind. Still bright and vibrant, the memory was crystal clear. So far, virtually all of his Umbrakinesis usage had been accidental, reactionary, as a direwolf or in a high-stress situation. Like being abducted by aliens. It was nice to try in a low stress, much, much more comfortable situation like this. They came quickly to him. It helped that the closed-off bed was flooded with magic that was just thrilled to jump at any task offered.

"Wow, that is impressive, you are very talented, you know that? You have a natural talent for magic. I wonder if there is something less human in your heritage. Look, you even reached past the barrier. When you unlocked your Sight early, I…. wondered. Because no Reaper ever got their Sight _ before _ they lost their bindings. Last night, you called a weave to our pact too. Which is not unheard off, but I am starting to think you might have the ability to weave. I think we'll have to explore that. Usually, it takes many years for A Reaper to strengthen their core so much to call magic. Now, do you remember the weave for the Reaper metal?"

James was frozen for a second. Tony had this habit of dumping utterly insane information on a person and then continuing as normal. Maybe he heard him wrong, but it sounded like Tony thought he might be able to wield magic. _ Actual magic. _ Not just abilities passed down through the Fire. Magic magic. From _ him. _ That shimmering silvery Blue Ribbon maybe? James had thought it came from Tony like the Black Fire and the other deep black velvet strand. That came from _ him? _That was his?

"Yeah, I remember what it looked like, is that what you're going to do now? Also, did you just say I have a talent for magic? I thought Reapers are of magic, not wielders?"

"You can be both. Fae are of magic, and many of us wield it. Humans are not off magic, but can wield it. They aren't connected. Some Reapers weave magic. You can even learn new threads to add to your core weave but not as I do, human magic differs to Fae magic. Our is like a rope. We sculpted our magic to make adding new magic easier. You can be my apprentice like Stephen if you want, or we can find another to teach you. Usually, it takes a minimum of a hundred years for a Reapers core to become strong enough to potentially reach the strength to weave. Somehow, I believe you are already there. It is easy to test. And I'm not going to weave this, you are."

"How do you test and I don't think I can get my head around this, why am I so…"

Tony tilted his head up so he could see him, he looked thrilled at the idea, which James figured was good. James was just floored at the very thought.

"I always knew you and Rhodey would be different. His bond to the Balance… it's powerful, and that could develop into many things. I always knew you were fated to be something special too. Both of you glow with such potential. There have been many generations without a Reaper being called, I think you two are the product of that, plus you are both quite special. Reapers are bound by Fire. You two are Fire. Don't forget that identifying threats to the Balance is one half of that ability. I also identify those who are integral to it—those who are precious to the Balance. True Guardians. All reapers protect the Balance. Few are called and named Guardian. I believe you two are on that path. Give me your hand."

His Black Fire that Tony had drawn out shifted further up Tony's arm, leaving his hands free and Tony took his hand.

"Who else is a Guardian?"

"Me. Stephen is a powerful potential too. If your core has strengthened enough, I can call a little to your hand and if it stabilises you should be in the very early stages of developing _ innate _ magic. Much different to what Stephen has. Closer to myself, or Loki's Seiðr. It needs to be protected and nurtured at first as we encourage it to strengthen further. Only then will you learn to manipulate it. First, we care for it."

"Like a tree? Grow it and care for it until someday it gives you fruit. If you don't look after it, it will be rotten or sour."

"Exactly that! See, quite the natural."

"Well you talk about magic a lot, and I like that, so I listen."

He was not blushing. Nope, not at all. Maybe a little, but Tony had this _ thing _ whenever he praised someone, of looking _ right at you, _ smiling as his eyes lit up and he sometimes slipped slightly with his control. So the feeling of it flashed over you like a warm wave of happiness and pride. James would be embarrassed, but he had watched it happen to a few other people, and knew he was not alone with the blushing or not knowing how to respond. Loki had been speechless for over an hour the first time it happened to him. Rhodey's blushed to his ears. Stephen always looked oddly confused. James didn't know if Tony was actually oblivious to this reaction, or if he feigned it. 

Tony dropped his attention down to his hand, and he did too. Feeling a weird mix of nervous and excited, not realising until now that he really _ wanted _ this. True, the word _ 'apprentice' _ gave him chills. But, that was a Reaper thing. He and Rhodes had read the chronicles enough to fear that word. Tony did not take apprentices often. When he did? Well, just take Stephen, for instance, and the acid-spitting thing during lunch. There were so many stories of Tony's apprentices driving Reapers up the wall. Oh, they loved them like family. Reapers were fiercely protective over Tony apprentices, even if they blew up everything. And they did. Often.

The idea that _ HE _could be one? 

James Barnes? 

The Winter Soldier? 

Like Fire, Tony _ loved _ magic. He was almost reverent about it. If Tony had a religion, it would be for magic in every shape or form. James knew he had many strands in his weave. He doesn't know how many but Stephen told him once that he had seen it and was surprised by how many different disciplines he had learned. But then Tony had apprenticed under Math for the longest time. Which made Math slightly terrifying as Tony always said he knows a fraction of strands compared to Math.

Tony was very particular for people who were _ meant _ to have magic and very, very harsh against those who were not meant to, yet had managed it somehow. He called it holding pure _ change _ in your hands. Because with enough will you were only bound by your mind for what you could genuinely do. That Tony was excited and happy, that meant he thought James was _ meant _ for this. Meant to hold change in his hands.

James' hand suddenly started to tingle, and with a shiver, a small silvery blue shimmer of cool magic coalesced in his palm. It was fluttering, slow. It looked like a piece of fabric caught in a gentle current underwater. The colour darkened steadily whilst the edges stayed silver, a cloud of shimmering dust seemed to flutter around it. It was tiny, barely two inches long and a finger in width, but it utterly took his breath away.

"Now would ya look at that… that's mine? I have magic?"

"You do, that is from your core. Very strong, further advanced that I expected, you somehow seem to have been nurturing it already. I'll get some books for you which you can use until you decide on a master. I can show you how to check on it too. I have some books on innate human magic."

"Really? That would be cool, can you be the one to teach me? I mean, I trust you, and you've already taught me things. I know you're great at it."

James hoped Tony agreed. Only slightly because telling Rhodes that Tony took on another apprentice Underhill was going to be fun. James would wait to reveal that was him.

"You may regret that Cariad, if you think I am a harsh drillmaster as a Reaper, you haven't seen _ anything _ yet."

Tony smirked at him before lightly covering his hand with his own, the flutter of magic tingled, and he felt a patch of his skin chill as it vanished Tony shuffled closer again.

"I might be weird, but I like your training. It works for me."

"I will remind you of this conversation one day. Now close your eyes and match my breathing. You know the drill."

The instruction wasn't new, it was usually how Tony started a lesson that included magic of some kind, but this time it was pure magic instead of one of the abilities, and it had him giddy. Tony put both of James' hands on either side of his own temples, which was new.

"Going to show you how to find mine first, it will be easier to do as it's brighter, and then we follow the path for yours, okay?"

"Okay, I got this."

The familiar feeling of Tony guiding his mind was a comfort that helped calm his nerves, and it wasn't long before he felt something. He could feel Tony drop his Wards that kept his magic and mind safe, and suddenly the magic around them intensified to the point he was a little light-headed. All he could see was black. However, he was about to question it before something shimmered into view.

Tony had told him that a person's core weave tends to be a rope. Well, for the Fae at least. Loki's was much different. He described it as a fountain or a sort. Fae had adapted themselves over millennia to do something few races or species did, which was learning multiple disciplines of magic, different from their innate magic. It had started with adding Underhill to their magic, and Fae are natural wanderers, they collect many things as they wander, including magic. So they had changed their cores to accept more threads. Tony was currently teaching Stephen to master different types of magic, not an easy feat as his core magic was not like a Fae, but Tony wouldn't teach something if he didn't think it was possible.

There was a long shimmering rope that seemed to vanish into the darkness above and below. At first glance, it looked all silver. As if it was a single branch of magic. Tony seemed to pick up on what he was thinking, instead of pulling away to search for his magic, he asked him a question.

'Do you want to see the different threads?'

'You can do that?'

'Anything for you Cariad.'

He murmured the last sentence as the thick rope shimmered slightly before unwinding and almost exploding out like Tony was working with his holographic displays in the lab. Now it didn't just look silver, different colours almost burst to life, lighting up the dark landscape like beautiful fireworks.

'Wow, just… wow.'

'Good wow?'

'Amazing wow, is that Blue Fire?'

The threads pulled further apart at his question, and now he could see much better. A thick strand of bright Blue Fire and a thick Black velvet ribbon, the kind that sucked all the light in, were tightly entwined with each other.

'Mmhmm, Blue Fire and Bane are my Core. This is what all Fae start with. Usually, you only have a single Core, and Blue Fire entirely replaced my original Core entirely, which is unheard of, if you lose your core you usually die or lose your magic, I was fortunate. When I bound with Hetaris, he took my old Bane magic thread, and elevated it and wound it at my core. All these threads now wrap around it as a new core. This is Spring and Autumn.'

Two shimmering strands suddenly wrapped tightly around the core in different directions, somehow perfectly in sync. The red for autumn was vibrant and shining from deep red to almost pink in places, defence, protection, hunt… it all burst over his senses somehow as he focused on it. James understood why Tony was so at home with Autumn. Spring was a bright shining gold that burst across his senses just as quickly with fresh new beginnings, and James didn't know why Tony shied away from it, as it also stood for hope and _ Balance. _ To James, Tony was represented easily by Spring and Autumn. 

James also wondered if Tony realised that his human life had hinted at what was coming. That Tony Stark had been more than the Merchant of Death with Fae attributes. That he was wrapped Iron, Autumn and Summer.

Iron man became the King of Iron. Bound in red and gold metal to both _ save _ and _ avenge_.

Black and White Fire coiled protectively around the new threads, followed by a thin, wavering purple thread that was almost growing in strength as had watched. Then a strange thread that flutters through a thousand colours. Some James is pretty sure they don't exist for humanity. That thread seemed to link up with every part of Tony's weave, enhancing it.

'That is the Second Gift of Underhill. We cannot cast with it, but it is only given to Foci of Seelie Lands, and it enhances everything. I think it is what connects the Crown to our Cores, maybe even the Table, but it is just a theory.'

Tony starts adding others quickly then, pointing some out as he goes a deep blue of Winter magic called ₳eaf, a shimmering white and grey for Elven magics. An orange that reminds James of Stephen's portals. A shining bright silver Seiðr. Many names that he didn't have a hope of recognising, several he points out as being from different courts of Underhill. Like Bane is from the Ironlands and ₳eaf for Winter, many courts had their own thread that many subjects have the option of learning. Watching all the threads wind together reminds James that Tony is much stronger than he ever lets anyone know, and he is happy that Tony trusts him with this knowledge.

Finding his core after spending so long, pulling apart pieces of Tonys Core is shockingly easy. It is a single thread, like what appeared in his hand but longer. It looks almost like a ribbon floating slowly in water, shimmering through different blues, greys and silvers with a shimmer of silver dust fluttering around it.

Tony's complete shock draws him back from getting lost, just staring at the beautiful thing that is _ his. _

'This is beautiful, and… very Fae like in appearance."

'Is that good? Do Reapers not usually have magic like yours?'

'No, innate magic is bound to a species. Humans can have innate magic, even some Sorcerers who go a weird route can learn to develop a core, but it is a _ human _ core. This… this is _ Fae. _ Entirely Fae. _ ' _

'Don't Reapers become a little Fae?'

'You do, but Cariad. This is not days old. Even if you were Highborn Seelie, you could not develop a core like this in under a week. Fae children usually find their completed core like this at 12 years old, occasionally younger. Even Reapers retain human magic at their core as that is where they began, no matter how much you change, your core magic _ is _ you.'

'I don't understand, how do I have this if I'm human?'

'I do not think you were pure human. Fae genes, they can last through hundreds of generations, appearing in children fated for them.'

'So, I am part Fae then?'

'We shall look into it. I am amazed. Your magic is wonderful."

'I can't believe it is _ mine.' _

'You are going to take excellent care of this I can tell, a strong core you have the opportunity to build upon. Now, however, we are returning, and you shall weave metal.'

Even though it is dim in the bed, he blinks a few times after returning to this space which is when he registered what had been said. Fae magic, that he can _ build _ upon. Not only is he not quite human, we'll, he already knew that, but he was apparently not entirely human to start with! But Fae magic… magic designed to be added to. That he could learn multiple types of magic, sure that was insanely in his future, but the reveal floored James. He also wondered just what non-human genes did he have exactly? Seelie? Wyldfae? So many other kinds. It took a lot to put that to the side and focus on the _ other _insane thing Tony said.

"Shouldn't I start on something less important?"

"I will be with you every step of the way. If it goes wrong we can unravel our work, give me your hands again."

Tony had shuffled back a little to create an open space between them, where he pooled the different magic elements they had already collected that James had almost forgotten about. 

James was pretty sure he was not advanced enough to be trying something like this… but at the same time, the shadows under Tony's eyes were gone. He wasn't in pain, and he was smiling, obviously happy and excited about what they were going to attempt. The debt in his mind about the crown was humming with warmth too, but James had no idea what that meant. What they had been doing, investigating his possible use of magic? Tony showing him his Core? He got the impression that very few people had beheld the sheer enormity of Tony's weave. Tony did not trust easily, yet he trusted him.

Considering everything that had happened at the compound with Steve, and then with Thanos' children, with his brother, with the changes he was looking at because of the Loci and Underhill, with Tony's conflicted thoughts of desperately wanting to take the crown and yet… held back.

James was pretty sure Tony _ needed _ this. A break of sorts to just enjoy themselves. Saturate in magic and utterly fall into it together.

Tony _ loved _ teaching. He'd wanted to share this with someone for generations, but hadn't been able. This was something James could do. He could throw himself into this and give Tony some time to just _ be _ before they had to leave the bed and return to life.

"Okay, let's do this. How do I start."

Tony was frozen for a second, blinking before leaning over and kissing him, slow and sweet.

"What was that for?"

"This, everything, your aura is always bright and shining with my Fire, and it showed some of what you were thinking. I… I'm not used to this. I'm used to being the one caring for others. Not the one being cared for."

"Well, you still do that. But I don't see why I can't return the favour? If I have to sit on you to make you rest occasionally, that's what I'll do. You have done so much for me, damned saved me from the psycho which on top of everything else. Just because you are powerful and amazing doesn't mean you don't need some looking after now and then. Everyone does. Especially the strong one's. Do you think I'm ready for this?"

"Anyone else? Probably not, but you… You _ are _ Black Fire. You are my Fire. Look at that magic you have nurtured, cared for and protected! You have been weaving with Fire before you knew to call it. You have a completely natural way of working with Fire that I have seen people train for centuries to obtain. Now, the Blue Fire is at our centre. You wrap the Black Fire and Shadow around it. The shape doesn't matter, as from there we forge it as if it were a billet."

Tony moved his hand to his chest before pausing and then putting James hand there instead, his other hand moved to James' head.

"You remember how I just pulled Fire from your core? This is how I did it.

The double image slipped over his vision again, and he could feel Tony's Fire shifting around his fingers. The new sensory flood and the information is probably why it took him so long to catch on, and Blue Fire excitedly wrapped around his fingers and his wrist.

"Wait, you want _ me _ to summon your Fire?"

"Mhmm, I'll be with you."

"But what if I hurt you? You're still in pain from the last few days!"

"You won't be taking anywhere near enough to hurt me Cariad, and I'll be with you every step of the way. If it even twinges I swear I will stop you."

James focused, he could do this, was he freaking the fuck out? A little, but he could also _ see _ and _ feel _ Tony's confidence in him. Like a physical thing wrapping around him. That he thought he could do something like this, _ trusting _ him?

After he came out of cryo, living with the rogues, there was a thinly veiled distrust from Steve, no matter how much he hid it, or how happy he was to find him. His fingers twitched for his shield. He watched his every move. Every word of Russain made him flinch. Every time he did something Bucky never liked, he looked away. He never stopped waiting for him to revert to the Winter Soldier. This was with their connection, the others, it was mostly a show for Steve.

There was outright distrust from Wanda and Clint. That worsened the less Bucky he was like, which switched to attacks whenever he made Steve sad. It was loads of little things that had stacked up and up and up. Then Tony had just let him into his secret workshop on the first day, let him look at _ anything, _ read _ anything _ he wanted. He didn't try to make him be someone. Any recommendations were just that, James has choices. Even in training, Tony gave him options and trusted him to know his own body.

Whereas the others didn't trust him, Tony _ trusted _ him with _ everything. _ With his secrets. With his debt. With the very core of his magic. Now he trusted him to draw some of Tony's _ Blue Fire. _

Tony literally was Blue Fire. 

So he would damned well do a good job and prove him right for his faith and his trust. A heady mix that he never thought he would deserve from anyone, let alone receive.

"Okay, let's do this."

Tony was watching his Fire again. He noticed as he blinked rapidly before focusing on James' hand. He wondered just how much of that thought process Tony saw, but finds himself fine with it, Tony trusts him with his Fire, James trusts him with his mind. He is only just learning how to read intentions from Fire. Emotions are still easier. Tony is slightly bewildered he knows that much and a little flushed as he stammered.

"Right, I'm… okay. We can do this. So, search until you can feel the Fire solid in your hand then pull, about three-quarters of the Black Fire you see there."

James wonders if these things ever stop being wonderful, amazing and new? He hopes not. Considering how Tony has been acting about his new threads and his age, James thinks that magic is always amazing. There is always something new, and he loves every unique experience. Tony's Fire flowed faster around his hand when he turned his attention to it. It was still a little nerve-wracking when he pulled his hand back. Blue Fire burning brightly, almost white-hot, shifting excitedly against his skin. Warmth and feelings of excited ripping against him. From what he could tell, Tony's Fire was still pissed about him being abducted. If James had a Reaper blade, he would always have Blue Fire.

"So, uh, how do I remove it?"

"Ask it, think through your Fire about what you want to do with it and ask permission. You already know how to talk to fire; not many can hear Fire as well as you. You are not far of Loki's ability to listen."

James just thinks Fire is easier to understand than humans. Tony's Fire apparently is smug and proud about his talent of talking to Fire too.

"Is that what you did with mine?"

"Yup, Fire, especially the kinds we carry, it can't be worked with like an inert metal or substance like this. It's _ very _ alive. All Fire is alive, but Blue, Black and White Fire has more personhood than Red Fire for example. You want it to work with you, not for you."

He nodded, because for some reason, that made sense. Reaper Blades were alive in a way, when James had used Tony's it was more like cooperation than wielding. The blade changed trajectory several times. James didn't fight it, was happy to work with the sword. After he made that clear, it had moved faster, cut deeper. Fire liked praise.

So it made sense that the substances they were made from were very much alive too. He tried to be very polite. Tony had told him the Blue Fire was like Fae, so he avoided things like thanking and other things that would insult Fae. He also complimented it. Fae were pretty much suckers for a few things. Warmth. Pretty, shiny things, because they were like magpies. _ Genuine _ flattery, praise was a massive one, but it had to be authentic, or the Fire would be insulted. So he talked it up. When the Fire broke away, the amount of it even increased and instead of lying on the bed with the Black Fire and Shadows, it completely wrapped around his arm. The tickling warmth spread and left him humming slightly with a slightly hotter band around his wrist. As if it condensed there.

"Well, you certainly are good at talking up Fire, aren't you? You didn't even just get Blue!"

"Huh?"

Tony turned his hand over and sure enough, in his palm.was a small amount of Black and White Fire flickering excitedly.

"Do you want them in your blade too?"

"Can I?"

"Sure, they've offered. Clearly have a way with Fire."

"Then, definitely. It helps that your Fire is awesome."

He was pretty sure Tony was blushing before he ducked his head, coaxing that Black Fire from James' palm to add to his own. Then putting this White next to it. It took longer to convince the Blue Fire, but it eventually unravelled. Now was the complicated bit.

Before he started, he glanced at his wrist in shock. There was a thick blue band around his wrist across his pulse point. It looked like the woad Wards that Tony had worked onto his skin. As some crossed his wrist, it looked like they had shifted slightly to make space. It was similar to the band across Tony's eyes, entirely under and around the silver and iron bracer. 

"I think your Fire gave me a tattoo?"

"Huh?"

Tony glanced away from where he was preparing the Blue Fire to look at James' wrist—running his fingers across the new tattoo.

"My Fire likes you. It's never done that before. That looks like a type of protection Ward. If you hold it near the Fire, you can see the Wards. You definitely have a way with Fire, explains why you're so good at getting me to do things."

Tony chuckled, running his fingers across the band and grinning before moving back to the Black Fire whilst James tried to get his head around the idea of Fire giving him a tattoo. He held it near the Fire, and tiny Wards were crisscrossing the small space. 

James shifted his attention to the daunting but exciting task ahead of him. Tony helped him the whole way, mixing the Black Fire and Shadows. They unravelled it a whole bunch of times. After a few times, he didn't have to undo his work completely. Which was when the Blue Fire came into play.

Everything sort of fell away, he hyper-focused on the feel of the materials in his hands and making them come together as if they had always meant to be this way, adding in the White Fire somehow made perfect sense. It was like he's been doing this for years even though he utterly lost count of how many times they went back. It wasn't until he reached the end that a bright white flash pulled him out of that state, and suddenly there was metal in his hand. Thicker than any of the blades they'd been using. Rectangular and pure black, except for the end that faded like a gradient from black, to a shimmering, sparkling white gold, that seemed to refract like holographic paint. It was absolutely gorgeous, and he couldn't believe he had helped make it.

It also felt so different from any other blade he had held. The practice blades were his, marked with a Ward Tony placed on items that were his. Rhodes had one too, any time Tony put that Ward on something, he could feel that it was_ his _ somehow. This was like that, but more and without that Ward. It also felt different from even the other Reaper blades he had held. The Bane Blade or Tony swords, this was closer to Tony's sword for power, but whilst that sword had liked him, it wasn't _ his. _It worked with him, it had enjoyed fighting with him, but this metal, that didn't even have an edge or a hilt yet, it was like his best friend or something. He now understood Tony and Rhodes pride in their blades, why they liked holding them and caring for them.

"This will make a wonderfully powerful sword. I'm beyond impressed with your work Fy Sidan."

"Really?"

Tony slid closer, closing the distance and he moved the metal to his table with a flick of his fingers, tucking in perfectly against his chest. He was a little giddy still, Tony had told him after working magic it could leave you with a natural magical high, flooded with endorphins and the magic shooting around them.

"Hmm, definitely, and you finished much, much faster than I expected too, I'm sure we can think up something to do before we have to get up."

* * *

"What is in the box?"

James gave up trying to wrangle his hair and came out to see what Tony was talking about. Tony immediately started chuckling.

"Do you want a hand with that?"

"Gods yes, I should have tied it back before bed."

Tony also used pretty much any excuse to get his hands in his hair, that was a fact of life that James now saw as a constant. He sat on the chair and snagged the box he had been given on arrival. Opening it so Tony could see as he got his hair to not look like a rats nest for this very dull outfitting session.

"You are fascinating. That is…"

Tony waved his hand over the box, the items shifted, and each shimmered slightly.

"Very interesting indeed. That has given you some standing at my Court, on your own merit that is not tied to me."

"Standing?"

"Hmm, similar to debt in a manner. Each item seems to come from a different individual and holds a different value of a kind."

"I thought you had to return gifts, equal in value, so I need to find these people?"

"No, this is them returning gifts to you. Some of these hold a high level of significance. Here."

Tony took out the silver seven-pointed star that he had found himself quite enamoured with.

"This, for example, is exceptionally valuable. Look deeper than the shimmer and _ feel _ it."

Tony gently laid it in his hand and then returned to his hair as James looked at the pin. It was quite beautiful, and since Tony had waved his hand over the box, it now had quite the shimmer around it. He closed his eyes, figuring he was too busy looking at the item like a human, and it was distracting him.

"Compare it to our pact."

He jumped slightly, not expecting Tony to suddenly lean down and speak in that low voice directly into his ear. The tip was beneficial as he thought about the strange debts he now carried with him, that he couldn't feel and yet… he could, and suddenly the pin in his hand changed weight.

"Oh! That's, wow, that's heavy."

"Hmm, very interesting. That is the highest debt in the box. You are mine, so any debt and gifts you carry from me will be seen as a given. It is my job to provide and care for you after all. However, you carry marks of two queens now too, and this box will give you some standing. In human terms, it could be considered currency of a sorts. We collect, trade, utilise and hoard debt. Plus we need to look into your heritage at some point, that may increase your standing."

"I don't know what I did to get this."

"You can ask the people who gave you the items. You do pick up on debt very quickly for one who has spent most of their life human. Even other changelings I have met took quite some time before they shook off the trappings of human society. You seem to flourish here. I can't imagine it would take long to teach you how to identify individual debt. If you wear any of these, it will be seen as a thanks of a kind. That you are happy with what these people gave you."

James clipped the silver pin on, and he started looking through the box again. Each item felt much different now than when he had first looked. The box was heavy enough that it took a little effort to pick it up. He had no idea what he had done that so many people in Tony's castle thought to return it with this. At the same time, he couldn't help but smile. It was not often he entered a place and was immediately accepted as one of those who lived there. Not often, he came somewhere new, and the current residents were not just tolerant, but genuinely _ happy _for his presence. Not often he could feel the weight of the joy, happiness and sheer gratitude and hold it in his hand.

Tony was impressed too and hummed when he added the silver pin to his shirt. James was pretty sure that he loved Underhill. The magic that permeated the place mixed with what he and Tony had done this morning had his skin singing. He also got to see Tony casting more too, which was a huge bonus.

He also didn't miss how Tony's fingers skimmed the top of the stone box before they left his room. 

How he slowed down as he walked past it. 

How he had almost to drag himself away from it. 

James was avoiding the box himself, as he had found out that the magic in it apparently liked him too. He had walked to it several times by complete accident and twice he had picked the damned thing up and was halfway to Tony when he realised what was happening. The box very much wanted to go to Tony and seemed to have decidedly chosen him as the mode of delivery. Several other human-ish people had dropped things off, picked up food, general stuff and none of them even noticed that the box existed. It was so subtle too. There was no prominent press of magic beating at him to take it. It was slight. It made him _ want _ to take it to Tony. James knew Tony also wanted it, and he could feel his resolve shifting, but he didn't want to rush Tony. James even tried telling the box this before he realised that he was talking to a _ box. _

It may be a magic box that could influence him, but it was still a damned box.

He could still feel some conflict in Tony, but it was much different than last night. He shouldn't be surprised that Tony took his words so seriously by now. Tony had told him several times that sometimes a Fae needed a human perspective. Things that seemed obvious to him just didn't occur to Tony. It still baffled James how a person alive for so many 1000s of years would listen to his words so intently.

* * *

James had been wandering the castle for a few hours now whilst Tony was talking to the mountain after the very annoying outfitting. He still felt completely energised after crafting the Reaper metal and had very much enjoyed some time of being able to lounge in bed, doing whatever they wanted before they had had to move. James could quite happily start all his mornings like that. When Tony had gone to speak to Hetaris, Tony hadn't said what about, but that pact in his mind was _ warm _ and extremely active, so James assumed it was about the crown. 

So he figured that he'd explore Tony's 'House'.

He still had no idea how Tony could call this place a damned _ house. _

James had been wandering, exploring, well, getting lost. Might have photographed some unicorns after asking for permission. Talking to people was great; there was such a varied group.

James was also making a point to encourage _ everyone _ to start calling it a castle. 

It really said a lot about Tony that his 'staff' responded to his ideas of calling it a castle to wind Tony up, with grins, agreement and spreading the word to others for him. Stage two of his plan was going quite well. 

He had also gotten lots of photos of amazing things. He came across one room that had a tree growing out of a fountain. Which didn't even have water in it, but this shimmering green dust that was like glitter. He had no idea just how large Tony's castle was, but he was damned sure some of the rooms moved, and he was pretty sure a staircase vanished after he had climbed it. That Tony's Fires seemed to all be around was comforting, and had helped him find his path again several times. That he was asking _ Fire _ for _ directions _ and it wasn't even in his top ten weird things today was hilarious.

He was also starting to realise a few things.

Tony had a lot of 'staff' and people around. A lot of them were human_-ish. _ A few stories in and he was starting to realise that Tony hadn't actually hired _ anyone _ to do _ anything_. He just had a habit of collecting people and bringing them home and letting them do what they wanted. They seemed to have organised themselves with Tony's help into a competent and loyal staff that appeared to have everything covered. Not just at the castle, but all of the villages networked, no one went without a roof over their heads or food within his walls, that was Tony's first law apparently. People spoke of it like Tony had described Seasonal Law. 

He had said one of the differences between Seelie rulers and the Lower Courts was the holding of Law. James was wondering if Tony realised he was already more than halfway there to being the King.

The level of care for the small country Tony was running put earth to shame. When Tony wasn't here, there were a number of elected councils and everything that carried out a number of things Tony had set up. People he had spoken to had seemed genuinely confused at the idea of a corrupt official that cared more about their own private ventures—stating merely that they would not vote for someone like that and the council worked for the people. Also, they knew that whilst Tony had to go to Firelands, he _always_ _came_ _back. _Acting against his people was not a smart thing to do as Tony was _obviously_ very protective of his people.

The man who came to outfit him was a tailor from the 1400s that Tony had whisked away from the Yearning Heart Court. A name he heard quite often, same as the Court of The Final Word. Most people who came to Tony's lands had come from painful backgrounds, even those who had not previously been human. It seemed to bond them in a way that they had something good, and they would protect it.

Everyone seemed very nice too, he'd found himself down near the entrance again trying to work out where to go next, and maybe he'll find the kitchens this time when Johan ran past him to open the doors, barely noticing his presence. Curiosity beat out good sense that perhaps he should back up.

A tall man with white hair practically stalked into the room, surveying the place in a way he was all too familiar with, pale blue eyes settled on him for a moment, assessing before continuing. A signal later and the woman he'd seen in the forest entered. Her dress was similar to how he had seen it last, but a long purple cloak that swept the floor behind her had been added. The ground behind her trailed a thick path of white ice. Even the doors seemed to frost over slightly as her power effortlessly affected the world around her. 

James' sensitivity for magic had already increased quite drastically since he last saw her, and the difference was mind-blowing. He didn't doubt for a second that she toned down her power as Tony did, and that was a moderately terrifying fact. He stayed standing out of pure stubborn will and probably because she was not aiming that power at him, and James was not part of her court. James had a feeling few could remain standing if she or her counterpart for that matter chose to push the matter. Then your knees would be hitting the floor before you could even think. James had to wonder, because whilst Tony's power had been steadily increasing since they arrived, Mab was something else. Then James had a feeling that the stone box have something to do with it. That it might close the difference between their power levels. 

Which made the already seriously intimidating box way scarier.

A younger woman, with short, spiky hair in a myriad of blues, greens and purples practically stalked in beside her. It was strange because he could feel that she carried a power very similar to Mab, and up until now, he hadn't felt a similar thread of power between different people. The human was even carrying a shocking amount. At a guess, he would say that it was Winter that he was feeling somehow. He had expected Winter to be cold and harsh and yet there was a sense of… familiarity that he couldn't explain in the slightest. Something that made him comfortable to carry on standing where he was, assessing the newcomers when the sensible part of his brain was practically screaming at him for being an idiot.

Behind the three beings that each seemed to represent a piece of Winter, followed ten Fae that to James seemed odd now. His sight had gotten so focused on that thread of ice, survival and thrumming power that not seeing it was jarring. Oh, they were subjects of Winter, but they didn't _ carry _ Winter. They were as pale and silver as Mab and her daughter. The Knight was once human if he remembered correctly, but there was little human about him. The Reaper part of him recognised a fellow predator.

The ten Fae following the Winter delegation were quite a varied lot. Height seemed to have a wider spread Underhill that Earth. Mab was nearly six foot at a guess whilst her daughter was barely five foot and made Tony look tall. The others varied just as much. There was a common theme in their dress, they wore the Winter colours, but there was a unique flare amongst them. They were undoubtedly all Pure-Seelie Fae. He had expected as much, even though Summer and Winter were made up of many kinds of Fae, Seelie, or rather Unseelie in this case made up the bulk of the court. With Mab right there, it was hard for James to gauge the others' power levels, and James suddenly understood Stephen's grouching when trying to read people when Tony was in the room. Mab blanketed the entire area.

He knew standing where he was, was a bad fucking idea. James had known that from the second the white-haired human had stalked into the castle… and yet? He stayed. Curiosity had been his undoing many times back when he was a human living in the 1940s, add a dash of Fae to that when he became a Reaper? Or rather was it more Fae? 

Oh, his feet refused to go anywhere. So really, this was entirely Tony's fault, and he was going to be quite firm on that because a second later Mab spotted him and Tony was going to have kittens. 

Johan's voice jarred him from his thoughts, and he glanced around, wondering if he could scarper without offending the Queen of fucking Winter.

"Would you like me to announce you?" 

"Not right now, we are early so it would be nice to get settled before we delve into official business. Do fetch your Master for me though. I'm sure this fragile creature of Ryn's could show us around in the meantime. Very interesting, I was beginning to think he did not know how to lay claim to someone dear to him." 

He chuckled to that, because he had gotten lost eight times since breakfast. How do you get out of a conversation with a Faerie Queen without causing offence? She crossed to stand right in front of him, and James kind of wished he had stayed in bed. 

At the same time, he was happy he didn't because already had he discovered something very, _ very _ interesting. 

Mab had called Tony - _ Ryn. _

Even Tony's _ aunt _ tended to favour nicknames for Tony. Tony had told him there were a few close friends and family who called him Ryn and James would potentially think Mab used to name without permission… if not for the fact Tony was very protective of his name. It wasn't exactly something you just stumble upon and begin using, and there was… something about the _ way _ she said it that made James _ wonder. _

But then he had been _ wondering _ since the Queen of Winter, Air and Darkness had been the one to deliver the message to Tony regarding the changing nature of his lands.

It was not an action James would expect from Royalty. True, he didn't know much about how Fae royalty operated and likely comparing it to human royalty wouldn't get far. Loki and Thor were princes after all, and he had seen them bickering over breakfast food and resort to stabbing each other. Tony's mother had a regal, powerful air to her, but James hadn't known she was royalty until recently. The other Queen he had met had seemed kind if a little devious but then she was a Faerie Queen. James recognised that look on her face, he had seen it on Tony's enough. Usually before chaos erupted in the compound whilst Tony and Loki looked smug.

So he admittedly didn't know much about Royal families Underhill. They differed from Royal human families quite a bit from what little he knew. No matter who Mab married, it would not make them a king, for instance. They wouldn't have power over Winter. The King of Winter was an opposing force to Mab, and he doubted he was the father of the Lady of Winter. However, he didn't think the Queen of one of the most powerful courts Underhill often found herself delivering messages. Important or otherwise.

"I'm not sure that would be the best plan, I have already gotten lost several times this morning. We'd just end up wandering in circles." 

"Ah, I understand. Our dear boy is rather fond of mazes, you see. He tends to build them everywhere. I am quite fond of them myself. I did a little research into you after our little encounter in that bizarrely coloured realm. The trees and shrubbery look as if crafted from blood, yet the villages were rather sweet and idyllic. Edward, did you know this man was known as the Winter Soldier?"

White-haired Edward didn't like that very much and glowered at him as if it had been _ his _ idea. He decided to avoid that part of the conversation with a ten-foot barge pole.

"That's exactly what I thought, and I was eyeing the bushes as if they were going to jump me." 

"Very interesting, I believe you will be good for Ryn. He has a tendency to overwork, and I'm quite invested in the dear boy. He needs a little Winter near him."

This was utterly bizarre, and he nearly cheered when he felt a flicker in his chest a few seconds before Tony suddenly stepped out from behind him. 

"I'd say I was glad to receive you, but we all know that I have things to attend to other than this." 

"Charming as ever dear one. The universe will not end should you take a few days for yourself."

Tony and Mab smiled at each other with oddly similar looks, for the life of him James couldn't work out if they were friends or enemies. Or maybe that was his problem. He was trying to impose human structures on Fae. 

Also, the part of James' brain that viewed royalty as this… untouchable thing, baulked at how Tony was just casually chatting to one of the most powerful beings Underhill.

Mab held out her hand, which apparently meant _ something _ as everyone suddenly froze—watching with an intensity that James could feel. Tony matched the gesture. A few inches from each other. 

"That's an awful risky thing to do with me now." 

"Hm, the Loci formed along the Bane then?" 

Tony nodded and then magic practically burst out when they touched, enough that it made his nose itch. He'd honestly had thought Tony was entirely free with the magic back home, but it was nothing compared to Underhill. Frost curled in the air around Tony's wrist and black ribbons coiled around Mabs for a second until they dove for Tony and Mabs skin. The Iron and Winter magic looked as if it stabbed into their flesh.

Tony's hand had a developed light covering of Frost, but Mabs had back lines running across her hand and wrist. It looked painful for both of them, yet both of them stood, unconcerned, bored even. They were not even looking down at their hands, maintaining constant eye contact. The other two had leaned forward, watching the proceedings intently. As had the others, but they remained a step back. 

At a signal or after a specific time had passed, somehow they both seemed to know. Tony And Mab suddenly pulled back simultaneously. Both were seemingly unconcerned with the damage they'd dealt or received. This had the feel of something official to James, just not something he understood.

"Strong. This will be a good alliance. You know what Winter tends to do to the week, but then no one could ever accuse you of that. Ah, Johan, you may take us to our suite now." 

"Enjoy your stay, Mab."

Tony took his hand with his uninjured hand and swept them both away to his room, where he immediately wrapped his hand in a blanket. 

"Fuck, fuck, fuck that hurt!" 

"Are you Ok? I have no idea what just happened."

"Mab was pitting her power against mine, holding the essence of Winter. I could not have survived that last time I was here, I've seen her kill with it in a fraction of a second. My Loci, however, whilst young, he is _ Iron_. Mab is pure Seelie fae, she is not iron-touched at all, even though she carries a black and bane blade I crafted for her, Iron can kill her. Just touching it will scald her skin." 

"So, what? You two just tried to kill each other to say hello?" 

He might be a little incredulous at that, but then he had not realised the extent of what just happened in front of him. Definitely not friends then.

"Basically. Titania likely won't do the same. Winter values strength, they would rather kill me and plunge the land into war than share it with a weak person." 

"That, is utterly _ insane." _

"To human society, to Fae... That's just Winter, and Winter is Survival in its purest form. It can't help its nature, just as Summer is propagation, abundance and growth. I was expecting some kind of test. I was not expecting that. Mab seems to like you, which I'm not surprised at, she didn't question my claim, so there is that. I was expecting some amusement over the fact I actually laid a claim on someone for the first time." 

He unwrapped his hand, and whilst the ice had melted, his fingers were wholly darkened, not entirely black with what looked like severe frostbite. They had only held hands for 15, 20 seconds at most and Tony's hand looked like he'd be losing several fingers if he were human, if not most of his hand. 

Tony just frowned at it as if it had annoyed him. 

James had a feeling he was going to want to scream into a pillow an awful lot on this trip.

"I'm going to have to make sure this is completely healed before I see her again." 

"Can't show lasting damage?" 

He shook his head as he entered the room he assumed was an office, pulling a vial of something silvery and pouring it over his arm, hissing as the substance encapsulated the damage and sunk in. 

"That should speed things along." 

"So, how many people are turning up again?" 

"No idea, probably at least an envoy from each court, I'm familiar with a lot of courts, I apprenticed and travelled a lot. Plus, it's been a long time since anyone was announced on Seelie land. So I suspect many may turn up, the ones I'm less known in will likely send Envoys. I hope The Queen of Yearning Heart doesn't show, but she might just to spite me. Dian Chet is unlikely to leave his slaughter pit and will certainly send an Envoy. Titania and Mab have little choice. Mab is early. I'd have mentioned it if I'd known she'd just turn up whilst you were exploring. Hmm." 

Tony flicked his fingers of his other hand. The right was still shimmering with the silver substance he had poured onto it. A small blue circle formed between his fingers that he reshaped a few times until he whispered a list of strange symbols. When he was done he flicked it away, vanishing in a flutter of Black Flame. 

"What was that?"

"Calling in a debt to act as a guide for you for the duration of our trip when I am not at your side. Maru is a dewdrop, so he can walk with you without many people seeing him." 

"Huh, okay, that's going to be odd. Also, any idea what that bloke with Mab doesn't like the idea of me being the Winter Soldier. Apparently, Mab researched me." 

"Ah, Edward is the Winter Knight. Bit of a twat. Human, well. Kind of… probably grouching at another human laying claim to Winter." 

James was starting to think that Humans don't stay 'Human' very long here. Judging by how many 'kind of' humans he'd met already. But then he was 'kind of' human now too he supposed. Or rather might always have been so?

Before he could ask anything else, a tiny flying blob of yellow light entered the room. He was looping around Tony's head before bobbing up and down and leaving James blinking. When he'd said someone who wouldn't be seen, he'd thought maybe an invisible person? Not a tiny glow bug. 

"Hey Maru, mind looking after Snowflake here? It's his first time Underhill and I'm guessing you know what's happening." 

The glow bug, Maru, zipped around excitedly to that before shooting over to him. This close he could see that Maru was not a bug but rather a teeny tiny person with gossamer wings. He was dressed in reds and Oranges over golden tanned skin. Amber curly hair floated around him. After hovering for a second, he nodded before diving into his hair. He felt the little guy shifting around until he got comfortable, he guessed. 

"You may call me Maru, fragile creature. I am to keep you safe as the hounds descend upon The Black Guardian. He is friend of Wyldfae. I will gladly be your guide." 

He was going to start keeping a list of what people called Tony. Some seemed framed around his weapon, titles such as The Balance or something to do with Iron, his jobs featured too occasionally. Black Guardian was a new one. But then Maru was the first Wyldfae he had encountered, so that may be why he had not heard it before. They could have entirely different titles for him. Tony had said that he had more titles and James was just starting to get a scope for how much. Tony was rarely idle, so it made sense in a way, given the way Fae seemed to work.

"Ah, that's great. I got lost eight times today trying to find the kitchen and then got spotted by a Faerie Queen. I'll take all the help I can get." 

He heard snickering coming from the little guy, before a light feeling of warmth spread through him from where he sat. 

"I like you, fragile creature."

"Be careful with your wrist near him. Maru is very sensitive to Iron."

"I'll be careful. Don't want to hurt the little guy."

* * *

He was sitting in a garden with Tony, getting an idea of the rules and regulations. For a place that seems to change with a thought, there were _a_ _lot_ of rules. Tony suddenly sat up sharply, eyes flicking towards the large gates that were opening. 

"Oh, fuck me. Why is everyone early?" 

So, there will be more people he was going to be ducking then. The procession was eerily identical to Winter so he'd hazard a guess that this was Summer. 

They seemed slightly cheerier than the others, the lady was wearing a shifting green dress and had long, brown sun-streaked hair as she practically skipped up to Tony to hug him before the Queen came over. She was surprisingly similar to Mab, her skin closer to the gold of Tony's than the pale white. He now saw Tony's mixed heritage clearer, the Summer delegations golden skin was darker and more pronounced than Tony's.

"Ah, little Bane Knife, how are you taking the news?" 

"Probably better if you'd stop calling me that." 

"You'll miss those days soon enough dear." 

"And why is that?" 

"Because in a few days hence, every one of Underhill will _ know _ your name." 

He was starting to understand now why Tony kept warning him off the idea of putting Winter and Summer into human definitions of good and evil. 

It had taken Tony a few hours to completely heal the damage Mab had caused by her little test, but he could feel the pain that seared through Tony at Titania's words even as he seemed utterly unaffected. The man he assumed was the Summer Knight smiled and waved at him jauntily as they continued into the castle was a stark contrast to a storm of feeling he was picking up off Tony.

When they were inside, Tony dropped back down onto the bench with him.

"There are only two courts here, and I'm already so done with this." 

Tony stretched, head tilted with a frown on his face. 

"What is it?" 

"Hetaris doesn't like the presence of Seelie Queens when I'm not wearing the Crown, and he's grumpy about it. As far as he's concerned, I'm not wearing enough iron." 

James couldn't help laughing, because it was just so far out of his depth, it was ridiculous, but Tony looked like he was just as grumpy himself. As grumpy as an actual, enormous mountain.

"So, you two are being grumpy at each other?"

"Yes, except he's a _ mountain, made of iron. _ I don't think anyone could wear as much Iron as he desires and still be able to _ walk. _ I suppose he has a point about the Crown. I am vulnerable without it in a way. I can still hold Iron like Mab did Winter, but… it is weaker than it could be. I am not as I could be. With the Crown… no Fae, virtually no-one could remove it with my true consent. It's like taking the bind of your Fire. Right now, the potential is there, but it is still bound." 

"Have you come to any conclusions thinking about it?"

"I… I don't know. I know what I want, but I am unsure if that is baseless selfish greed."

"Tony. Before I got waylaid by Winter, do you know what I spent today doing?"

"Getting my staff to call my house a castle."

"Well, yes, but apart from that. I've been talking to people, finding out how they came here. Have you ever taken a step back and actually looked at what you've built here. This is a country where I am yet to see _ anyone _ hungry, homeless or miserable."

"Well I'd hope not, we have things in place for...oh."

The softly stunned look on Tony's face made him smile as he just let Tony think through all that for a minute.

"A Fae carrying the debt that I carry should only be focused on balancing it out."

"A debt that you can't even feel? For acts you were forced to commit. If you truly feel you should be carrying that debt, then you think I should be carrying the life debt for everyone I killed under Hydra. Do you?"

"Of course not. I would never believe that."

"Then why are you different."

Tony dropped his head into his hands.

"I don't know. I've been chasing this debt for so long. I don't think I know how to put it aside."

"Small steps. Do something that you truly want that you have been denying yourself because of it."

"You not going to recommend the crown?"

"Oh definitely, but I have a feeling this feeling that the Crown is one in a long line of things you have been denying yourself because of this non-existent debt."

That Tony visibly flinches tells him that he has hit the nail right on the head. James can't help but wonder just how long Tony has been doing this to himself. From how bad that flinch was, James thinks it is a long time and far worse than he presumed. Tony is a master at covering reactions like that.

"I also worry that you are putting yourself at risk without taking the Crown. Especially with all these people coming here, if Hetaris is worried, then I am too as he knows more about what your kin are capable of. I don't want you to get hurt. You'll still be you. Still be Tony or Ryn. That's what is important, I think, no matter what power you get or what mantle you take on. The people who matter will not see you differently. Most of the people I've met since arriving already see you as The King of Iron, you know?" 

Tony shrugged, which he thought was Tony planning on ignoring the subject. But the shrug covered something closer to a full-body shudder before suddenly his clothing rippled into what he'd come back from meeting the mountain the first time, which as a concept, wasn't getting less weird with time. In the sunlight, the dark silver clothing picked up a shimmer here and there, but the Wards were so black they seemed to absorb light. The shirt framed the woad around his collarbones and his Blue Fire. He missed a few things last night too. A thick leather Warded belt and heavy, black shoes. It is very close to Tony's gear when fighting, nothing similar to styles on Earth. It is also apparent that he is battle-ready, but there is a fancier look and an air of gravitas to the outfit. James isn't entirely sure how, just something about how it comes together.

He attached the sheathed Reaper blade to his belt too which James found curious as he had never known Tony actually to wear his weapons like that. Especially not outside of a fight but that might be because how do you wear a scythe? James has a feeling it has more to do with that specific blade, though. Bane means Death for many Underhill. Tony is Underhill's executioner. With a Bane twisted sword. So he thinks wearing the sword is essential. Which was when James actually noticed that the sheath was _ different _ than the last time he'd seen it. Half ice and silver crystals, half flowering vines and silver flowers

Now, the flowering vines that started from the top, shifted into a familiar black metal in the middle with tiny silver flames worked into it. Then continuing onto the ice wrapped silver. It looked as if it were a single thread wrapped around the entire length of the sheath that changed for each third.

He wondered how the Sheath seemed to know about the politics of Underhill? Expecting the answer was magic really, given this was Underhill. He wondered if Tony had noticed yet.

"Better?" 

"Still missing something." 

"You know, you and Hetaris literally said that at the same time. I heard a damned echo in my head." 

The stone box that still made his teeth ache just being near it flashed into his hands. Tony gripped it tight enough that his fingers turned white and his attention was so laser-focused, Tony let his magic slip. James watched quite fascinated as the leaves on the tree above them darkened from green to reds and golds of Autumn. Tony was utterly oblivious, but James was enjoying watching what happened when Tony let that control slip. He didn't like the _ reasons_, but James really did like these slips. He liked to see how Tony effortlessly affected the world around him. He liked to see how nature would shift and change, how plants or trees moved, so it looked like they were almost reaching for him. How pitch-black ribbons of magic flit around him. Like how ice followed Mab and summer flowers followed Titania.

His amusement at watching the world react to Tony's magic stuttered slightly when Tony opened the box. 

James had not been expected _ that. _

The stone and iron box reeked of sheer power. Anytime he had walked past it in Tony's rooms, he had felt the three different aspects and the blatant power in the box. Felt them flit across his senses in a way that he had him wanting to pick it up. His fingers skimming across the stone on their own volition. That he had picked it up a few times, which had been terrifying as the urge to do that had come from the box itself and not from him. 

It _ liked _ James, and it wanted James to pick it up and take it to Tony. It made him _ want _that too.

James had had to keep several feet around it, lest he end up carrying it all the way to Tony before he realised what he was doing. Whilst a part of him wanted Tony to put it on, even though he wasn't entirely sure why it was so _ strong, _ and that was before the box started encouraging him. James did not want to back Tony into a corner or force him into it. Even if he wanted it. 

All of this showed that James just how damned powerful that box and its contents were. He thought he had a good idea of how powerful it was.

Then Tony opened it.

He was _wrong._

He was so fucking wrong, it was almost funny, and if he could breathe or move right now, he would laugh. If he wasn't sitting, he was pretty sure he would have dropped.

James had stood in front of Mab and Titania now, and both of them had enough power that you could viscerally feel it around them. Tony hadn't had that. Oh, Tony was strong, but the Queens there was something more, on top of the irritating compulsion to drop to your knees when they _ looked _ at you.

Even after Tony had returned from the mountain, his power level had been steadily increasing, but it wasn't even close to the level of Mab and Titania, whose power alone made you _ want _ to kneel before them just when they _ looked _ at you. It wasn't that it forced you; it made you _ want _to do that. As if it was a forgone conclusion. It made staying standing against it tricky when he wasn't used to it. James also knew that that was simply a natural effect, they were likely tamping it down, and he wondered how long someone would last on their feet if they looked at them with the intention of them kneeling.

Tony's power level outstripped most people in the convoys with ease, but Mab and Titania were practically on a different planet with that power difference.

Mab's Crown had looked like it crafted of frost and silver. Delicate, beautiful and brittle like ice. Titania's had looked like it had been grown rather than constructed. Tony had told him it was Goldenwood, a tree only found in the heart of summer. With silver leaves and small silver blooms. Tony's had a little darker feel around it, it was obviously made of iron, but it was black. It looked like several thin pieces twisted together, delicate but undoubtedly strong. Silver was wrapped through it in complicated knotwork patterns with what looked like flames in silver, but it was mostly Crown-shaped like the others. They were all so different, and yet, there was something more than the silver that tied the three of them together.

James could see that if you didn't pick it up correctly, there was a good chance of getting stabbed. The points seemed almost sharpened to a bright steel edge. Considering it was Iron, that could be very bad for some Fae. Like the other two Crowns, it was utterly beautiful in its own way. Mabs was ethereal and dangerous, Titania's bright and thriving, Tony's was intricate and ruthless. 

As Tony removed the Crown from the box, James was forced down off the bench, unable even to remain sitting under the sheer swirling vortex of magic and a power that was suddenly focused on Tony. A wave of force crashed out, the grass around them instantly changed into a dense flowering field, and the tree they were under was now caught somewhere in the middle of spring and autumn. Red and golden leaves fluttered down around him.

James could feel it in his bones, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. His Sight wasn't faring much better, and he could barely see anything other than the three distinct, powerful magics crackling around Tony.

Tony put the box on the floor before he straightened up, seemingly oblivious to everything that was happening around him. James' vision then completely whited out under a force of power that he couldn't even name. Could have been Spring, Autumn or Bane, could have been all three. It was so high level all James knew was that it was _ Power. _Then everything went black. Leaving him floating, his skin tingling under the forces whipping around him, everything was dark, and he didn't feel much of anything on a hum of power and the scent of flowers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> James' Current Goals for Surviving Underhill  
* Get Tony to realise he lives in a Castle  
* Start a conspiracy with Tony's people about the fact he lives in a Castle  
* Don't let a box boss me around  
* Meet the Mountain in Tony's head  
* Find out how many royal people Tony is related to  
* Avoid one on one's with Faerie Queens  
* Unless they are willing to get in on the Castle thing  
* Locate the damned kitchens


	72. Opening Doors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It is rather simple. Simple in the way most simple things are, in that it is remarkably complex."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's to hoping this week's giant Underhill chapters goes off without a hitch!
> 
> And on time too! After the kind of cliffhanger, I thought it would be best to be prompt xD
> 
> (Also really tried to catch those weird Grammarly issues of we're and we'll!)

**James POV **

He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he slowly came to with the feeling of warm hands carding through his hair with magic wrapping around him. Sinking in and removing the ache from his head, and everywhere else actually. He was sure he was lying on the grass, they had been outside, so grass made sense, but he could smell the thick scent of a lot of flowers around him. His fingers brushed over several daffodils as he noticed a large, bright red leaf caught between them.

So, no, that was not just grass anymore. It had been grass when they came out, he was sure of that, but now it was a thick sea of springtime flowers and a smattering of orange and red leaves from the previously green tree above them, that tree was now a striking mix of deep red and oranges, but with small pink and white spring blossoms. 

Instead of the area around the castle being neatly defined as half Spring, half Autumn, the lines had blurred, with both seasons existing in the same space. It wasn't just the grassy area they were sitting in that had been drastically affected. Every green space he could see was changed. The usual feel of magic in the air was heavier too, instead of a brush across his skin he could feel it everywhere, wrapping around him.

Everything looked a little bit (a lot) fairytale-esque, but then considering where he was? It was probably a regular Wednesday.

"Are you back with me Cariad?"

That drew his attention to Tony and wow. How had he not looked up yet? Wow. It was Tony's magic that practically shimmered around them, and it felt heavier, thicker and more substantial than ever before. It effortlessly wrapped around the two of them. Shimmers of different colours flit in and out of view with flashes of red and gold, chased by flurries of Blue Fire and occasional deep, light consuming black. There was a familiar note that he associated with Tony, but there was just so much _ more _ now. It was thicker, like water traded for golden syrup.

As James' head was apparently in Tony's lap, he was looking up, and he noticed that Tony somehow looked more ethereal and Fae than ever before. His braided, black and silver-wrapped hair hung down around his face. Which was unusual as he was pretty sure Tony's hair had not been pulled back and fancied up with a mix of iron and silver before he passed out. Oh, he passed out? Huh. That was when James noticed the Crown.

Somehow he wore the Crown as if it had _ always _ been there, even though James was pretty sure that it was a new addition. New addition sounded right. The sun was shining bright and silver behind him, and likely James' overworked sight just added to the image, throwing bright, shining and silvered streams of light around a corona of Blue Fire and Black Ribbons of power.

Tony looked concerned too, although James couldn't think why he would be worried, but then his head was a little fuzzy and pretty much stuck on 'wow'. Definitely wow.

"James? You're just sort of blinking, are you okay? If I had known your sensitivity to my magic had already grown so much, I would have done that alone. I did not realise you were retaining the magic until you completely passed out. It is normal for people near a Fae taking a Crown to kneel. I did not realise there was a problem until the magic began to clear. I can't find any physical damage, but I believe you've seriously overworked your Sight on top of an overload."

James attempted to lift his arm because Tony looked sad and although he had no idea why exactly he didn't like that. It didn't help that his tongue felt heavy as his arms. Actually, all of him just felt heavy, but good at the same time. Warm, fuzzy and comfy. Everything is all pretty and shiny with moving lights.

"M'fine"

"Sure you are, you blacked out sweetheart, and you are still quite out of it, here, let me get you that purple drink you're so hooked on, it will help clear your head. You're suffering from a magic-overload, your body didn't know what to do with all of the atmospheric magic. So instead of allowing it to flow through you, it kept on building up. I need to teach you some grounding exercises if your sensitivity has already increased so much. You have advanced further than I presumed when we checked your Core. You should not even have access to atmospheric magic yet, let alone be able to call as much as you did, you had enough stored to easily cast higher level Wardings with ease and hardly feel it."

James was only taking in half of what Tony was saying, and the words he was taking in just didn't seem to be sticking. He was mostly just watching him talk and still stuck on 'wow.' Tony was shaking his head but also smiling and chuckling lightly, which was an improvement over the worry and looking sad. James certainly preferred him smiling.

"Should smile more."

"Oh, should I now? And why is that then?"

"Pretty when you smile."

"I'll remember do so."

Tony blushing and chuckling was even better even if he didn't know why he was blushing. One of the hands left his hair, and the thick magic wrapping around him thinned slightly. He must have made a noise to voice his very much _ not _ liking of that because Tony chuckled lightly, leaning down to kiss his forehead which he supposed made up for it.

"Only a second Cariad, I needed my hand."

A bottle appeared in front of him with the familiar scent of blackberries and honey utterly distracted him from whatever Tony even said, he was only retaining a small portion of what he was saying, but he liked listening anyway. He tried to grab the bottle and immediately gulp it down as he suddenly realised just how thirsty he was, but Tony quickly pulled his hands away and made him drink at a sensible pace. 

The restorative properties of the drink, coupled with Tony's magic, finally started to clear things up in his head. After Tony realised he wasn't going to make himself sick, he released the bottle and returned to his hair and the steady hum of heat and magic started up again at the level when he woke up. His head was starting to feel less fuzzy, and it was easier to think and remember. He still felt positively awesome, even though he was still hypersensitive to everything around him, but his arms were easier to move, so that was a definite improvement.

Tony was healing him he realised, that was the magic wrapped around them, or helping with whatever thing he said when James was struggling to pay attention beyond- 'Oooo pretty lights' and 'Wow.' It felt nothing like the few times Tony had healed him before, like Tony's Fire, his magic had a heavy feel, almost as if he could clutch it in his hand even though there was nothing physical there. He could see how even though the focus was on him, it was affecting the world around them. Gold and red starbursts were flickering here and there, the already dense sea of spring flowers was still growing. What looked like a raspberry bush was growing around the trunk of the tree, and he could _ see _it happening.

The flickers of black ribbons occasionally brushing his skin were hard to miss too. That branch of magic was very focused on him he noticed, like Tony's Blue Fire that was once again wrapped around his wrist. Tony shifted slightly, which pulled his attention back up, and even though his head was clearer, there was still a sense of wow. James noticed that he looked concerned as he steadily worked on him, and he had to remind himself that he passed out. In his defence, he was trying to wrap his head around the fact Tony was a _ King _ now, or would be soon? Sure, he'd _ known _ that when he'd encouraged Tony to put the Crown on, but having him sat above him _ wearing _ it? Feeling that immense field of magic around him, and knowing Tony, he was probably tamping it down still. 

James thought he would be freaked, but really? It looked good on him, and it felt weirdly... right. That might be the fuzzy, warm, oo pretty lights talking, but it felt good. Like something had been missing and not it was there it all made sense. He was trying to remember what he said, or what Tomy said but wasn't having much luck, hopefully, he didn't say anything embarrassing.

Seeing just the excess overflow of magic from Tony putting the Crown on and how he was changing everything around them in a flash would be very intimidating, if it wasn't Tony. As it was Tony, James just felt a fierce amusement for how fucked anyone attacking Tony would be. The idea of him being more powerful appealed in that way to watch him use that strength to take down those who threatened the balance.

He wasn't exactly sure how this process of making him a King even worked. Was he technically King yet? If it was just the mountain and the Crown, then surely all these people shouldn't be showing up to Tony's castle uninvited. James knew if Tony could do it without having anyone turn up, he would in a heartbeat. His power level had seriously jumped, blindingly so, but James was pretty sure that things had not been finalised yet.

James was starting to realise that these things tended to come in threes more often than not. He had a hunch that bonding with Hetaris was the first part. The second was Tony _ consenting _ and accepting the Crown. Tony's power level was now at a point that he could feel it like a constant, comforting hum across his senses, much, much higher than it had been before. Comparing him now to just an hour ago, they weren't even on the same planet. _ Now _ James could honestly see him standing next to Mab or Titania in terms of sheer Power.

"Better?"

"Yeah, getting there, I can't believe I fainted. This is embarrassing."

"It shows your strength and potential."

James looked up at Tony, giving him a look of utter confusion. How did fainting show strength? Surely it showed weakness. Looking up at Tony didn't help much, even though he was less do-lally now, Tony was still framed by silver light from Underhill's strange silver sun, which was mixing with Tony's aura of Blue Fire and what he assumed was Bane Magic, and his Sight was still a little sensitive... There were the random starbursts of bright golds and deep reds too, which he believed was Spring and Autumn. Stephen was going to faint when he saw the changes to Tony's aura. There was something else too, a shimmering backdrop that he couldn't put a name too that seemed to feed into everything else. He had felt it on Mab too, Power so thick that that was all James could register from it. Even when he Sight wasn't overworked.

"How does fainting show strength? Pretty sure fainting means weakness."

"For you to be affected so drastically by my magic means that you carry a wealth of power yourself. If you had little potential, you would not have reacted like this. Most would simply feel compelled to kneel, which is what I thought was happening until you suddenly collapsed to the side. When we assessed your core, I had not thought you had advanced to the point magic in your vicinity would build up, you are ahead by several months of an apprentice at your level. With how much you stored in such a short time, if I did not know you, I would put you at level 2 or 3. Which considering you shouldn't even be near level 1 yet is quite remarkable."

James was undoubtedly taking in _ some _ of what Tony was saying now, although he firmly had to focus and watch Tony as he spoke or his mind seemed to want to wander. It was more interested in the magic flitting around them. Whilst it was like the Queens… it also wasn't.

Like that hum of magic and compulsion to kneel, a feeling telling him that that was what he should do, but it had been easy to shrug off. It was like it wasn't aimed at him. It wasn't that it wasn't compatible, it unquestionably was, like there were pieces to slot in that jigsaw. But they were small pieces. There was a degree of detachment from their power. James thought it was because he was not of their Courts.

Tony's magic was much different. It seemed drawn to him. It was undoubtedly compatible, and it was a massive part of that puzzle. It wrapped around him with feelings he could almost read, feelings that were _ separate _ from Tony. Because Tony was concerned, worried, nervous but the magic said protect, keep safe, _ mine. _

James wondered if Tony's claim on him even made him part of his Court? Maybe that was why he was affected so drastically compared to how he had felt under Summer and Winter? Before Tony even put the Crown _ on, _ he had been unable to even stay sat on the bench. Let alone trying to stand.

Still, fainting seemed a truly peculiar way to display strength, so he pulled a face as he pointed out the unusual nature of it.

"That seems backwards."

It made Tony laugh, really laugh too. Like a weight was pulled away from him somehow, but James wasn't sure what exactly, as he could tell Tony was feeling a lot about the Crown in general and most of it was good emotions. 

"The level you should be at is strengthening your core as I told you earlier. You strengthen it for many reasons, but primarily so you can draw in magic from sources around you and then hold it. So you do not have to drain yourself, it is something unique to Fae. Your core is seemingly strong enough to take in a lot of magic. Unfortunately, your body is not yet accustomed to holding magic, you don't know your limits, and you don't know how to release the power building up inside you, which is like putting a glass beneath a tap on full power. Understand?"

"Okay, I'll take your word for it that I have mad skills as a Fae wizard."

There was something just underneath that James couldn't quite touch, but Tony was laughing, shaking slightly with laughter that lit up his face and had the gold of his eyes brightly shimmering. The smile Tony gave him when he calmed down, and the gentle kiss on his forehead that shot warmth and magic through him made this passing out business more than worth it. At least in James' mind. Tony glanced around at the densely packed flower field he was sat in, his fingers brushing across some bluebells and another flower that James recognised. He turned to investigate and grinned, Puschkinia. Russian snowdrops.

James felt slightly bad for crushing said flowers, but whilst he felt better, he was not moving yet. He was comfy and feeling way too good for moving.

"This is going to take some getting used to." 

He tilted his head up to look up at Tony. He was focused on the flowers around him with an unreadable expression on his face. Gently plucking a huge, golden-tinged leaf from the Puschkinia he had been admiring. The flowers were heavily mixed around them, but closest to him was a thick covering of just the Puschkinia.

"Bad getting used to?" 

"Oh no, _ nothing _ about this feels bad. This feels _ amazing. _ The thing is, after 3 or 4 millennia, we tend to plateau power-wise. At least 98% to 99% of our population does. After that, there are small raises and dips, but generally by then, barring extreme circumstances and compelling individuals, you've reached your potential. Very, very rarely, some will continue gaining past that point. Will continue to gather power or come into titles that trigger substantial leaps of power. I have always considered myself one of the 98%, yet, that 1-2%? Nearly all of them are of my blood. It is seen as a… family trait. 

"This… I can feel everything on my land, but not only that. It's… more, so much more, and I'll carry it with me too, even through to the Firelands. That gift of Underhill effects all my magic, not just that of Spring or Autumn. My last considerable power jump was taking on this blade, and that was quite a while ago. I was so sure that I had reached the end of my climb. Now I can _feel_ the magic of Spring and Autumn James, that magic was _lost, _lost before I was even born, it was legend. No one alive remembered what it felt like, just the pain and cold absence of the seasons. I've always felt the magic inherent to Iron, but now it's much more. You, Rhodey and maybe the other Reapers might find some changes too over time. Especially you and Rhodey as you are closer to me, the others are many realms away." 

Tony waved his hand over a cluster of Tulips that were still closed. It was like watching one of those sped-up videos. Where the flower blooms in seconds, except it was literally happening in real-time in front of him.

"I understand, you've been this way for thousands of years, and suddenly things are changing, it's going to be weird. It doesn't have to be bad, though, and it looks good on you. You're allowed to enjoy this. Did the other Queens get their Crowns young then?" 

"Mab was around... 7500 when the Crown passed to her, so as I said, it is not unheard of, I just never expected it to happen to _ me. _Even though my family does tend to produce Fae who continue to gather Power, it's weird, but... you truly think so? I'm not freaking you out and sending you screaming in the other direction?"

Ah, _ that _ was why he looked nervous. He tried to put the feeling into what he was saying, to put Tony's mind at ease.

"You're still you. Still Tony, still Cadeyrn. It looks _ good _ on you, it's like you've always meant to have it or something, like it had been missing and now it makes sense, you know my Sight has a thing about being weird. But it's good."

Tony sucked in a breath, and his eyes widened slightly. James felt the shudder that went down Tony's spine too. It might be a little selfish, but he hoped others knowing his name wouldn't reduce the effect that he had on Tony when he used it. Tony had said that feelings could be conveyed that way, sure he had been talking about anger at the time, but James hoped that it worked with good feelings too.

"Weird how? Your Sight is immensely powerful Cariad, not weird. You have a natural talent for it that almost rivals my mothers before her Foresight took over. It is stronger than mine for insight such as this. Mine is hyper-focused upon the Balance that I don't see much unless it is about the Balance. Whilst this has some bearing on the Balance... It tells me little about anything else. You see more, and... you get the feeling I was _meant_ for this?"

"You have red and gold zipping around your aura, the sun behind you is lighting everything up, the Blue of your Fire is burning hot around you with these black velvet ribbons. It just feels… right."

Tony gave him an unreadable look but regarded him with a level of intensity that he was listening to every single word, that James was pretty sure he was explaining awfully. That he seemed to value his opinion so much, even though he'd barely been a Reaper for a hot minute. It made James careful with his words, he didn't want Tony to doubt himself, but he couldn't guarantee that, however, he could ensure that he didn't doubt that James wasn't going anywhere. He was sticking around.

"It doesn't matter which title you have to me, Balance, Dienyddiwr, Patron of Reapers, Merchant of Death, Guardian of Life, Scythe, Black Guardian, Blue Fire, King of Iron, King of Wyldfae, King of Spring and Autumn and probably a hundred more I haven't encountered yet. To me, you'll still be safety, protection and happiness. To me, you're home."

"Wow."

Tony just stared at him, slightly wide-eyed, and for a moment he thought he had screwed up until a small, stunned smile crossed his face. Which made keeping a mental list of Tony's titles worth it.

"I truly can't scare you away, can I? I think I prefer that to any title or gift bestowed upon my person in millennia."

"Nope, not at all, I'm sticking around. You're stuck with me now. If anything since you put that on, I feel…"

He didn't know how to put it into words, as he made vague hand gestures to try and understand the feeling. The idea of Tony facing any of the other visitors alone, which had kind of been the plan, was now _ wrong. _ On so many levels, he had to be at his back. He couldn't be elsewhere. It was fundamentally _ wrong. _Even though him being there when he met the Seelie Queens had been an utter accident that they had been coming up with plans not to repeat. Now that idea had his stomach twist and his skin itch.

"Has it altered your powers?"

"I don't think so? I don't _feel_ different. I just… I can't wait upstairs as you meet people alone; it feels... _ wrong." _

"That is odd; me taking on a Mantle of Power should not affect you. Unless maybe…"

"Maybe?"

"Maybe there are other Mantles of Power in your future."

That had James blinking, eyes growing wide because he had not expected _ that. _ When he had taken on the Reaper Mantle, he had kind of expected that to be it. Then he had found himself with the Black Fire Mantle, and he couldn't get his head around that he might have _ another. _

"Calm my Medelwr Esgyrn. Any further Mantles you may take, are only if you wish to take them. The Black Fire has always been yours. No other Mantle operates like Fire. Only choice could bring another mantle to your shoulders. Fire chooses the bearer. Others are more like the Crown. I had to consent and choose to wear it. I will have to consent to the Ascension and every step of it. At each step, I must consent and win. It cannot just choose me without consent. I would not allow such a thing to befall you. Understand?"

Tony seemed to take his shock wrong too. Trying to calm him as if panicked, which he wasn't, at least not for the reasons Tony thought. He certainly wasn't _ against _ anything that came his way; he just didn't think he was the best man for the job. Which as soon as he thought that he nearly laughed and wondered if Tony or himself would ever stop thinking they were not the best person for the mantles that chose them. He wondered if that was why they chose them.

"Medelwr Esgyrn? It's not that, I… I can't believe that I'm the one getting these things. Surely there are better people than me?"

James also figured he needed an award for pronouncing half these words.

"Medelwr Esgyrn… it is the title of a Bone Reaper, like Morcant. I wish you could see yourself as Rhodey and I see you. Morcant always told me I need a Bone Reaper at my side, sometimes my mind gets caught, and I need that perspective. You have been almost effortlessly falling into that role, but it is your choice. I do not demand such things, if you wish to be a Reaper and a Reaper alone, that is what you will be."

That went both ways. He wished Tony could see himself how he and Rhodey saw him. Also, he could tell Tony was now worried he was pushing him towards another Mantle, he'd have to be careful about that. Although he was bewildered now, he couldn't be a Bone Inspector.

"Huh? But I'm not a Bone Inspector?"

"I told you that you have the spirit of a Bone Reaper."

"But I can't _ actually _ be one, can I? I've not been trained or chosen. I'm not from the right part of the world even."

"You have not been trained, no, but you were chosen, James. The training can easily be rectified. Bone Reapers are a specialist within the Order and often trained by myself."

James was mostly confused now because the title Tony gave him had a similar effect as Tony speaking his _ name… _Medelwr Esgyrn had sent warm tingles shooting down his spine. How could that be?

"But… When?"

"Morcant, the very first Bone Reaper. He claimed you as of his line."

"I don't remember that happening when we spoke to the creepy ghosts."

"The message was for me, but now I can pass it on. I was waiting for things to calm down, but that sort of... slipped out without me intending it too. When Morcant found a Bone Inspector, especially a Bone Reaper, he would say _ 'This one has the feel of a Bone Inspector' _to claim them as his line. So, on that night, he claimed you whilst the Fates wrote prophecy of you. Apart from the warning of the Fomoire, everything that night was about you."

"But, why, why me? I'm not that important?"

"Fy Sidan, you discount yourself too quickly. You read my titles, yet you seem to forget your own. That you have _ already _ called to you at the very _ beginning _ of your path! If you choose it, the title of Medelwr Esgyrn, Bone Reaper, is waiting for you. There is more too, but I cannot discern all of them yet.

"Black Fire, Unifying Force, Battle Wraith. All this, and you have only just gotten started. I can _ feel _ the potential around you. You guard me, even from myself, you are _ wrapped _ in potential, but it is entirely up to you what you do with it. I know more than any how it feels to have things forced upon you, I gained a few titles during my time with Molaich that he forced me to accept. If you wish to remain as you are now, my Apprentice Reaper with Fae magic within, then that is what you shall be.

"Do you think I would be wearing this Crown if not for you? I may never have fully transitioned beyond the first stage. The magic of Spring and Autumn would have stayed lost to all of Underhill. The Wyldfae would not be regaining that power as we sit right now. Yet, because of you, we are _ surrounded _ by Autumn and Spring."

Tony was making it sound like he had been instrumental in finding the lost magic; all he'd done was side with the mountain and passed out. He had pointed out some obvious things to Tony too, that he probably would have gotten to on his own eventually.

"Oh."

"Hmm, Hetaris wants to meet you now by the way." 

"Your mountain wants to meet me?" 

"Yup. He thinks you're a good influence on me, as you got me to take up the Crown. I think we are good influences on each other, maybe?"

"Right, right. So, is this ever going to stop being weird?" 

Tony laughed, which was an improvement. James was taking that as a win and wondered if they could take a break from his giant folder of rules and get some lunch. Plus, his mind was buzzing under the implications of what Tony said. He found himself oddly optimistic of the chances of future mantles. If it was anything like his Fire? Like the Reaper Mantle, or even like the lofty goal of maybe someday being a Bone Inspector, James was curious as to what it was.

"Ah, my aunt and Arawn just crossed over. I seem to be able to feel people crossing the borders now without thinking. That is interesting. Will have to find a way to manage that or it will get annoying." 

"Is this the one we met when we got here? The one who you said is made of Flowers? I like her, she's nice."

"Take the flowers of the oak, and the flowers of the broom, and the flowers of the meadowsweet, and from those they conjured up the fairest and most beautiful maiden anyone had ever seen. Now she is Lady of Life. No one thought she would take a Crown, my mother sort of adopted her as her sister after all that terrible business happened. She has done well for herself. Arawn is the Lord of Death, sort of my Boss in certain circumstances. I can tell you their stories someday."

James was pretty sure he had their names written down somewhere. He had a list of Courts that Tony deemed safeish, not entirely safe but okay and the ones James was to stay as far away from as possible. None were completely safe, that just wasn't the way of Underhill.

"I like the idea of that, but then you know I'm kind of hooked on collecting these stories."

"Of course you are, it is in your nature. I need to change the bind I laid on you if that's alright?"

"Sure, why?"

"My powers are further advanced compared to what they were that night I laid the claim upon you, and there are now more names by which I may lay claim to you. I would like your claim to reflect that change. Plus, it will make you safer."

Suddenly there was a lot of magic around him before Tony even leaned down. It was still warm and wrapped around him even though Tony was not actively healing him anymore. He hadn't realised he was still surrounded by it. As Tony finished speaking, however, that feeling increased until he could feel it as a light pressure on his skin. It made him feel safe and protected. The power level was distinct from anything he had previously experienced. 

James guessed that was the difference of a Fae Lord and a Faerie King. He felt it all over and was close to the light-headed haze he had woken up with, but at the same time, everything felt clear and sharp, but soft and shiny. Like he could feel everything around them that had been touched by Spring and Autumn somehow. Like he had felt Winter slide past him, and a bare brush of Summer, this wrapped around him, making him feel safe.

"Wow."

"That's better. I'll be surprised if someone is stupid enough to make a move on you now. Before I had used my titles of Underhill, my main two and a few others. Now it starts with King of Iron, King of Autumn and Spring and King of Wyldfae. I might not have completed the process yet, but I have the power to begin to lay claim to the titles."

James was left blinking in shock at that, that he could feel it wrapped around him like a cloak and a strong tether to Tony. It made the previous claim seem mild, like a person holding his hand. This was coiled protectively around him, which felt like Spring, ready and willing to defend him that tasted like Autumn. The strongest was Iron wrapped with the familiar feel of Blue Fire and sheer Power that just said _ 'mine'. _He noticed that his bracer was also lightly flickering with a small amount of Blue Fire too, barely noticeable unless you watched, or could feel the protective Flame like he could.

"So... am I part of your Court? Around Mab and Titania, it was like I felt their power, I could feel Winter and a little of Summer I think, maybe it was my sight? There was a detachment to it. Like I could acknowledge it, but it went around me. With you, it feels much different."

"A claim on a human does not usually make one a part of Court, but you are not a simple claimed human, you _ feel _ the seasons? You are a Reaper, wrapped in potential with debt and standing that you have gathered on your own, independent of your benefactor. You could choose to be part of my Court, if you want to be?"

James watched Tony talk because he slipped into that careful neutral voice where he was trying not to influence a person's decision. It usually meant that Tony was hoping for something but would not allow his own hopes to affect another person's consent. He understood Tony's strong desire to ensure those around him consented to what they chose, but James did have to wonder why Tony felt he had to hide his own wishes or desires and figured that was going onto his list to find out why.

For now, the answer to this question was more than easy, and Tony's practically blinding smile and heavy overly flow of happiness told him he answered correctly.

"Of course I want to be part of your Court, it is yours."

"I do not have anything specific yet, for members of my Court to wear. Like you saw the Redcaps wearing their signs of Winter. How those in each delegation looked the part. I am not even sure if that would work, as those of Autumn will look like Autumn, same as Spring. People of my land, even those who are Seelie, have long since considered themselves Iron. I am not sure about something to unify the three unique parts."

"What about that symbol on the back of your new shirt? I mean, I guessed that it was for Iron, Autumn and Spring? A band with the three symbols on would be easy to wear and look quite good."

Tony grinned, calling magic to his hands as he was crafting something. This time he felt the magic starting to build up, just before he was about to say something, Tony paused. Looking at him critically.

"Now that is very strange, you are clearly more advanced than I predicted, you are even picking up on magic from my casting. For now, this is how to ground, to release that magic you feel building up. I will have to split your Reaper Training 50/50 whilst we are here to start you with the basics of your training. It means you have a lot of homework. It will be a while until you learn how to use that power you build up."

"It's good that I enjoy reading then, as if reading about magic is such a hardship."

He rolled his eyes whilst Tony gave him an indulgent smile. His fingers brushing his temple, and Tony was showing him how to ground the magic building up inside him this time. It was a bit of a headrush, leaving him light-headed and dizzy, but it meant he got to stay conscious as Tony moulded magic in his hands. It took constant concentration to release the magic that seemed to want to build up. He focused on that so intently that he didn't even know how long Tony was working or what he was precisely doing. By the time he finished, he was covered in a sheen of sweat and was breathing harder like he had run a mile. 

"As this is a template to see if others may like to adopt something similar and as you came up with it, I personalised yours a little. This will not work for those vulnerable to Iron."

Tony took his arm, running his fingers further up as he already had a band at his wrist. This one wrapped around his upper arm. It also was something he could remove, unlike the other. It looked like two black metals, and one gleaming silver was braided. Iron, Reaper and Silver. Leaving a thick braided torque. There were three white symbols that Tony had somehow carved of Atronach whilst he had been distracted grounding out magic. One of Iron, Spring and Autumn. James grinned, quite happy with how this turned out even with the impromptu magical workout.

"I definitely like this, and that mine is the best."

The gates opened up again after a while and James had thankfully managed to sit up by then. He had meant to ask how the gates opened, but then he'd worked out quite quickly that the answer to 80% of his questions was _ 'magic' _in some form or another. Although he would still ask at some point as he was interested in how it worked. It was like Tony with tech back home. He put tech in everything, and Underhill had magic in everything. Lots of it too.

He recognised Blodeuwedd on a white unicorn, because why not? Unicorns seemed almost old hat by now. Next to her, was a black, winged horse. 

Which just opened up so many more equine-related questions that he had never expected to have. 

He had expected Arawn to look like the rest of Tony's people, even though Blodeuwedd looked closer to human. For Arawn, all he could see was a large bone mask with twisting antlers. Black cloaks covered the rest of him. He had no idea what he looked like beneath that. Nothing was visible.

Arawn looked more than a little imposing, but then he guessed a Lord of Death was meant to be as such? 

His Crown looked to be crafted from bleached bones in various sizes and shapes. It should look confusing, a pile of bones bound in silver, yet it all came together perfectly to form a chilling Crown. Blodeuwedd's Crown, was unsurprisingly, made of twisting vines that had any flower she wished to grow, from any land where she had walked. Tony had told him that she regularly changed the flowers and they were changed from what he saw on her when they last met, today there were three, rather large, seven petaled, blue flowers. The blue was the exact hue of Tony's Blue Fire. The three large flowers were surrounded by lots of small yellow, orange and black flowers, which was a statement of allegiance if he ever saw one.

As with every Crown he had seen so far, it was also delicately wrapped in silver, Tony had called silver the metal of his people, and he wondered if every Crown Underhill would feature silver…

The patterns of the silver in her Crown were quite similar to Arawn's. They were night and day, and yet he could see they were of one, somehow.

Several people followed behind each of them, each party member looking like it could be polar of the other; each party even had the same amount of people. James wondered if it was a thing they had to plan or if it was just Underhill tradition to bring ten people. 

She was grinning widely when she caught sight of Tony and himself. Obviously happy with how things had turned out, and the wink he got in his direction made James think she knew somehow that he had been involved in encouraging Tony. On a random impulse, he grabbed a few of the uncrushed flowers, a nice variety, but he picked several of the Puschkinia, which was his favourite. He figured that maybe she would like them. She had a thing for flowers, after all.

"Nephew! I see we are not among the first? We did try, but we have further to travel than your neighbours." 

"Unfortunately no, Mab gave me a little test, it went quite well if I do say so myself. Better than my encounter with Titania Have I done anything to anger Titania that I have forgotten? Or is she just making a point because the increase in my borders means a decrease of hers?" 

"As I always say, no one understands Seelie Queens; You're in good company, my Executioner. Summer is of increase, they dislike any kind of loss, even if it is for something they desire. Summer always makes little sense to me." 

Tony nodded as if this made sense and James had no idea what that meant. From what Mab had mentioned in the creepy bloody forest was that she liked the idea of Tony taking a crown. But she was mad that his borders increased? They had to though, or they wouldn't be on par with Summer and Winter. There were enormous grassy plains next to Tony's borders, so it was only taking grass. James found himself understanding Winter more, and they had tried to kill each other, just saying hello.

He honestly should be getting used to the strange, even with this pair, the differences in their voices was _ remarkable. _ Hers was musical, full of life like rivers and the sounds of nature. His was like moving, grinding stones, intoning and striking deep within your bones. 

They both seemed quite friendly with each other, despite the opposing natures of their Courts. Tony was much less guarded around them than he had been with the Summer delegation James noted. Blodeuwedd then swatted at Arawn who chuckled, which was going on his list of 'most bizarre things to happen today'. Given these were Royalty… immortal royalty who were the Lord of Death and Lady of Life… and they were bickering like a happily married couple.

It made them more… people like, even though he could feel their power, his still slightly overworked Sight showed him how they affected the world around them, they had an entwined strength but because of how they were acting, how Tony was relaxed, open and smiling? It somehow lowered his need to guard Tony's back. Still not sure why he felt the need to stand guard or be at Tony's side like that, it wasn't the Bone Reaper thing, that was something entirely different. Although he didn't know how to bring it up again without Tony nearly panicking over the idea he was being forced into something. For now, he decided to observe and keep a mental log of any other changes. He'd work it out.

"Be nice to the boy Arawn." 

"Yes, be nice to me Ary, we're about to break for lunch if you two want to join us?"

"If you cease calling me Ary, of course."

Tony smirked as James decided to hand over the few flowers he had picked to Tony's aunt and then was surprised by how happy she was. He had just a random flash of an idea that flower lady might like flowers. James hadn't expected _ that _ much of a reaction. But Tony had drilled it into his and Rhodes head's about a million times to follow any flashes of inspiration. No matter how small or mundane they might seem at the time. None of them would develop Tony's mother's gift of Foresight as Tony did not carry it, but he had a much lighter version that they did inherit.

"Oh my, this is quite wonderful. I never thought I would gain the opportunity to feel the magic of spring. Not only have you enticed the impossible with my nephew, helped usher this wondrous, precious, forsaken magic back to Underhill, but you offer me some of Spring’s first Blooms? Thank you, dear boy."

His eyes went a little wide at the feeling of thanks, very heavy in his mind whilst Tony was watching, quite impressed. 

James was wondering if he would ever stop doing things Fae found extremely impressive by complete and utter accident or flukes.

No one was going to believe that he'd had lunch with three members of Royalty, of Death, Life and Iron. Well, Rhodes might. Wings and TicTac would have a heart attack, which was totally why he was occasionally taking pictures after receiving permission. 

Blodeuwedd seemed to find it endearing. Underhill doesn't really get those acting as Tourists often. It being seen as slightly hostile, and terrifying to most species of the known universe.

They obviously didn't get anything like humans did tourism. He explained how he had travelled a lot under Hydra but had not been able to enjoy anything considering he wasn't in control, and how Tony was helping him travel. To see things he never thought he would be able to—his way of claiming back some of his life that Hydra had failed to take from him. Tony had been supportive, which he had expected; he had not expected the others to be equally as enthused.

So, Fae getting excited over digital cameras and wanting to join him in being a _ tourist _ was going on his _ 'what is happening' _ list. Tony was trying not to laugh whilst his Aunt was taking an explanation of selfies very seriously. Even Arawn seemed interested. Of all the things modern humans could introduce to Underhill, if it was _ selfies, _ Tony would never let him forget this, and he was going to pass out if he carried on desperately trying not to laugh.

"Will everyone else be arriving in pairs?" 

"Oh no, some will though, Mother always arrives with the Wild Hunt and Big C, but some will come alone. It depends on how close they are. Arawn and Blodeuwedd are very close. The Hunt usually turns up last to these things, but Mother sent word she'll be arriving sooner than usual, and the hunt has already crossed my borders. Math is apparently coming, which is unusual. I Apprenticed under him for centuries, and _ nothing _ could lure him out of his tower. The git used to send me out as Envoy all the damned time; it's what drew Mab's attention to me in the first place, which was probably the bastards intention. Before that, I was an unknown curiosity.

"He always told me I was bound in unmet potential and he didn't like looking at it, it gave him a headache apparently, so he had me travelling all over in the hopes I'd stumble on my fate."

"So, Math is in my yellow column of not going to eat me, but he can be scary? I can't work out if that was nice of him or not? Although I'm guessing meeting Mab was marginally less terrifying for you compared to my morning."

Before Tony could respond, there was a lot of noise coming from outside, horns by the sounds of it. Tony hopped down from the table he'd perched himself and held his hand out. After James had mentioned that he didn't feel comfortable hanging back, Tony hadn't questioned it again. Instead, he gave him the option to meet any, or, all who were arriving. The way Tony took his word and feelings so seriously was quite intimidating sometimes, but… good at the same time. Tony ported them both to the front of the castle. Unlike the first groups, this group was significantly larger and much rowdier. 

Tony's entire stance changed too, from his broad grin and how he strode out confidently to meet them as James followed. It was such a drastic change it left James a little stunned, and it was obvious Tony was happy to see them. 

James knew Fae feelings and emotions tended to bleed over onto people, but they also tended to be expressed in many ways too. More so than humans. A happy human would smile, for Fae, it was a full body and magic affair. Everything from how they held themselves, how they walked or acted. How their magic stretched out and emotions spreading over too. So it was apparent that Tony held much less back greeting this party. Then he would expect as much as his Mother was part of it.

Also, this group had horses… that were just actual horses for a change. 

At least James assumed they were horses. 

If anything, their obvious horse like nature had him observing them critically; Underhill was turning him paranoid. But as a wise man once said- 

_ 'Paranoid? Probably. But just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face.' _

The larger party was led by an antlered man covered in Woad, of a very dissimilar style to Tony and his mother, riding a pure white horse, next to a jet black horse. James recognised Tony's mother straight away. An even larger, dappled brown horse was behind them and James could kind of recognise Cernunnos from his glamour when they'd met. More antlers, it seemed to be a thing, and bigger too James waved to Tony's mother and Cernunnos, as he didn't know the other, he smiled and nodded. Earning him a shocked smile in return. 

Tony's mother was also wearing a Crown, utterly cementing this family royalty thing he was still struggling to come to terms with. It looked good on her. It was mostly black like Tony's, which stood out well in her silver hair. He couldn't quite tell from this distance, but James was sure that it was crafted out of black metal feathers and silver knotwork that was very similar to the patterns in Tony's Crown. The other man's Crown was similar to Arawn's, and yet it wasn't somehow. It was constructed from bone, just _ different. _ The silver formed the matching knotwork to Tony's and his mother's Crown, and it shared the ruthless feel that Tony's carried. Cernunnos followed the theme too, a similar silver knotwork wound amongst all kinds of different, vibrant green vines and leaves. Tony's fit in well with all of them. Like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Their power had a similar feel, all different, but there was like a note in the Harmony that connected them.

The rest of the procession was quite the variety of people. Quite unlike the ten everyone so far had brought and much more of them too. James assumed that The Wild Hunt wouldn't be restricted to ten people like everyone else seemed to be. 

Most of them were at least somewhat similar to Tony, golden-skinned and pointed ears, with some variation here and there, some were closer to the colours of Summer, but there was a full spectrum to the silver, pale skin of Winter. Others were wearing colours he would have pegged for spring or autumn too. The hounds reminded him of Cara, just smaller. And with red noses and lacking the spectral bounds signature Blue Fire. Although Tony's mother was paler, he guessed Tony got the golden hue from his father, but now James had seen Fae from Summer. He was unquestionably paler than them.

The Morrigan and Cernunnos did seem to have ten people, James realised. It took a few minutes before he could separate the groups in his mind. It helped that like Summer and Winter, the Fae of each Court seemed to hold to a theme of dress. Cernunnos' group was quite varied and not restricted to Seelie Fae as he was sure he had read enough about dryads to recognise two of them. There was a general nature feel about the ten who followed him. Out of Tony's mothers most were Seelie, and much closer to the Winter spectrum, Tony was by far the darkest and closest to Summer. They were well dressed, and James recognised the style Tony's hair was in when he knew his mother was involved. A lot of silver was involved. Dressed in darker colours, they all held a particular pride and gravitas as well as beauty.

"How was the crossing?" 

"Interesting as ever, it's not often we ride through Seelie lands, you are going to join us on a hunt after all this boring business is dealt with, aren't you? After the fights, I usually doze off."

Fight? Oh yeah was going to need to get information out of Tony if he remembered. No one had mentioned _ fights. _

"Have you ever known me to say no to that offer?" 

That made more than a few people laugh, so James assumed something of an in-joke. 

"It has been a while since you brought a Reaper along, the invite is extended." 

With a sharp smile in his direction, the man leading the procession turned and led them to the fields of Spring Tony had opened up for visitors. Tony's mother and Cernunnos smiled and waved at him before following them. The others in the procession were trying not to stare too obviously, whilst trying to get a look at Tony. Not quite gawking, but not far off either.

"So, uh, hunt?"

"Gwyn ap Nudd just invited you to ride with The Wild Hunt. Impressive, you do seem to have quite the way with my kind." 

"Okay, see, I thought that's what just happened, but I'm struggling to wrap my head around it." 

"Well you don't have to join, you can stay back. I know Gwyn, he'll be petitioning Mab to run a hunt through Winter's Forest and probably tack my name on the request, they are always good hunts, but she doesn't often allow The Hunt to ride through her forest. Only on special occasions, or when they have population problems. It is known I often ride with The Hunt so my binding would be a good reason." 

"Are there a few hundred rules?" 

"Oh no, the hunt has many forms, the one we have been invited on is relatively simple. The only important thing is that if you are part of the hunt, you hunt. Otherwise, you are prey." 

"No pressure then." 

"You can ride with me if you like? I'm not sure you've had much riding experience so that would probably be wise on your first hunt.."

"By much, you mean none? Unless the unicorns counted."

"So, does everyone who has arrived have someone like your Mountain?"

"Sure, but it's unique to each Court. Mothers is a blackwood tree on top of a mountain where he sees all. He stretches across her entire lands, just like Hetaris does, but like Hetaris is the mountain, Brãn is from that tree. Remember I told you he gifted me his feathers? Some Loci's have many forms. Hetaris hasn't set on a form yet, every time I visit, he takes a different form." 

They were back by the gate again. James had figured that he had wholly scrapped the plan of hiding in their room, he might as well own it, or at least attempt to be as confident as Tony regarding it. These people were going to be here for a few days, and he'd rather put names to faces before they're all in a great hall, dressed up all fancy or something, which was why he had taken up his new position of effectively looming behind Tony as he greeted people. It eased something in him, and Tony didn't question him about it.

So far he'd been kind of terrified by a Faerie Queen that seemed to like him, and then pissed off her Knight. Tony hadn't gotten to fully explaining the Knights yet, but he'd felt the power they carried. It was striking. The Summer procession had mostly ignored him, the Lady and Knight waved. He helped convince Tony to put on his Crown, which brought lost magic back to Underhill, and then he gifted the Queen of Life with Springs first Bloom. A big deal that he didn't know about until after he did it. Then, he introduced The Queen of Life and King of Death to _ Selfies _ (Shuri, Peter and Harley were going to be so proud of him). Not long after lunch with them, he somehow found himself invited on _ The _ Wild Hunt. 

He'd done all that without honestly _ trying _ to do anything. If anything he had been trying to keep a low profile.

So he was trying his new tactic, looming. He was good at that from his Winter Soldier days. Being the large, looming bodyguard was quite natural for him.

"Hetaris is complaining that I haven't taken you to meet him yet, so before the sun sets, do you fancy a hike? I will have to visit first to see if his magic is stable." 

"Sure, it will be nice to meet him." 

Clíodhna entered first, at least he assumed it was her. For a Queen of The Banshee, she was beautiful. He had expected scarier, not a tiny, stunning redhead. A complicated circlet rested on waves of curled, red hair. Ten people followed her pale horse, some who were Fae, some who he was pretty sure were not. Pale, beautiful looking women who seemed ethereal and although he could see them walking, it was as if they floated. 

"Those are the Baobhan Sith. With the Warden, he's brought a few Battle Wraiths too." 

Behind her, he assumed, was the man Tony called The Warden, seated on a black horse and James wasn't sure if he imagined it, but he swore parts of him looked to be made of smoke and shadow. His Umbrakinesis was humming when he looked at him, his Crown was more substantial than the rest of his form and made of a black metal, set with pitch-black stones. The very tips of each spike looked as if they had been dipped in silver. There were also ten people in his procession. 

Tony greeted them both, helping Clíodhna from her horse whilst chatting to The Warden. She frankly was quite dainty too, certainly not what he had expected when Tony had said Queen of the Banshee. She and Tony had a comfortable manner about how they interacted, but then Tony has described her as practically his sister. James was convinced he was just happy to have someone shorter than him around.

He was utterly cementing the potentially related or very friendly with far too many royal types to have forgotten to bring it up before. If anything, James found Tony's ease with it amusing. 

It was as if Tony was only just noticing he was related or familiar with half of the Rulers Underhill, and he clearly had no idea what to do with this information.

James had never thought he'd be the kind to meet royalty. He still wondered how this was his life as Tony introduced him. 

"And this is one of my Reapers."

"It has been too long since I have had the pleasure of meeting one of Scythes Reapers." 

He was creating a list of weird things that happened since entering Underhill and shaking hands with a guy that seemed to be constructed from smoke and shadow was going on that list. 

"Oh yes, I think you are going to fit in around here quite well."

Adding being hugged by the Queen of The Banshee to that list.

"I hope so. I have a knack for getting into trouble."

She grinned and leaned on Tony whilst seeming quite smug.

"Of course you do, you are a Reaper after all. Now _my_ claimed humans are much different."

Now that got Tony's attention as they headed inside whilst their horses were taken to the same place as the others.

"You have claimed someone new? It's been what, 800 years since you last did so."

"Just the one, and I have high hopes. I hope to bring her over the mists soon. Might I bring her to your Ascension? If you do not mind? Few Underhill share your tolerance for Fragile Creatures, even those we are changing. I am... Fond of this one already. I believe your lands may be a good place to start. I would not have to worry for her safety here."

"Of course, bring your crush. I would like to meet her and make sure she's good enough for my sister."

"I do not have a crush! If you even consider this, then I shall return the favour to your Leannan!"

So, on that list of the utter bizarre, Queen of the Banshee's turns very pink when prodded about her crush. Also, he figured discovering what 'Leannan' was totally going to be a priority by how Tony blushed… James was pretty invested in things that could make Tony blush if he was honest.

Tony being Tony, of course, had to point her blush out, which led to him and the Warden watching as she chased Tony whilst trying to punch him. Definitely siblings, even if they were not related by blood, James can see they were brought up together. 

"I will be on my best behaviour, or at least I will try. I'll be exhausted just after anyway. Your claimed human is guaranteed safe passage in my lands, Sister. All to be given freely and without obligation."

"A sheòid."

Also, if things carried on like this, he was going to struggle seeing royalty as the untouchable thing. You see something like a Queen having an in-depth conversation about selfies, and another Queen chasing Tony who was teasing her about her crush before you start to see them as people. Kind of crazy people, but still, people.

James, Tony and Blodeuwedd had sequestered themselves in Tony's rooms in an utterly bizarre manner that had James starting to see why Tony might forget they were Royalty. They had a wide selection of food, however, and James was enjoying the company and was highly amused at how they ended up here.

Tony had been speaking to several guests that had arrived and introducing them to several Wyldfae that just seemed to be turning up on Tony's land, and Tony being Tony was accepting them into the fold. James had been talking to a man wearing a red and gold tunic around his feathered wings that would have looked just as at home on a hummingbird than a 5-foot tall man. His eyes were pure red with no pupil, his features that much more angular than Seelie Fae. James had been a little startled at first but quickly discovered he was very kind.

He had just been about to find Tony when Blodeuwedd appeared, linking his arm with hers and grinning before practically skipping over to Tony and demanding tea. Tony had rolled his eyes, said his goodbyes before the three of them were swept to Tony's room in a mixture of flowers and Black Fire that had left him dizzy.

James had to admit; he liked Blodeuwedd. She had a certain grace, elegance but innocent youth about her, mixed with a devious Fae upbringing that James imagined had to come from Tony's mother.

Tony suddenly straightened up, and Blodeuwedd and himself looked over in concern.

"Everything alright?"

"Hetaris wants me to visit sooner rather than later. His power is still spiking, and he needs me to help regulate it if you are to visit soon. I seem to be continually running out on you."

Tony looked torn, his hand resting on James' shoulder with his head tilted, obviously listening to something else.

"It's okay, Tony, I understand, plus I like your aunt. You aren't abandoning me to the wolves. Tell Hetaris, Hi for me?"

Tony shot him a relieved look before smiling warmly again, nodding and disappearing in a burst of Black Fire that at such proximity littered across his skin and coiled around him.

"Oh, yes, I like you. Very interesting indeed, and anyone that can allay my nephew's concerns with such grace? The family is inevitably going to like you. He can tie himself up in knots that you couldn't imagine."

"That's good, right? I'm still getting my head around all things Underhill. How big is this family?"

"Just most of the upper echelons of Underhill, don't worry dear, they'll love you. Well, I heard you enjoy reading. Yes? I picked up a few books on the history of Fae in general rather than specific stories. It includes customs we brought with us and those we developed when we bound ourselves with Underhill. So there are many from announcing a Loci and Foci bind like we are to witness soon, the differences between Seelie and Lower Courts on those ceremonies."

James nodded along, that would certainly be handy if he had a guidebook on what was going to be happening. He wasn't touching the part about Tony's now even more terrifying family.

"Is everything complicated on Seelie land?"

"Glad you asked that, there are many differences between the Lower Courts and the Seelie Courts, but that is mostly because the levels of Power are so different. You have noticed our Scythe's energy change since he took the Crown, yes? Compare that to mine."

She held her hand out, and James took it gently, suddenly feeling surrounded by fluttering magic, delicate and fresh. Powerful, but there was a cadence missing that he had started to become accustomed too. She was immensely powerful in a way that she did not come across straight away, and James wondered if Tony learned to hide his strength from her, it felt more familiar than any others in how Tony got people to underestimate him. There was unquestionably a difference to Tony's energy. It was like the final notes in the song were missing. There was an undertone to Tony's power that Blodeuwedd's just did not have.

"You are very advanced for such a young Reaper. I can see why he was drawn to you. There is a tune in your aura… it is hard to explain, survivors have always attracted him, but there is something more about you. More than your potential power or how you seem to attract seasons. Many have tried to make him see he does not carry a debt from his actions whilst chained; it always resulted in him doubling down. So you see, we learned to be silent even though it hurts to watch. I do not know how you did it, but I am glad you did. He needs to spend some real time as himself, not in the cycles and to let himself enjoy things. Even though he is still over-working, he is taking time to do the things he enjoys. Anyway, enough of my hopes, you feel the difference between my power and Scythe's?"

James was surprised in some ways, but also not. He had worked out by now that issue with Tony's debt went further than he first assumed. From what he knew of his family, they weren't the kind to stand idly by. He struggled to get his head around the idea that _ he _ made a difference.

"Yeah, it's like there is something… extra there to his."

He wondered if that was the second gift of Underhill that Tony had shown him? The strange shimmering power augmenting Tony's magic that he had seen after Tony put the crown on.

"Exactly! That is a secondary weave of Power. When we bind to a Loci, we are utterly drained of our reserves, our core exposed and the Loci adds a new weave of power to us that is unique to the land. Scythe would have got Iron, Spring and Autumn. Iron is both a power and an opposition to a season. If it was a Lower Court, that would be all bar a silver weave from Underhill to thank us, for Seelie Courts it is different."

That explained Tony's sheer level of exhaustion when he first returned from speaking to the mountain. Why he had no defences when Underhill started poking around in his Fire.

"Tony mentioned the second gift of Underhill, is that it?"

"Mmhmm, it does not have a name as such; not like other weaves. The Foci cannot call it to their hand nor weave with it. Nevertheless, it winds around and around the Foci's power and enriches their magic, of every thread they have mastered and will master. It is known as the second gift of Underhill and directly links their core to the Crowns and the table. The first gift being the Stone Table. This amplifies everything and changes many things. It is one of the things that places the Seelie Courts above the Lower Courts. Something's are constant, cross Courts, however, or very in unique ways, not to do with power, but _ people." _

James was nodding along and utterly captivated, but then he loved learning about things like this. Underhill was just so strange and different, and he wanted to know _ everything. _

"One such thing is Courting, for example. It has a general theme among all Fae, be they Seelie, Wyldfae or Lower Court and everything in-between. Many that have bound to us follow this too, even the Elves Court in the manner of Fae rather than that of their ancestors. All of Underhill.and even beyond follows a pattern.

"It is rather simple. Simple in the way most simple things are, in that it is remarkably complex."

"That is… possibly the most Fae sentence I have ever heard."

Blodeuwedd chuckled at that before rippling her fingers, and a bag appeared in her lap in a flutter of scattered petals. She pulled out a number of heavy, old-looking books that seemed to be about different Fae customs but he has to admit, he was suddenly very interested in the Fae Courting.

"Well, it is simple in the way that Courting is the Act of giving a Debtless Gift. I assume you know that to give a gift Underhill requires the receiver to give one back of the same value?"

"Absolutely remember that, as well as the avoidance of thanking. Do you have any idea how often humans thank each other? For everything. Hold a door, pass the salt, practically _ everything. _ It's ingrained, and sometimes I have no idea what to say because my knee jerk reaction is to say thank you."

"Ah, I had wondered why I heard it so often last time I ventured forth. A devious person must have come up with this. As well as whoever got humans believing Fae are all cute and kind.

"Back to what I was saying. Consequently, the receiving and giving of gifts is integral to our society, I am sure you understand the importance of debt and balance to us? Gifts are part of _ both _ of these things. Thus, giving a _ Debtless _ Gift is a very, very special, highly personal and intimate thing to us. It isn't something you easily pass around, or flaunt in large gatherings. It is quite sacred in a way. A Debtless Gift also must have meaning, say something and be mostly made by the giver. 

"However, here is where it is less straightforward. The gifts must also showcase a number of things. It can be one of the three, all, or 2. All Debtless Gifts must showcase the Fae's talent, strength and power. As well as knowledge, care and interest in what the giftee would enjoy. It must be of Protection, Magic or Beauty.

"Protection. A gift can be spun with say magic and knowledge in protection of one they wish to hold dear, for example. We are a strong race that has many lands beyond our precious Underhill. We have enemies and those we protect, and as such, we may not look it, but we have waged wars that could make Asgard cower. As you may have experienced with Scythe, this has… _ sharpened _ our protective instincts somewhat. We _ long _ to protect those we hold dear, even if they are equally capable warriors, especially so! We protect each other, and it is seen as quite flattering if someone wishes to protect, guard or fight for or with you.

"Magic. A gift of magic is exceptional, all gifts can be crafted _ with _ magic of course, but a gift _ of _magic in some shape or form is extraordinary indeed. Magic has become as integral to our kind as breathing, sharing some of our most potent magic that is close to our hearts? Giving another a piece of our magic? It is a sign of utmost trust that they will guard it, a sign of respect that they will not abuse it, and a sign that the Fae loves enough to give a piece of their very being and that they know it will be cared for. That they will not simply add it to their own power.

"Beauty. Because when it comes down to it, we are Fae. We love beauty. We love extraordinary things; we love that special spark that truly makes something shine. So a gift must be beautiful in a manner that is unique to the Fae giving the gift whilst also being something the receiver connects with. There is no singular option when it comes to beauty. It is individual and thus requires care of the person you wish to Court, particular attention to detail and knowledge of the recipient in order to produce something that counts as _ true _ beauty.

"Wow, okay, simple and very, _ very _ complex."

James was also thinking too, because now he thought about it? Tony had done some of these things, and he probably wouldn't have realised the real significance without this chat that James was starting to this wasn't a 'random example' but the entire reason she swept him away.

Like when they created the metal for his sword, Tony had let him take his Fire. Not just his Blue Fire either, but there was White and Black Flame mixed in. Even if he didn't include gear for Reapers such as his coat that he knew was very distinct to Rhodey's and how Tony just so happened to have heavily Warded clothes when they arrived Underhill that fit him perfectly, he even crafted that Torc as part of his Court. The one that really stood out, however, was the bracer that was twinned silver and iron. Which Tony had said was the metal of his people and the metal of his lands.

Sure he had said it was a physical representation of his claim, but the entire point of the claim was to keep him safe. It didn't _ have _ to be something so representative of _ Tony. _ Seelie Courts just used silver collars, for instance. Not something so personal and fundamental to the Queens. Not something that showcased their affinities, magic or individual skill. The sigil of the crossed black wings and scythe was unique to Tony too, he had since worked out it was on polished Atronach, and the wings were made with Reaper Black that tasted of Tony's twinned Fires, it looked similar to the sigil he had seen people wearing, but it was fundamentally different.

It allowed him to wear iron Underhill -Protection. His Fires and his personal Reaper Black -Magic. It was also beautiful. The band was thick enough that it didn't look too dainty or feminine on him, it was objectively beautiful, but it was also something _ he _ found beautiful. Tony knew he liked contrasting colours, the Silver and Black Iron, the Atronach and Reaper Black… it wasn't just objectively beautiful it was something _ he _ found beautiful. He had immediately asked if he could keep it because he liked it and he remembered Tony being delighted about that, also blushing.

Blodeuwedd was grinning at him as if she knew his thought processes and she looked immensely pleased with how things had worked out whilst James was starting to realise the culture mash-up between Fae and Humanity came with some more quirks than even he hadn't suspected. James also knew Tony enough by now that it probably hadn't occurred to him to explain the concept of Fae Courting, and he probably forgot that everyone didn't just know about it. Blodeuwedd grin turned into that Fae smirk he knew all too well when his mind immediately switched to plotting. James didn't have so much access to his magic, yet. It was still a potential. Now he had an entirely new reason to start those lessons.

"That is quite the Fae like smirk you are wearing James, oh yes, you are going to fit in perfectly around here."

James couldn't help feeling warm and fuzzy about that. Before the Compound, before The Reaper's, he had always felt slightly apart. Sitting on the outside looking in, at something he could never have. Never in control of his life, being dragged along until the war had sent him to what should have been an icy death. Instead, the ice had caught him and held him for 70 years before releasing him. Fundamentally changed and even more forced to sit outside. 

Well, it turned out that the outside didn't only have one window to look in, and lately, all he had been finding were doors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scott's Gaelic for Clíodhna as that is where her lore is from.  
Leannan-Lover/Sweetheart  
a sheòid-my hero/valiant warrior
> 
> (Random Social Media Update!) Also, my phone is having some issues with Tumblr. In that, I have 181 notification, and every time I try to load the app, it practically bricks my phone for an hour. Even in chrome, it gets super glitchy. So if you've asked me something over there, I apologise! I am not ignoring it. It simply will not load. I read every comment here though, so if you have questions feel free! If you have questions in a less public manner, my email is in my profile thing, and I will do my best to respond :)
> 
> Second aside, I do so hope everyone is safe from both the virus times and the awful police brutality that seems to be amping up. Black Lives Matter, whilst I cannot protest, I support those who can.  
Also, Happy Pride :) from the Polyam Ace woman xD
> 
> Also, I just realised it's the Anniversary of my house exploding! Wooo! (In 2018, Thor became the Cat who responded to being caught in an explosion by avoiding capture for 20 days, sitting in the attic and yelling at people passing the house. He was fine, just a little singe and melted whiskers. He smelled like burnt toast and got many hugs from Loki and me. There was heroics on the explosion day, of disabled woman vaulting doors and I out a fire out with a saucepan xD whilst the Fire dept yelled at my partner to get me out of the half blown up room. My brain was stuck on 'must find Thor'. We're back in the bungalow now. Just another crazy story to my repertoire, not even first time my house exploded.)


	73. Obstinacy and Fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ever so sorry I am late!
> 
> I went and garnered myself an ear infection. No big deal, pretty standard for me, but fever and having my hearing obstructed on one side plays hell with my hypervigilance. I am very used to continually listening to everything around me, now people can sneak up on me, which I do not like. This all meant my concentration was shot to all hell.
> 
> My fever has calmed, and my hearing is at 75%. This was a laborious task to proof, hence the delay!

**James POV**

"You are absorbing energy from Underhill far too easily."

James practically jumped out of his skin. He had been so wrapped up in the book he was reading he hadn't even felt Tony port in behind him. Tony just gave him a look because he must have been really distracted not to notice that.

"I am?"

"Mmhm, you need to pay attention to it, and I have two things that will help."

He hadn't actually noticed anything until Tony pointed it out, which was when he realised he felt a little dizzy. Tony just raised an eyebrow because he could tell. The grounding thing, however, was quite taxing, so he liked the idea of anything that may help...

"So what are these things?"

"You still have to ground at least five times a day, and when it stops being taxing, you increase."

He managed not to sulk as Tony was practically daring him to do so, he and Rhodes worked out quickly that if you sulked, Tony came up with new fun and inventive ways to leave them half zonked out on the floor. Plus, Tony had warned him about his teaching methods. James also knew that they worked damned well; most of them he was passing down from his own apprenticeship. Considering Tony's mastery of numerous weaves, they worked. He also doubted Math went easy on him, from what he knew about the man.

"One you will like, and you are restricted to using outside and away from people until you learn to control it. The other you are going to despise and is your primary lesson that you are to focus on right now. Second only to grounding."

"Do I get to know which is which?"

"Yes. Now, this is a kinetic ring. As you might notice, I usually have a few on me."

Tony pointed at one of the silver rings on his hand. He had just thought they were rings. Now magic rings? Although he shouldn't be surprised.

"They work on a similar premise to my staff and Scythe, as I showed you in the Grove. Anytime I'm wearing them, they store energy from any movement I make so that I can do this."

In a flicker of Black Fire, what looked to be a rock appeared in Tony's palm. He tossed it across the room and before it had a chance to hit the floor, Tony twisted one of his rings and a thin shimmer of force, similar to what he had seen Tony manipulate with his scythe, blasted to rock into dust.

"You aren't getting one of these yet."

"Awww."

Maybe he did pout a little at that because that looked kind of awesome. Although he currently had an issue with storing energy. Adding more wouldn't exactly be a good idea.

"This is something I just developed on a similar premise to the kinetic rings. It doesn't build up kinetic force because you currently already have a surplus of energy that you do not know what to do with. Basically, you are advancing too fast in one area. Usually, it would take time to get to where you are now, slowly, where you would be learning how to manage, store, ground and utilise the energy you're storing."

"So I skipped the magical equivalent of leg day at the gym?"

"Yeah, that is about right. Except this can lead to explosions, and not the fun kind. This ring will allow you to siphon off that energy into force. Most Fae have a solid command of Force. We will test your elemental reactions when you aren't practically boiling with magic. Want help draining what you built up when you weren't paying attention? Because you aren't touching this ring until you level that out."

"Please? So you think I'll have a similar command of Force?”

"Give me your hands. You are developing as if you were Fae, so I figure we will work from there. You're developing closer to full Fae than changeling. I will keep an eye out if you start developing a more human style. Until then, I am just proceeding as if you're Fae."

Well, that wasn't daunting, at all. 

"What is a changeling?"

"Someone who is less than 50% Fae. At the moment I can't read anything about your magic, it's too hot, tracing back familial links is tricky. I don't know if releasing your reaper abilities tipped your scale. Usually, changelings have some hereditary abilities, minor, until they make a choice."

It took him hours sometimes to ground the energy he seemed just to be picking up from being Underhill. Back on Earth, there was much less energy bouncing around. Even with Tony, Loki and Stephen. Underhill was full of magic, magic that _really_ seemed to like him, that since he overloaded, he seemed to be constantly refilling. 

"A choice?"

"Hmm, like consenting to be a reaper. A changeling can choose to… discard one side of their heritage. They will never be pure human or Fae. It's more if they reject the magic, they will fade closer to human. If they choose the Fae side…"

"Their magic becomes stronger."

"It's more common than you think, even when we officially left The Firelands. It does not stop individuals from crossing over, having their fun and returning. There are many more links to Underhill that I noticed when I Firewalked to America. So people are slipping back and forth."

This refuelling business would be great if he had _learned_ how to do that at a reasonable pace. He went a little lightheaded as Tony started grounding the energy at about the same pace he did, but without the strain. 

"Now, this is the speed you have been grounding, and this is why you have a problem."

"I do?"

"Yes, if you were in line, this is how fast you _should_ be shedding the energy if I do it in line with how fast you are gaining."

James had expected a small increase; instead, everything lit up, and it was like the air punched out of his chest. Like a dam opened up, floodgates cracked open. He might have lost a little time as the next thing he knew he was leaning against Tony and feeling a ton better. 

"That isn't even close to how fast I could have done it."

His voice was a little strained, and everything was kind of sparkly, but that was fading. He didn't quite feel up to moving yet, Tony chuckled, but as much as he touts himself as the hardass, James felt Tony's magic slip around him at the same time his fingers slipped into his hair, groaning as he massaged his head. 

"That was… different. Fast. Sparkly. I feel better now?"

"Good. Hopefully, you'll be sure of that in a minute. Now, this ring will let you vent but remember only outside until you have some training with it. If you blow anything up, you will be stuck cleaning it up. Don't let up on the grounding, as you need to exercise that. If you stop progressing..."

"I won't. So, I'm going to regret asking this, what is the thing I'm going to hate?"

Tony took what looked like a length of rope from his pocket after handing over the silver ring that he slipped onto his middle finger before turning his attention to the innocent-looking length of rope from his position curled into Tony's side. It was thin but looked like it was made up of several strands. It was about a foot long and capped at the top and bottom with silver. It didn't _feel_ magical. James was instantly suspicious.

"I'm going to hate a piece of rope?"

"_All_ apprentices hate this, at least all of Underhill. Stephen isn't at this stage yet. He will hate it too. I have not met a single apprentice that doesn't hate this. In my entire life. Oh, and if you throw it out of a window, I will make you fetch it."

"You threw yours out of a window, didn't you?"

"I _'accidentally'_ threw mine many places, once into a portal. It took me six weeks to find it, and Math barred my access to Underhill until I did. I believe Mother tried dropping hers in a volcano. Ask around, we all have stories of this, and all of our Masters did the same thing."

James glared at the rope. Tony had _a lot_ of patience when it came to magic. More than he did when it came to people. Although the idea of a young Tony hurling something into a portal out of frustration sounded hilarious.

"Now, you will start with attempting to imbue the rope with your core magic, simple. When you manage it, you will channel that energy you are collecting into it. It will be easier than grounding. Like this."

The normal-looking rope slowly built up with flickering Blue Fire until it was kind of floating and flickering happily with Tony's Fire.

"When you can do that, you hold it for an hour. When you can get to six, without touching it, you start on individual strands."

The Fire flickered until the rope was just a rope again, collapsing into Tony's hand. This time, instead of the whole rope, only one of the strands slowly built up with Fire. James had an idea that when he managed that, Tony was going to make him do each strand, separately. 

James was quickly starting to understand why apprentices hated this rope.

"When you can hold that, I'll give you the next step. Now, I'm going to show you once how to do this. I can pass the information, or I can guide your magic."

That immediately had his attention and was very distinct from weapons training, where Tony drilled you until it was ingrained in your muscles.

"Which is best?"

"Depends on the student. I worked best being guided, but I was also very touchy about anyone manipulating my core or touching my magic. Made things tricky, but Math was persistent, and we found a way. A middle ground of a sort, guiding when I was able to tolerate the intrusion and backing off when I could not. It was a century or so after I bound to the Fire after Mother got me out of the Final Word. I was… not in the best state of mind, Math was… he was what I needed at the time. He didn't give up when most Masters would have kicked me to the curb. It is why I stayed with his Court so long even when things evened out."

James startled slightly at that information, because that was more about Tony's childhood than he had gleaned before. Until that, James knew his magic developed very early, which he knew was around 12 to 15. He had had his magic a few years when he was kidnapped and bonded with the Fire when he was 9. After that, there was a blank spot Tony never spoke off. Now he knew why, and now he knew why Tony had such a problem with the Court of the Final Word.

Tony had been giving him hints for a while. He just hadn't put them together. His people were interested in the Fire, some could get close, and now they had the personification of the Fire in their hands so they could finally understand more. Final Word, where everything is given up, eventually. After a year in Fomóire captivity. Tony had even said the longest time he spent Underhill without returning to Earth, that he didn't want to repeat that time and James had felt him shudder. He had learned a lot about this Court from speaking to people, James was… not surprised Tony wasn't in the best place after.

"I can guide your magic for the first stage. For the second I'll pass it to you. If you are struggling at the first stage, we'll switch it up, and then you'll know which method is best. Maybe both, magic… some of it, you will find similarities to your weapons training. Others... if I pass you the information repeatedly, we run the risk of you just absorbing my process."

"And that's bad?"

"Very bad, because all Fae follow a theme. We all channel our magic into the rope, and you will start by copying what I tell you to do. Then you will repeat the exercise over and over. You will fail; you will succeed; you will have half successes. What do you think happens?"

James thought about it for a second, his mind still reeling over that bit of Tony's history, but he knew that Tony wasn't up to hashing that out. The fact he had trusted him and told him was big enough. So he would focus on this lesson. That he could do.

"The method will change. I mean, if I fail, I'm going to try a new angle. If I succeed I follow that track, and if I get close I'll try similar things… after so many times, I won't remember perfectly what you taught me will I?"

"Nope, you will remember the building blocks, the foundation. Then you build on it yourself. Magic is not something you learn by rote memorisation. It is something you learn by doing. And do you know what the best way to learn magic is?"

"What?"

"Teaching. Same with a lot of things, actually, when you begin teaching something, you tend to learn more. Because you will do things differently than me, than Math, than all of my prior apprentices and you will teach me these things. Magic is never something you will be done learning. Especially for Fae because of how we reformed our magic so long ago. But even institutions that have a single thread are never _finished._ If they say they are, they are arrogant, dangerous and undeserving of the power they squander."

James can tell Tony is thinking about someone in particular and can't help wondering who.

"If you are feeling better, I can pass the first building blocks to you. You are already slowly building up atmospheric magic. If you were only collecting when I was crafting, we could go slow, but you have already trained yourself to tap into the resource that is Underhill. It is commendable. Most people have a natural talent in a few areas. It seems one of yours is gathering energy.

"Ok, that sounds good. Why couldn't I be a natural at grounding? That's much harder."

"Many find what you are doing now very hard. It can take some people centuries to tap into natural atmospheric magic. It is a handy skill, especially Underhill due to the quality of our atmospheric magic. Even Earth has some, just think Fy Sidan, in time, when you progress through the ranks. This ability will also grow. This gives you a lot of potential. You might have noticed from the journals. I do not often take apprentices."

"I remember Reapers being happy about that, because of the explosions."

"Hmm, yes, well. The _reason_ I take few, is because I am like Math in a way when it comes to apprentices."

"How so?"

"You know how intertwined we are with magic, few here have none. Most people do not travel to seek out a master. A prior bond of trust makes things much easier. People use family, neighbours, friends. To travel to another Court and seek our surly bastards like Math and me? Few do this. Few _need_ to do this. We take special cases."

"Special cases?"

"Yes, take Stephen. He was accelerated quickly. Too quickly, it could not be helped, but it has lasting effects. Finding someone stronger than him would be hard, he has already surpassed the Masters at Kamar-Taj, but he was not finished in his training. For me, I was… volatile, angry, I trusted no-one, and I was very powerful, far too young. There will always be apprentices that advance too fast, for whatever reason. Usually trauma. Math was similar."

"But I didn't have any trauma to advance me?"

"Something has advanced you. Your response is to wrap yourself in power. I suspect to add protection to your mind. This is all we have uncovered so far. I doubt this will be our only challenge."

"The Ved'ma."

"Hmm, on top of what you endured? If you had decided to choose another person to teach you, Math would be the next on my list."

James just sort of blanked at that, because that told him a few things. Tony had not offered to teach him solely for the reason he suspected when he started discussing this. That it was because they were close. 

"It is not a bad thing. It is just what it is. Some start their path easily and rarely push harder. Some start slow and become very powerful. Some experience similar starts and do not progress. Then, there are some like us, who take our bad hand and train harder."

"You're sure I am in that last group?"

"I do not doubt it for a second."

He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He could do this. James didn't know what Tony saw in him that gave him the surety to speak like that, but… it gave him something to build on. Tony was particular over who he took on to teach magic, even more than James had initially thought. But Tony had faith in him, and he could work with that as he nodded.

"It can feel weird, so just relax. My problem was as soon as someone reached out to guide, I threw walls up. Apparently, my time with Molaich, parts I did not remember, had forced me to focus all of my effort on protecting my mind, for someone so young, my walls were... quite formidable. Gave Math a migraine on more than one occasion, which meant I was cleaning the steps of his tower. I knocked him out for a week once accidentally. Gods, I still remember how many steps there are in that tower."

James couldn't help snickering whilst hoping that Tony didn't share _too many_ training tactics with Math. Tony's castle had_ a lot_ of steps. Relaxing was pretty easy. He trusted Tony when it came to his magic, so all he had to do was watch. It did feel a little strange, but not bad strange. He was putting more focus into memorising everything as the rope that had been full of Fire for Tony, slowly lit up with a blue that shimmered closer to silver as Tony took control of his magic and showed it the path. It was almost like someone had added blue to a silver, metallic paint. It was so unusual seeing it like this compared to in his mind, or that little slip in his palm.

This was _more_ somehow, and he just found himself staring at it. Even though Tony had guided his core magic to imbue the rope, James could tell it was his. It was a little bit of him. That was part of himself but was now in that rope. Tony hummed happily, which meant he was thinking along the right path. The Longer he kept it that way, a shimmer of what looked like silver dust seemed to flutter around the rope. Not touching, but attracted to it, just sort of floating around it. 

Tony then took his hand away and leaned back.

James hadn't quite realised how much Tony had been involved, as barely a second later the silvery magic stuttered and winked out, the rope dropping into his hands inert without a shred of magic inside.

He blinked at the rope, and he knew that Tony was right. 

He was going to hate this rope.

"If you lose it, I will not help you find it. Also, you should keep it on you, especially with how you're building up energy."

So, he had to keep it on him and look after it… whilst absolutely despising its existence. Well, at least he couldn't throw it into a portal? 

"Great."

He figured Tony wouldn't make him hunt for it alone at least. Hopefully.

Pausing from their climb to stop and look around, he was blown away by how _gorgeous_ Underhill was. They still had a ways to go, but they were high up enough already that he could see most of Tony's lands and Winter and Summer off in the distance. Seeing the Spring and Autumn stretching out between the shining white walls was quite beautiful.

"It's beautiful up here."

"It is one of my favourite places Underhill, and only slightly because very few people Underhill can climb up here. I used to climb up whenever I had free time, even if it was just an hour or so, it was something I always kept."

It is good to find evidence of at least one thing Tony seemed to do for enjoyment or fun. Especially the more he finds out about how Tony has been dealing with the debt over the years.

"Watching the suns rise or set is always good, especially with the Silver sun out. Sometimes I take this route, there are a few harder routes for fun, but I thought you'd prefer this one for your first climb."

Tony grinned as he offered a hand to help him up to the next ledge. Tony's idea of 'just some steps up the hill' was just barely underneath mountain climbing. Oh, there were steps, but occasionally you had to scale the mountain to reach the next set of steps.

"Well, it's easier than mountain climbing on earth? No huge bags and these clothes are literally magic."

He was wearing what looked like a shirt, trousers and a coat that came down to his knees. None of his clothing was in a style that he was familiar with, nothing he would have recognised from Earth. The people on Tony's team that seemed to be involved with making their clothes were mostly human, but some had been Underhill for hundreds of years. Many had been taken as babies or children, so they had not acquired any styles that he would recognise from Earth. To them, they may have been born on, or even had ancestors on Earth, but they deemed themselves of Underhill now. James was having quite a lot of fun talking to everyone when Tony was talking to his mountain.

Despite the fact he was currently climbing a mountain in what looked like clothes you would go for a walk in, he was quite warm, comfortably protected from the elements and the thin material was better than any protective gear he'd ever seen or worn in his life. The coat was more of a cloak too, done up with a clasp. It was one of his favourite pieces of the new clothes that just appeared now and then.

Sometimes Tony had been swiping any articles of clothing before he even had a glimpse of them. He then vanished for a while, returning, and there were occasionally varied styles of Wards on each piece. Barring his cloak, everything he was wearing was more casual at the moment, and the Wards reflected that. The fancier items had incredibly intricate Warding patterns.

James had quickly learned that neither Tony nor his Mother could leave an item of clothing Unwarded.

"Of course they are, my people are very proud of their work, you won't get any shoddy materials here. The sitting around part is boring as I said, but you can't complain about the results. Mother and I tend to add Wards after."

"Well I like it, and I was wondering when you were going to add Wards to this cloak, you are mostly incapable of not adding Wards to things I've noticed, and it is beautiful up here."

"Are you complaining about my Wards? I could _not_ put Wards on certain things you know."

"No complaints, I love your Wards, they're beautiful, and are very handy, and could you? Could you really? Tony, my _pyjamas_ are Warded."

Tony stuck his tongue out before reaching up to a ledge and pulling himself up whilst James tried to work out if there was any way he could physically do _that._ The answer was 'not without help', and they were now quite high up a mountain that he was _extremely_ cautious with where he walked. They were about halfway there, judging from where Tony had indicated, and they were already _very high._ The Castle was now starting to look like the 'small house' Tony still insisted it was.

The man was in serious denial about living in a castle.

James had pretty much all of the occupants of the castle calling it a castle too. Tony's Aunt and Sister had also found out about his plan and had immediately jumped on board. Tony had utterly underestimated how good James was at this kind of thing until he was talking to his Mother before they set off and she had called it a castle. James list of Courts was now starting to be sorted into those who would join in on his plot and those who would not. He was pretty sure he had surprised Tony with the speed he had set this up, and he could tell that Tony wasn't sure whether to be impressed or facepalming.

Tony held his hand out, and with the extra leverage, they quickly moved to the next section with steps. He had expected the air too thin the higher they got, but it was just as clear where they were now than on the ground. Underhill definitely was not like Earth when it came to things like geography. He wondered if the air was the same at the peak as it was on the ground. Considering how tall Bane Mountain was, that was utterly fascinating.

Evidently, porting to Loci was seen as very rude. Big no-no. Hence the mountain climbing. So he could meet the mountain. That he was climbing. Tony seemed to pick up on his train of thought with startling accuracy, as per usual. James had started to enjoy that now, that Tony could work out what he was thinking without thinking he had Wanda-esque powers. James had begun to be able to pick up similar intentions through the Black Fire link too, although Tony had far more practice than him.

"Sorry we couldn't port, I probably should have mentioned that before we started."

Tony looked a little sheepish as James was pulled up quickly to the next section. Which looked adorable and so strange when paired with the ability to pull him up the side of a mountain single-handedly. Occasionally he would forget Tony's strength, and then he'd do something like that, or arm wrestle Thor and James would be baffled. 

James had long since learned that no matter how much time Tony spent as a human, with humans or feigning human reaction to make others comfortable, he was not human. It seemed obvious, but sometimes it snuck up on him. There were many _normal_ human things that everyone just _knows, _stuff that you don't feel the need to explain until it is prompted because it was just normal. The Fae have this too, and sometimes things left both sides confused. James actually enjoyed these moments as it meant learning something new. Plus, Tony was adorable when oblivious.

If anything he noticed Tony was the worst at spotting these moments. Probably because of how much time he went back and forth, his Aunt was very good at preempting James questions.

"I don't mind, it's nice. I'm enjoying the climb. Do you think we'll make it before the sun sets? The sun does set, right? It doesn't just shut off?"

Tony laughed at that as they came to a thicker set of steps that let them walk side by side for a bit. Tony was taking the side towards the edge, which James was quite fine with because wow they were up really high. James was looking at the sun critically because the days were so strange here, he hadn't seen the sunset yet. He had assumed it set, because that's what suns _do,_ but this was Underhill, maybe it turned off. Which would be utterly ridiculous but Underhill was good at ridiculous.

"The silver sun should be setting soon. I think we'll make it on time. It's one of my favourite times."

"So, explain this 'multiple suns in a flat land' thing. I remember you mentioning several in one of the 'Underhill Information Overload' conversations."

Tony grinned again at that as he carried on up the next set of stairs with the same energy that he walked most places, which was _not at all_ nerve-racking when _mountain climbing._ James was walking as close to the wall as possible whilst Tony was next to him, not seeming to notice that a foot out of place would have him _falling off the mountain._

"Hmm, over Seelie lands we have 3. I always wondered why, because there is a sun for when Winter was in control and one for Summer. And then occasionally this Silver sun appeared. Sometimes there would even be two suns in the sky; other times it appeared in place of the others. It's been getting more frequent lately, and I'm now wondering if it's mine? It used to shine between 20 hours or 70 depending on the season. I've been told it's started to equalise the last few weeks—around 50 to 60 hours for the day and 50 to 40 for the night.

"The golden sun usually shines around 70 to 80 hours when Summer reigns, but time is fuzzy here. Hours are not a set 60 minutes. We generally go by feel, magic and night or day. Trying to convert to human hours accurately is messy, and Underhill will intentionally mess things up if you expect accurate conversion, so this is more of an idea. The nights are approximately 20 to 30 hours. The azure sun shines when Winter Reigns, so it might rise tomorrow in place of the Silver Sun. I'm not sure, maybe if I take the table… that's the thing with Underhill. It's always in flux. Winter's days are the flipside of Summer. 20 to 30 hours of sun, 70 to 80 hours of the night.

"The Silver sun usually rises and sets from behind the mountain sporadically. Sometimes you don't see it for many seasons, sometimes it dominates the skies, so we're quite lucky to arrive when it was shining during Winter's reign. Winter and Summer's sun tips past the edge of Underhill at either side. Each Court is like a country, continent, or a world unto itself. Some are larger than others, and they usually have their own suns."

"That is… so bizarre, but I like it, it is so distinct from earth. I never thought of a place having so many suns. I like this one. It gives everything this sparkly hue. Better than the never-setting sun, that would drive me crazy."

"It is definitely weird for those of us used to the setting and rising of suns. When I first came to Seelie territories, the Silver sun was up, and I'd never seen anything like it before, even in Underhill. My favourite Sun in all of Underhill. I have extended family in Seelie territories, but I had never met them or visited before Math sent me here, so it was strange to me. Mother's family then took quite the interest in me. Drink?"

James nodded, and Tony summoned a bottle, containing the purple drink he was low key addicted too. That was the handy thing with magic, no need for heavy bags. Tony had placed a bunch of stuff in a pocket dimension before they left. 

"Also, how are you practically skipping? I'm having flashes of you tripping, and I don't like it."

"I won't trip."

"How can you say you _won't_ trip?"

James squinted critically at Tony, sure he was agile, but James had seen Tony walk into all kinds of things and trip over ridiculous stuff. How someone so graceful could also be clumsy, he had no idea.

"I've seen you walk into a wall. The same wall. Several times."

"I won't trip because Hetaris is a special kind of Genius Loci. A lot of magic has been spilt here before his birth. From the time a Fae first came near Bane of Underhill, and their magic was drawn, too many accidents, travellers, and even as a punishment. Then there was the war, a lot of magic, blood and death was spilt into the Bane. The border formed and it continued, hundreds of thousands of years of collected magic is bound in this Bane. That is what Hetaris was born in. It made him an Intellectus."

"What's an Intellectus?"

"An Intellectus is a being able to gain access to any knowledge it needs, within the scope of what it was gifted. It is a mode of existence that allows a few rare beings to view reality as one piece, place and moment. Avalon and a few other Loci are Intellectus. The Blue Fire is one too. They no longer search for knowledge; they just simply _know._ There are a number of ways this can present, for Hetaris it has to do with the land. Through him, if I focus, I _know_ every step on this mountain, every crack, every rock. Like my connection with the Fire? I already have experience with Intellectus, so it's easy for me to access this information. There are limits, it only covers this land, and I must know what I am looking for in order to find it. I've been working with an Intellectus for thousands of years so I don't have the usual problems that can occur with bonding to an Intellectus. The Blue Fire is much larger, so this is quite easy for me. Hmm, look over here."

Tony then walked along a _very_ thin section which was not at all slightly terrifying, and he was more than a little thankful when Tony held his arm out for him so he wouldn't fall. Moving some vegetation, however, revealed a massive nest with four bright red chicks which seemed utterly unphased by them being nosy. They had their feathers, but he could still see some fuzzy red fluff on their bellies. Their feathers were a gorgeous array of reds. If he hadn't seen the size of the nest, or fuzz, he would have assumed they were fully grown as they were _massive_ for birds. 

Tony reached behind the nest without looking and found a huge feather. This intellectus thing was cool. James blinked at it, however, because that was the size of his _arm. _A good hand span thick too, absolutely gorgeous, soft like silk, it started at a red so dark it was practically black with a red sheen if you moved it under the sun, from there it lightened up to the bright, fire red, at the tip.

"And you just knew they were there? Also, that looks like it comes from a huge, potentially terrifying bird."

"Yup. Oh and very large, very rare, not native to Underhill. We brought them with us. They make great hunting companions. Halfadân, also known as Dânas. I might be able to call one or two to join us on our hunt if you want to see?"

Tony waved his hand, and the large feather vanished into his pocket dimensions, and he summoned up what looked like a slab of meat. James watched how he quickly sliced it up with his knife into baby-sized chunks—leaving half skewered onto the rock where the chicks wouldn't spot it. But the parents would. Their diet did not alter the "terrifyingly huge bird" idea in his mind, not one bit. He did, however, feed the birds and got Tony to take pictures to show the kids. Tony humoured his want of taking pictures for everything and anything, in his defence he'd never gone on a real holiday or travelled properly before. 

Even on day trips with Tony, he took loads of pictures. He hadn't expected the urge to take photos of everything to show people back home to strike him. So far, the Fae he had met, that had not terrified him, had been quite taken by his camera phone. They'd been mostly cut off from Earth barring a few and Tony hadn't brought tech home before now. James liked to imagine Tony getting the other Fae as hooked on mobile-phones as humans somehow.

He totally would have taken the photo of the adorable giant baby murder birds himself, but that would have required he stop clinging to the wall for dear life. He was impressed he had released a hand to feed the chicks.

"Okay, that's cool. Now let's get to a piece of mountain that my feet fit on."

Tony chuckled as he wiped his hands clean on a cloth as they thankfully moved to a section of steps that were wide enough that he wasn't dreaming of mountain climbing gear. Watching Tony move though, he could see it, how he seemed to know exactly where to step without appearing to be thinking about it...

"Hetaris is pleased you think he is cool."

Yup. Still weird.

James had a hit or miss when it came to adapting to things Underhill. Some stuff he seemed to be able to be fine with. Magic, seasonal suns that set off of the edge of the world? Cool. Unicorns? Nope. Nope. Nope. A man _made_ of smoke and shadows? Awesome. Mountain that was alive and had a personality? Was not getting less weird anytime soon.

Although, it was pretty up here. Peaceful too. They didn't have to worry about delegations from other Courts or space grapes for at least a little while. They just climbed this absolute huge mountain that made mountains on Earth look like a hill. With a beautiful silver sun getting ready to set. It was good, and James was enjoying himself.

"This is probably the most date-like thing we've done too."

Tony certainly stumbled at that, which probably wasn't the best thing to do on a mountain. Apparently, he could still stumble but only if it was his fault. James grabbed him and immediately pulled him away from the ledge as Tony chuckled. Chuckled as if he hadn't just nearly fallen from _who knows_ how high.

"I swear, I spend so much time as a human, you'd think I would be better at this. When I revert, I seem to forget some things until I'm reminded."

"Fae don't date?"

"Not quite like humans do, I had meant to ask you about it, but then we ended up in chaos."

"What do Fae do then?"

He had a general idea of what Fae did from his Aunt, _but_, he knew that various groups tended to do things slightly differently. Plus, he was kind of interested in what _Tony_ said.

"It varies for where you are. Fae, in general, have a tendency to court, but it's not as rigid as it was in the past. Debtless gifts or unique ways to prove yourself usually. To set you apart from others, to give a gift without the weight of debt. When a Fae gives something to someone else, it _must_ be equalised. To give above or below in return is seen as a great insult. Wars have been fought over it. For courting, you attach no debt to the gift which is quite... Personal alone. It's usually something that they specialise in. Like a weird gift version of a human dating profile. My father forged Mother a sword, and she spent days Warding a cloak of un-sight as some of their first gifts. 

"They usually start small and work up. If the gifts are accepted, they spend time with each other, and they carry on from there, if the gifts are ill-made or not something the receiver enjoys, or if they have another Fae craft them. It proves that the courting Fae has failed. Someone once crafted Mother a Summer Inspired dress. It was pink and yellow with ruffles, and it was so terrible. I think I still have it in storage somewhere."

James was trying hard not to burst out laughing at the idea of Tony's Mother being handed over such a monstrosity. Especially when it was even apparent to him that his Mother once came from Winter. Not Summer. She also tended to favour darker colours, and he doubted she would wear anything with ruffles. He would absolutely need to see it before they left Underhill.

"Some Winter Fae prefer hunts. Summer prefers to create gifts from nature. Generally, it's up to the people involved. I like the idea of dates. I think humans are on to something with that. It is like... gifting of an experience. We also might even have time to visit some places before we have to head back to Earth."

"That sounds good. I'd like to see more of Underhill."

  
  
  
  


"That was perfect timing."

Tony announced as James saw a cave come into view slightly ahead of them; there had been strips of what he assumed was iron at random intervals as they climbed, some huge but the cave was something else entirely. At the entrance, the stone gave way to black, and the entire area around the mouth of the cave looked as if it was made from a solid, black iron. The sun was quite close to setting too. The silver light was throwing opalescent colours from where the sun would set behind the mountain. James was pretty sure the answer was magic, but he wondered _how_ exactly a sun could set over flat land. And what was maybe behind the mountain?

Lights began to light up the sky, in a similar fashion to Aurora's back on Earth, but Tony had told him that it was pure magic. Magic, signatures or leftover from what had been cast during the day that fed Underhill and before the sunset, it would paint itself across the sky. Beautiful and a helpful way to see if enough magic had been cast in the previous period. It was seen as a 'thank you' and a gift from Underhill in one. As Fae were rather entranced by beautiful things. It was all that whilst also being a report of sorts, one that people could assess the magic cast over the previous day. If there seemed to be less than expected, those Fae in the area would then up their efforts overnight to Balance out the day.

The darkening sky was lit up all over with magic that had coalesced, like galaxies and so many different colours. He could see the differences in colour from Summer and Winter. Tony's territories had a fantastic mix with the streaks of black that was lit up by silver twined around it. There were small amounts of reds and golds, at a guess James would say the returning magic of Spring and Autumn to the Wyldfae. The section James assumed was for Tony's land was as varied as his people. It was beautiful seeing it all like this. At Sunrise the magic of the night would colour the sky, and then people would start again.

The cave was gorgeous too. James was absolutely noticing a theme that Fae tended to make things utterly stunning to a human's eyes, whereas to them, it was likely kind of standard for something to be so fantastically beautiful. No wonder so many humans wandered into traps. Fae were drawn by beauty, but so were humans to a lesser extent. This cave didn't look like a natural formation at all. It looked as if it had been painstakingly carved, with decoration and complex Wards surrounding it. Not just beauty then, but magic too. Hetaris knew how to catch himself a Tony.

"Was this cave made by someone? Did it already exist when Hetaris was born? Or did he make all of it himself? And somehow design all this?"

He wasn't entirely sure how the mountain carved the cave into itself.

"Hmm? Oh no, when a Loci is born, the magic leftover works to form the entrance for the Foci. So Hetaris designed this with the intention to lure me to the table to deal and to test me. Even lower, mixed-blood Seelie or even some Iron-touched would struggle to stand where we are now, let alone _enter._ Iron attracts a certain type of magic inherent to Fae and many others too. Augmented with the Fire, I don't usually have the same effect. But I can show you. It doesn't hurt me either; many denizens of Underhill would be in pain long before they reached the mouth of this cave; it is Hetaris' first test. Any Fae that could not stand here would surely die from bonding with him."

Tony pressed his hands together, concentrating as he pulled them apart, deep blue tendrils stretched between his fingers. Tony used that weave usually when doing delicate work, and James guessed that was Fae Magic. He had thought all of Tony's magic reverted to the Black Fire though.

"I occasionally use this form of casting. It is useful with delicate weaves. It is the closest magic I use to pure Seelie magic. My Grandmother taught me when I made her a blade in trade. When the core of my magic was replaced with Fire, it completely replaced my innate Seelie magic, so I had to learn this from scratch."

He raised his hand towards the cave, and the blue magic practically leapt from his hands towards the cave, the metal pulled it in instantly, flashing silver before returning to normal.

"I thought your magic was always Black Fire? I didn't realise the weaves looked so different when you use them."

"The Fire is my core magic, but you don't apprentice under Math without picking up a few distinct kinds. I have travelled a lot, and the family is pretty scattered all over, we come together and occasionally learn from each other. It is one reason the Family is so strong and has many of us in higher positions. I haven't learned any Summer magic, though. I'm just closer to my relatives in Winter. Math would have gotten irritated if I refused to touch another kind of magic. He dislikes wasted potential. Also, a Seelie Loci will only bond with a particular sort of Seelie Foci. One that embodies the land, has the power to survive and thrive, and it is a must that they have multiple threads of magic too.

"To most Seelie Fae, apart from those who are Highborn, wanderers, or crafters. To the bulk of each Court, _that_ is the entire source of their magic, it's what runs through their blood, what holds their glamours, is in their clothes and what they carry. It's in their bones and layered on their skin. They have no need to wind multiple strands of magic as I have. If they approached this, all that magic would be wicked away. If Mab or Titania, for example, were to stand here, it would burn their skin down to their bones. More magic, more pain."

"Wow, that was kind of cool though. Not the skin burning thing, but the zappy silver thing.."

"Hmm, well this is cooler. Now, this is what sets me apart from the other Bane-Touched when it comes to Bane magic."

Tony ran his fingers down the wall and black tendrils instantly wrapped around his fingers. He made a few passes before he pulled it free. It was different again to his Black Fire, which was bright despite being black. This was the inky, velvety darkness he had started seeing around Tony. Although he summoned it in a very similar way to the Blue Fire, it was very different. Tony sat down on the ledge so they could watch the Silver sunset whilst he was moulding the magic in his hands.

James very carefully sat down next to him, _not_ dangling his legs over the ledge. As the sun began to set, Tony held out his hand, grabbing at what looked like air but with a bright, silver flash. He pressed that into his hands. James was torn between watching whatever Tony was doing or the sunset—flicking back and forth as the sun dipped behind the mountain. James could feel the high level of magic Tony was manipulating as a loud hum across his senses, which meant he also had to put more effort into grounding out the energy he could feel spiking.

He had a feeling that Tony enjoyed this aspect of being back on this side of the mists. That he was free to work more magic. He didn't have to worry about accidentally introducing too much magic into the environment. He knew Tony had been developing something that absorbed atmospheric magic, that meant he could potentially increase the levels of magic he, Loki and Stephen could cast when it came to the fight against Thanos without worrying what it would do to humanity. Maybe him too, come to think of it.

Tony eventually held his hand out towards him. Holding something quite similar to the clasp he had on his coat/cloak at the moment, at the same time, it was very different. The current clasp was carved from white and black gemstones. This was much, much different.

"Here, this can replace that clasp.. if you want it? Now you won't just be wearing Iron, but you will be wearing my Bane Magic too."

He turned it over in his hand, surprised at the detail. It was a black wing crossed with a silver wing, but looking closer it was more like each wing was made of glass, or something like glass as it was clear, but it felt different, not like any glass he had felt. The silver light shifted and moved, throwing off the same rainbow of colours as the sunset had and the black wing was filled with shifting, moving black velvet ribbons of magic. So dark it seemed to suck in light, it looked like it was soft and beautiful yet contained behind a thin layer of glass. James highly doubted it would smash thought.

"I can't believe you just made this, it's gorgeous, and I definitely want it. What is the silver side made from?"

"I captured a little of the sunset."

Tony grinned as if that was the simplest thing in the world. James replaced the black-winged clasp and slipped the other into his pocket. He noticed Tony looked quite happy with that he liked it.

And that was when he stumbled on the realisation that Tony had been making him things, small things like this that he thought James would like. Not always magic, some of it was tech. But it was starting to veer more towards magic. And he'd probably carried on being oblivious it wasn't for Tony's aunt. He needed to find something to thank her with.

"It's been a while since I worked magic like that, we have to be so careful on Earth, not to introduce too much magic to the environment. It can have strange consequences. Here, Underhill needs the magic to thrive, the more we work, the better."

"That's why there is so much magic everywhere?"

"Yeah, plus our sunsets don't damage magic, as you just saw we can use them in magic. So we don't have to worry about that. Come on, let's go meet Hetaris, he is grumbling about us sitting out here."

Tony hopped up unreasonably fast for a man dangling his legs over the side of a very, very high up mountain. James had crossed his legs sitting next to him, but he wasn't jumping up. Tony helped pull him to his feet as they headed to the cave.

It was dark inside, and what surprised him was that as soon as it was dark enough, the clasp lit up the area like a torch, but with the same silvery, the shimmery light of the sunset.

"Wow, that is so cool."

"You like it?"

"I love it. It's gorgeous and handy!"

"If you don't want the light to come on, or if you want it brighter it will answer you."

Tony took James' hand and held it over the clasp, it felt warm, and he could feel varied temperatures along the wings, he figured they were like a magic version of settings and found out how to change the brightness.

"You certainly are a natural with magic. Most people wouldn't have found the triggers that easy."

Tony ran his fingers across the wall in a number of patterns, and a sudden flash of Blue Fire burst from his hand into the wall. Several torches lit up ahead of them. All lit with Blue Fire. He turned his light down, running his fingers across the clasp, which was possibly one of his favourite things already.

The cave went on for quite a while, cave probably wasn't a good description really, because it didn't look or feel like a natural formation. The designs were getting more detailed as they went. If he didn't know it was done by magic, he'd say this work would have taken years.

"This is stunning."

"Hetaris is pleased, very few people will be able to see it, which is a shame as he did some amazing work. I've met a few Loci, and maybe I'm just biased, but I think he did an amazing job."

"Well I've not met any Loci, but this is beautiful."

The pathway was long and twisting, the Blue Fire that lit their way vanished behind corners, and there was now no leftover light from outside as the sun had set and they were too deep into the cavern. He couldn't hazard a guess and how deep they were into the mountain, but they were sloping down ever so slightly. It was not at all creepy.

Okay, it was a little creepy. 

The beautiful designs on the walls were quite distracting, though, which was good, because then he wasn't thinking about the massive amount of iron and stone above him. That could crush and trap them. It was quite oppressive.

"You okay James?"

"Hmm, yeah, it's just strange being so deep inside a mountain."

Tony tilted his head slightly in a way James had now associated with him speaking to Hetaris.

"Hetaris has told me to tell you that you are safe. He wouldn't let his passageways collapse, and if you want, he's given me leave to port you to the ground."

"I thought Loci didn't like teleportation?"

"They don't, but Hetaris likes you. I think he likes you more than he likes me."

The easy option to leave should things get too stressful certainly helped quite a lot. That the Mountain himself had promised to keep the pathways safe was also excellent. Half crushing Tony's hand was definitely helping, and he was happy he didn't say anything about it. Strangely, the deeper they got, the less anxious he became. The closer to the chamber, the more confidence he got, and after a while, he was back to paying more attention to the walls than the thought of how much stone was above them.

James wasn't sure how long they walked for, but eventually, the pathway began to widen. He was actually starting to feel quite pleasant by then too, maybe it was being closer to Hetaris himself, but there was a heavy feeling of safety and protection, it left him feeling oddly at home.

"Where we are now is the heart of Bane Mountain. Even many of the Bane Touched would struggle to walk this path. The strongest magic is collected here, and there is no rock, no dirt, _nothing_ but the purest iron in all directions for about a kilometre. Maybe more, I can't feel any stone, even when I stretch my senses out."

"Wow, that is a lot of Iron. Why did he make it so hard for someone to bond with him?"

"Practicality really. If I could not stand here, then bonding with him would have killed me. Loci don't like killing Foci they wish to entreat. Loci tend to get attached quickly, and accidentally killing their new best friend? Their new _family?_ It would hurt them. Loci, Hetaris is just as Fae as I am. He can die from sorrow just as easily as any Fae. Hello Hetaris."

James was muddling through _that_ information Tony had dropped on his head, in a pure Tony way. Just in conversation as if it was normal. How do you die of sorrow? James did not like the sound of that.

He also was surprised to hear Tony speaking out loud. Usually, he spoke in his mind to Hetaris. 

Hetaris _replying_ was probably a bigger shock. 

James hadn't realised meeting Hetaris would mean being able to speak with him. Being able to _see_ him. Apart from seeing the mountain anyway.

In James' defence, he just did not have much experience chatting with mountains. Magical or otherwise.

"Greetings my Foci, greetings Fragile Creature, you can call me Hetaris."

The voice is sonorous, reverberating from the darkness up ahead that is not creepy at all. That the torches light up when Tony gets closer to them is a thankful addition.

"Hi Hetaris, you can call me James if you want. Nice to meet you."

"What form are you going to take today, Het?"

The creepy darkness gave a rumbling chuckle at that, it sounded like a laugh but also like tumbling stones. A few seconds later, James is sure he heard hooves on stone. Tony had his head tilted to one side, listening until he broke out in a grin.

"Hmm, a wise choice, one I favour too. Might you stick with this one?"

"I remain undecided."

"Well, there is no rush. I'm happy to greet you as a different form each time for as long as you wish."

"I kind of forgot that you said he could shift his shape, can he be anything he wants?"

"Sort of. Loci can appear as many things. Generally taken from the Foci's mind. I come from a family of shapeshifters. It gives him a broader range than other Foci. It is all well and good knowing what a wolf looks like, but just deciding to shift, unless it is part of you, means you must _know_ every inch of that creature. As I have many family members who shift, I have information for many creatures other than my own. This gives Hetaris quite the pool to choose from.

"He will always be the Mountain, no matter which form he takes. Closer to a type of Astral projection than a shift. Remember how I told you Mothers Loci is a Blackwood Tree? After meeting Mother, he took several new forms from her mind so they could fly across their lands together. Hetaris can't make his mind up; each visit he has held a different form. Today's should be rather impressive if I judged correctly from those hooves. Last time he was a badger. Nurturing, foundational and magic."

Tony slapped his hands together and threw his arms out, the room they had entered burst to light with Blue Fire, illuminating so much that James took a second just taking it all in. James hadn't even realised that the corridor had opened up into a vast circular room. 

The black Iron was heavily present, but there was so much more here, including a lake with the kind of blue water you see in photoshopped holiday pictures. The Blue torches lit it up beautifully, and it looked impossibly deep. Somehow there were freaking trees in here too. Despite the lack of, you know. _Sun._ And _earth. _There was a corner that could have been dark of the dark forest back home. Well, the room was circular, so it was more sections than corners.

"How are there _trees_ in here?"

"Hetaris brought them as a gift. He sustains them with his magic. Birch for beginnings. Rowan for protection. Hawthorn for consequences. And finally, Aspen to surround them for victory."

Another corner was lined with crystals and gemstones that didn't look like anything he had seen before, and the other was mostly bare barring a raised table, made from what James assumed was Iron. Similar to what he had seen in Tony's creeptastic mirror room.

James had gotten so distracted he nearly jumped out of his skin when a frankly, ridiculously huge stag appeared in front of him. He was much, much taller than him and his antlers were absolutely gorgeous. He was the same velvety black as the magic Tony had moulded outside. Thin chains of silver and iron wound around his antlers with blue stones glinted in the Firelight. James had always found deer impressive, but they had nothing on Hetaris.

"Wow, you are, just wow."

Hetaris ducked his head in what James swore was an oddly familiar sarcastic bow that Tony had mastered and he was pretty sure at that moment that the pair were well matched as Tony ran his hand down Hetaris neck.

"I like this fragile creature. This James. Why did it take you so long to bring him?"

Tony huffed, rolling his eyes as Hetaris prodded him with his antlers.

"You know why, he is a Reaper and exceptional, but your magic had not yet settled from the bonding, and his magic is new to him. If I had brought him too soon, then the magical forces could tear him apart."

"There would be an easy fix for that-"

"No."

"I still believe.."

"Hetaris."

James glanced back and forth as the pair were now having what looked like a glaring contest. James was wondering what exactly they were discussing, but he also really wanted to look around. The corner with the gemstones caught his eye first as he tuned out the Fae arguing with the mountain. With how stubborn he knew Tony was, and Hetaris seemed just as bad, they could be a while.

Some stones he swore he recognised, he was pretty sure that was the biggest emerald he'd ever seen, it was the size of his _head. _He tried to name some of the stones, but quickly ascertained that whilst some resembled stones on Earth. Some really did not. What he thought was another emerald, actually changed colour when exposed to heat or touch. His hand turned it into a deep vibrant red. One of his favourites looked like pure silver at first, but it was like the fanciest snow globe in the world. 

Tony and Hetaris finished arguing and then appeared on either side of him. Still subtly continuing their staring contest behind him, James had to bite his cheek not to chuckle.

"That's my gift for Mab, at the whole ceremony thing. Hetaris and I decided on it. That is for Titania."

Tony pointed to the snowglobe for Mab, and another stone similar to the emerald, but it was wrapped in what looked like vines, but were actually stone with little opalescent flowers.

"You are giving them gifts?"

"It is required, they are giving me something, and I was informed of the debt level. Hetaris and I decided from a mountain. You get stones. Math has something he is planning, and I have no idea what, he has told me that it is something that was always mine, so no debt applied. Which isn't making me nervous at all."

"Really awesome stones though."

Tony stumbled slightly, and James smirked when he realised it was because Hetaris had shoved his back with his antlers. It was fun seeing Tony meet his match when it came to being stubborn.

"I was getting to it, you impatient pile of rocks."

He didn't hold back the snort from that.

Tony reached over and picked up a large, egg-shaped, black stone, that on contact lit up like the night sky had before they came in. Absolutely identical in fact and somehow rendered perfectly on such a small surface with the same impact as the sky. James quickly figured it was the best.

"This is for you Fragile Creature. As my Foci is being stubborn and had restricted me-"

Tony cut Hetaris off with a stern look and James got to see a Giant Magic Mountain Deer roll his eyes. Sam was going to have a meltdown when James showed him his Underhill Scrapbook when he got home.

Wait. Did he just say that was…

"Hetaris wanted to make you something for achieving the impossible."

Tony then rolled his eyes. James wondered if Tony and Hetaris were just oblivious to how alike they were. If Hetaris wasn't a stag, and, well a newly born mountain. Or… a freshly born soul of a mountain? As the mountain is old. Which opened up a whole bunch of questions about Loci's ages that James figured would get complicated fast. Either way, if Hetaris wasn't a Giant Magic Mountain Deer, he could imagine him and Tony being twins.

"I didn't do much…"

"Without you, my Foci would not be wearing that Crown. He would be at risk. It is why I believe… fine I shall be silent on the topic, for _now._ You gave me a great gift, James. This is my gift in return."

James very nearly said Thank You but caught himself before the words flipped free. Until thanking people had become possibly the worst kind of profanity or debt, James had not realised how often humans just said Thanks for often frivolous things.

"This is wonderful, I will treasure this, and the effort you went to is amazing."

"I definitely like this Fragile creature."

Tony snorted whilst chuckling as he led them over to the section with the trees. 

"I know Het, pretty sure you like him more than me."

"Of course I do, he's polite and isn't obstinate or allergic to good sense."

"Heh, Your Loci likes me best. I'm going to get so many pictures of this place. Sam is going to blow seeing trees at the heart of a mountain."

He was wondering if he could get Hetaris in on his plan to have everyone calling the castle what it was. The Giant Magic Mountain Deer seemed to like him after all.

"When you have your fuel to torment Sam, fancy a swim? I'll even charm your phone to keep it with you so that you can swim through the corridors. You joining us Het?"

James was trying to work out how a deer was going to swim as he walked into the pool, as the pool quickly deepened a burst of that same black velvet magic exploded out and he briefly heard a few clicks of what James assumed was a dolphin. Well, that was cheating.

"Now, we're back to weird, shame I don't have scuba gear."

"James, have you forgotten where you are?"

"Magic Scuba gear?"

"Something like that, if you want?"

"Sure, go for it."

"You are too trusting by far. You know that?"

"Na, I just know who to put my trust in."

He grinned as Tony blushed slightly before ducking his head, as James' clothes shifted under a touch to something much better to swim in, with a warm with a familiar buzz that he now recognised as Tony's magic. Tony touched the stone, and it vanished into his pocket dimension too.

"You can now see and breathe underwater until I remove that. It will feel odd at first, but just breath as normal."

"But, underwater?"

Tony nodded before his own clothing shifted as he speared into the water with far more skill than James figured he could manage. Instead, he walked in, pleasantly surprised when it was warm and not icy cold. Breathing underwater was also surprisingly easy after he got past the 'I'm going to drown!' reflex.

He had no idea how long they swam for, but it seemed like hours, and there was always something new after every corner. Somehow everything was visible despite being in a system of mountain lakes. The water steadily started to get warmer after a while, still lovely, and that was when Hetaris bid them a good night to return to the heart of the mountain. The hidden lakes throughout the mountain all seemed to end in the same place, which was actually a lake just at the base of the mountain that they accessed by jumping off a waterfall. His confidence in the fact Tony wouldn't lead him somewhere dangerous only had him dithering over jumping off the waterfall for a few minutes. (That Tony recorded it so he would terrify Sam and Rhodes had nothing at all to do with it. At all.)

"Think you can walk back to the house, or are you thinking Firewalking towards bed? You look exhausted, Fy Sidan."

James was in fact half fallen asleep on the super warm and smooth rock he'd found at the edge of the lake. The day and night cycle Underhill was not built for humans, even altered as he was, the days were exceptionally long. It did, however, make sense now how Tony could stay awake for so long and how the light outside rarely dictated his sleeping patterns.

"I think we did more today than I did in the last year, so Firewalking to your Castle sounds great."

As he was swept away in a brush of Fire with the feeling of magic settling over him, shifting his clothing and likely removing the whole breathing underwater thing. Tony dropped them directly into bed before poking him in the ribs.

"It's not a castle."

"Ahuh, you keep telling yourself that Kotenok."

He was _so_ doing that again. Hopefully with Giant Magic Mountain Deer/Dolphin too, because Hetaris was cool and watching Tony and Hetaris bicker like siblings was hilarious. Especially when Tony attempted to scowl at him for laughing. 

As he nestled down into the soft blankets, he swears he blinks, and Tony appears with food, dressed differently with his hair loose. Nudging him into eating something. Activities like what they had done today had a pretty obvious reaction with his new metabolism. So, after he ate one thing he realised he was starved and quickly ate everything and Tony even let him steal some of his. Not that James has any idea what he just ate, but it tasted good, and the soup made him feel warm and fuzzy. After a bottle of the purple drink, he was happily curling up in a pile of blankets

Sure, Underhill has some scary parts, but as far as James was concerned…

"Underhill is amazing."

"I'm glad you think so Fy Sidan."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Underhill arc is turning into a beast. I have a little spreadsheet where I am tracking the word count of each of the 13 chapters. Part 10 is a BEAST. Not all are finished yet, 2 are part way, 2 have the structure ready to be written and 1 need touching up, yet it's already at 110k.
> 
> If I get Tumblr working again when this arc is over, I'll put a little screenshot of it up.
> 
> I've been reading whilst all fevery and found the salty team Iron Man collection which leads to just reading tons of Wix's one-shots. I usually avoid one-shots; they occasionally leave me sad, yearning for more. As you all know, my impulse control for making things long is low (Remembers back when the chapter word count for this fic was 2k...) But Wix creates these perfect little pieces of art. (In no way did 1 haunt me for 4 days on how I could potentially continue it 😅, I hurled myself into writing one of my new favourite upcoming parts of our Underhill arc with a newcomer.)
> 
> Anyway, ranting fevery woman will let all you lovely people go and free you from my Note-Rambles! I hope you are all doing well despite the Virus Times and just, everything going on outside. Hopefully, this little attempt at fluff made someone smile!


	74. A Fo Ben Bid Bont

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a beast. I even had to cut a scene out when I looked at the word count.
> 
> So, I hope no one minds a mega chapter. 18k warrants that name, especially on a fic where I was "These chapters are going to be 2k at most!"
> 
> It was actually kind of lucky my Angela is currently too busy. As much I love reading more snuggly romance sections, I so can't write them. So I figured like on Bones, I could find an Angela to work with! Alas, I am currently Angela-less, and uh, I decided to try my hand, and I don't know how good it came out. (I am Ace and have this thing about second-hand embarrassment that just knocks me for 6. So is this good? Or should desperately scout out help for that regard 😅 also someone asked if they could elaborate/write a one-shot in areas that I obviously faded to black and omg yes, I would love to read anything people write.)
> 
> Now, enjoy your mega chapter that is only not on time because I accidentally put this in 2 documents During the week when proofing and lost track of the word count and it took all night to proof.

**James POV**

James had been brushing his hair when Tony swept back in, barely ten minutes after they had breakfast, which probably meant someone was off schedule, again. He speculated as he quickly finished up—wondering if anyone was, actually going to arrive _ on _ schedule. Or what the schedule even was as it just seemed someone from every Court just knew to turn up on Tony's doorstep. Tony obviously hadn't invited anyone, was it just some kind of Underhill groupthink?

Generally, James tried to avoid thinking about things like this, the whole Underhill reacting to the will and intentions of the residents was immensely weird and somehow ended up with everyone knowing where to turn up. Even Tony couldn't explain it. It was merely something he felt as part of Underhill. It wasn't something he could wrap his mind around yet, so James had put it in the box to think about later. Tony had told him he was adapting at a swift pace, but he had spent most of his life thinking about the world in a human manner. Switching to Fae wasn't a seamless transition. Anytime he beat himself up about taking too long, Tony made a point of telling him how amazingly fast he was adapting to things. 

"Here, this didn't take me too long to finish up at all."

"Where do you find the time to do this? You know, I've never actually seen you do it before?"

He really did wonder when Tony managed to find the time, the Warding on this cloak was immensely detailed, intricate and beautiful. James had started with his next plan, which was that he was making something for Tony. It was a little tricky. He didn't have the abilities Tony had when it came to crafting so he had to come at this from a different angle, which had meant in-between his 'magic homework' he had been looking into different symbols important to those of Underhill. James hadn't known what he was looking for until he found it. He had asked Blodeuwedd for help as James could not work with silver; she was creating a number of blanks for him. Which he was then planning to Ward and he had a few other things he needed to do too. 

It was tricky, as they were busy. A lot. If they weren't greeting new envoy's, they were meeting with those who had already arrived. Along with welcoming each and every group of Wyldfae of Spring and Autumn that arrived. Also, Tony had not used their busy schedule as an excuse to slack off on either his Reaper training nor his new apprentice training. Tony was also pointedly making time to do things for fun.

Which James was thrilled at, because the more he learned about how Tony had been living under the weight of this non-existent debt, he knew that Tony pointedly taking time off of work to do something fun was new. The reactions of 'The Family' told him that clearly.

Oh, there was also 'The Family' that occasionally turned up to speak to him. James was finding more and more about Tony's extended family, and how they seemed to be in very high positions of power all over Underhill. That they were _ very _ interested in him. 

He had been correct in his assumption a while ago, that certain bloodlines seemed to produce more influential Fae. So it made sense. It wasn't something he could track either, as Fae could adopt a person into a bloodline. Clíodhna, for instance, Tony called her sister, but she wasn't his born sister. James had just assumed it was a friendly naming, but Blodeuwedd (who was quickly turning into his guide for all things Underhill and Family related) told him Tony and Clíodhna had made the choice to become brother and sister. James didn't understand how, but now they were. 

Blodeuwedd wasn't related to Tony's Mother either. Well, she wasn't _ born _ precisely. Math created her. Something had happened with her betrothed that James was unsure about and Tony's Mother had stepped in. Declaring her of The Family to protect her. 

If James had thought he was busy back on Earth, having his days be 100 hours long and full of Fae just made them more hectic. He didn't mind; he felt… at home here. More than he ever had on Earth. Not even just after his Winter Soldier days. As a kid, he had never really fit in. Oh, he could woo the dames (and some of the fellas) with an ease that wrought envy in any who called him friend. That wasn't exactly a long list either. 

He loved his sisters, but he always felt a little separate from them. It wasn't his ma's fault. His da had up and vanished one night. No one knew where to, just gone. He couldn't begrudge her for remarrying, and he loved his sisters and never thought of them as half anything. Few even knew he wasn't related to the man he called pa. A few noticed his eyes, but it was the depression. People cared more about their next meal than the kid with ice blue eyes when the rest of his family were brown-eyed. He had always felt on the edge, removed, and as if he weren't in the right place.

Oh, James could work a crowd with ease, always finding a dame to hang off his arm, but the list of people who he _ regularly _ saw? That consisted entirely of the pint-sized kid that kept getting into fights at a time where everyone was tense and miserable. Then he got drafted and sent to hell, only to hear his friend was more wrapped up in his jealousy to care that James did not want to go.

When these memories had started coming back, James had assumed he only felt this way, so apart… so removed from it all because he was looking at it through the eyes of the Winter Soldier. The longer he stayed in the compound and started to feel at home—part of something. Part of a sprawling family, he had started wondering if maybe he had it wrong. Since he came Underhill? Now he knew. Because something just… clicked. He enjoyed the madhouse nature of Compound life and Underhill.

When he was doing crazy things with Tony, eating with his bizarre family, learning magic, training, just… everything about it felt _ right _ in a way that he could not compare to his life before. He was starting to know his way around the changing castle too, like he knew what to think and where to turn. It felt _ right _ looking up at a silver sun and a colour splattered night sky. Feeling magic in everything and with magic lessons that sometimes felt as if he were remembering something rather than struggling to learn the first time.

Tony shook out a large cloak which brought his mind back into the room. His attention zeroed in on what Tony was holding. Eyes skating over the complex Warding pattern, he didn't understand the purpose yet, but this was almost as complex as his amulet. Some of the Warding was absolutely tiny, and larger sections were made up of smaller Wards. It was a damned work of art.

"You want to see how I Ward things?"

The confusion on Tony's face as he held out a heavier looking cloak than what he wore when they visited Hetaris has him nodding. He's always wondered how Tony comes up with his Wards and how he worked them. This cloak was very obviously, _ heavily _ Warded. He had no idea when Tony had found the time. The shining silver thread was liberally shot through with the black Warding Tony was starting to use a lot more. The silver Wards and black Wards crossed each other, intertwining in areas, creating singular, yet mixed Wards whilst also being separate.

It had a different feel to the intricate, delicate work Tony's usually stuck too. There was more Iron Warding on this than on anything Tony had made for him before, and he liked the contrast between the shining silver and deep black Wards. 

There was more here than just a purpose in the Wards that he would use back home. It was a statement that he hadn't unravelled yet. Everything Fae did had a tendency to say something, clothing, jewellery, glamour, even how they walked and gestured. Back at the compound, it wasn't something usually fell into, but it was a language James was picking up quickly. It all weaved together in a way that took him by surprise sometimes. It was like reading human body language, just with a hundred extra layers and infinitely more complicated. So, it was very Fae.

"Next piece I work on, I'll drag you into my workshop I use for Warding, if you like?"

Tony was tentative in his question, but his Fire burning around him told James very clearly that Tony was more than pleased with James' request. He got one of those flashes of intuition again that those outside of Tony's family, a few friends he might have had over the years possibly had been more interested in dragging him _ away _ from his passions, rather than _ joining _ him. Tony was meticulous about who he allowed close. It was like a system of walls that James was starting to learn. He wondered not for the first time just what he did that caused Tony to bring him inside his walls.

"As if you ever have to drag me into one of your workshops."

James grinned before turning his attention back to the cloak. Tony was very happy, and that flashed over him. Tony hadn't quite worked out how to temper his new power level yet, so James was enjoying the front row seat of what it felt like to be around a highborn Seelie Fae who was not tempering the natural effect they had on humans. He was quite enjoying it, plus, anytime Tony realised he slipped he blushed, and he looked cute when he did that—usually followed with throwing cushions at his head whilst indignantly yelling that he was not cute. Blodeuwedd had been in the room once and had almost fallen off of her chair, laughing. James had felt quite proud of himself for that.

He couldn't put his finger on what it was exactly that made him think was so _ 'different' _ about the cloak, beyond the statement he hadn't deciphered yet _ . _The thicker, black straight lines as they ran from each shoulder, diagonal to meet at a point in the middle at the floor of the cloak were nothing like he had seen Tony create before. The cloak wasn't alive like Levi, but he felt it move strangely as it settled around him. It looked heavy, thick and warm, yet when it was more than light. It made him feel light-footed and cool in the warm room. The magic in it increased as he wore it too.

Tony was grinning as James was trying to work everything out. He rarely told you everything an item he Warded did. Claiming that way they'd likely forget and they would not work with the Wards as well. By giving it to them to experiment, they learned the ins and outs and their limits. Even things Tony had never intended. 

He always lurked to ensure safety. He also gave hints occasionally. Tony didn't just abandon those he deemed under his care. Also, he was pretty sure Tony found it amusing watching him and Rhodes try to muddle things out. James was noticing that things Tony made for him seemed to be getting steadily more complex too.

"So who is at the gates today?"

"King Lugh from the Court of Soul's Ease and King Dagda from The Court of Peaceful Days."

Tony was openly excited too. He was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet now he honestly looked as if he was filled with barely contained energy, but waiting patiently. Well, as patient as a several millennia-old hyperactive Fae could be. Which in Tony's case was not long. The energy practically bouncing around the room gave him away too. 

"Wait. I'm sure I memorised the Courts correctly now. Those two Courts aren't linked."

"Correct, they are however good friends, so it's not all that shocking they arrived together. Lugh would _ never _ arrive with a representative from Yearning Heart and Math is unlikely to travel via horse to join Dagda. Math's party will arrive at their own speed in groups depending on which apprentices he picked and how far they've advanced in traversing Underhill. So Lugh and Dagda tend to meet up along the way and travel together. Both are good friends of mine. I've known them since I was a kid, Dagda was practically a second father to me."

So they would also likely be considered part of 'The Family' James assumed. Or at least close if not related. Tony held his hand out after James fastened his cloak, James was starting to collect quite a few items now that Tony had made without actually realising it. Now he had, he was not sure how he had missed it before. James had gone from wearing a Silver and Bane in a bracelet, to Tony spinning Bane around him in quite a prominent display of strength, in several permutations. Not including the immensely powerful protection amulet.

"I think I get why Thor likes cloaks, this is super comfortable and I like being surrounded by your Wards."

Tony grinned and then flushed slightly which James in no way enjoyed causing. He wanted Tony to know that he saw what he was doing and saying to those attending his Ascension.

Iron as a metal wound with silver. 

Iron as thread, stitched into Wards with silver stitched Wards wrapped around it. 

Iron as the magic drawn out of the metal, paired with the light from the silver sun. 

It was as apparent as the magic he had spun to claim him in an unequivocal statement that he was _ protected _ and he was taking no chances. Tony's Bane magic was also very loud compared to his others, James heard it nearly as clearly as Fire, so he picked up on parts here and there. _ Mine. Defend. Protect. Safe. _

He would have to be very careful when it came to his cloak and his wrist when dealing with other Fae. James was pretty sure the clasp was safest, despite being a purer form of the magic that Fae was vulnerable to, it was perfectly contained. James had started to look into it more. He had begun to consider that maybe it didn't just light his paths. If the silver light shone out, he wondered if the Bane did too. To light his path and protect his way.

James grasped Tony's hand as he pulled him in close, Fire swept around them in a completely different formation than what he was used to. Usually, it was a column of Fire, but James had noticed that things had been changing since Tony had put the Crown on and his power had stepped up several levels. Now the Black Fire was always joined with wisps of deep velvet Bane magic that swept around their feet before moving upward in the same motion. Tony stepped out with practised ease as he followed, the Fire died down in a similar pattern as James turned his attention to the opening gate. He wondered if Tony had even noticed the change yet. He might get Tony to Firewalk so he could see how it looked from an outside perspective, maybe it was the same, but he had only perceived a change.

With his ongoing magic lessons, he was beginning to discern things differently than before. With his new senses, he had access to more range of the fantastical and confusing. Mostly his current lessons consisted of how to avoid getting overloaded by environmental magic again and how to ground it out. He had accidentally channelled enough into a Puschkinia flower this morning when he got distracted. He had been holding both the flower and his rope and the magic diverted, apparently liking the flower more. Since then, despite being picked, it still seemed to be very alive. 

Oh, and it had Black Fire in some of the flowers. 

James had no clue how he did it, or what to do with it, but he had tentative plans on trying to replicate it with some of the other Spring Flowers Tony doesn't seem to realise occasionally follow him now. Well, they are not _ following _ him per se, but they grow anywhere they could where he walked. He had been keeping a picture diary of the one's in strange places, like door frames. 

However, back to his very, very new magic. James had no idea if the perceived change in Tony's magic is because maybe he's _ seeing _ different. Or perhaps Tony's magic is _ shifting _ whilst his seems to be growing. There was no reason it couldn't be _ both. _

He also had been considering texting Rhodes to tell him Tony was considered having him as his apprentice. James was all for it really, but if they told Rhodes before they came back, then he might not let them back in the compound. Two apprentices in one area, even though he was 50% of that two, it would make him nervous if he were Rhodes. James, however, was just too excited about the whole thing.

As the new Fae entered he focused on getting a good look at the newcomers, the two Courts arriving now were very obviously not paired in some way or another. He hadn't fully noticed how the others had been so intrinsically linked to their pairs until these two arrived.

They were also riding what looked to be actual horses again, although much larger than even the biggest horses he had ever set eyes on in his life, even since coming Underhill. Similar to Cernunnos horse actually, maybe larger for one of them. The men behind then had a variety of different breeds and sizes when it came to their horses. 

Unlike some other Courts, there wasn't a blatantly obvious theme, just a well-knit group of Fae on both sides. He could tell the groups apart, but it wasn't as glaringly obvious as, say, the Summer delegation. One seemed to favour greens and browns, nature and wouldn't look out of place with Big C, just less actual plants. The other, silver and gold was present on each of them. Not their entire outfit, that was a good range just like the others, but the connecting point of this Court was that gold and silver. For some it was decorative Warding, others it was jewellery. One man had a thick piece of twisted gold and silver that wrapped around his arm down to 3 rings. He could feel the magic shimmering around the man's arm too.

James was very much looking forward to meeting two people that had been Tony's friends since he was a kid to do much more than a cursory assessment. Considering Tony's age, if he had guesstimated correctly, they'd been friends for _ at least _ 7000 years, which just was insane. So he was already invested, especially with Tony practically vibrating next to him with excitement. Tony stood still because James assumed it was required, as he had stood and waited for each newcomer to approach him barring Mab, but that was different somehow. He knew Tony wanted to move, and it was quite adorable watching him be hyper and excited over meeting up with people.

James hadn't seen many horses in his life, and since he went Underhill, they're _ everywhere. _ For a land of people that many had the ability to teleport in one fashion or another, they _ really _ liked travelling via horse. He had seen Tony stables. Tony had a number of horses of different breeds that were primarily his. Tony, who could Firewalk over considerable distances, even Underhill! Yet there was enough effort and thought that this wasn't a rarely used hobby. Tony had taken him to see several horses that he might use in the hunt he had been invited on. 

James imagined that if humans developed teleportation? Cars and public transport would vanish overnight. Who would go the long route? Let alone going the _ Horse _ route? He mentally shook his head as he focused again on the new guests instead of internal debates of horse vs teleportation. Wondering what was his life even.

The two men up front were quite different from each other. One was around the same size as Cernunnos, bigger even. Just without the antlers, James felt quite comfortable calling the man a giant of some kind in fact. Not only was he a good half foot _ taller _ than Cernunnos; he had a similar build. Using a large wooden staff, that James was pretty sure might have literally been a _ tree _ at one point, he slammed it onto the ground in a burst of green and gold streams of magic. With more grace than James would have conceived of with a man of such a build, he swung himself off his horse, crossing to Tony in a few steps.

This would probably have made him nervous if Tony wasn't grinning like an absolute loon and projecting a breathless happiness that was shining with how unburdened it was. It left him feeling a little giddy and lightheaded. Suddenly he could see a younger, teenage Tony with complete ease, with Rhodes stories quickly coming to his mind. He also knew from his Aunts stories, that these three caused a lot of chaos.

All of this meant this was likely King Dagda. Judging by the few stories he had of the newcomers. The man who took over Tony's father's Court after he passed. Tony was swept off his feet in what looked like a bone-crushing hug. Tony had mentioned Dagda was what Thor had the potential to become someday, and James could see it. Maybe it would be a good idea to introduce them at some point. James had picked up enough to think Thor and Loki could do with some other, _ non-Odin _ influences in their lives.

"Ryn! It has been too long since you graced our Court, this is what happens when you spend too long from Underhill, I always told you that you would wear a Crown! I just thought it would be mine!"

The other man was tall, but not as tall as Dagda, definitely just under 6 foot. Whereas King Dagda was all earthy browns and greens, King Lugh was all shining and golden. The elements the Courts carried on their person were embodied by these men. Lugh even had very long, perfectly curled hair that looked like spun gold. He was carrying a long, silver and gold spear that looked as beautiful as it was deadly.

His upper body that he could see was also covered in Woad like Tony, that had a different and distinct style than what he had become accustomed to. There were a few Wards here and there however that he recognised as Tony's work, including a seven-pointed star visible at his collarbone. Lugh stepped from his horse with a level of perfect grace that was almost as confusing as Dagda's dismount.

"Dag, Ryn still needs to breathe, maybe you should return him to his feet so he can introduce us to his knight?"

Tony coughed as he was returned to his feet, shoving Lugh who simply grabbed his arm and pulled him in for a hug himself.

"Reaper, Lugh. Reaper."

James really should be used to it by now. Tony was royalty at some point in his life, even though he had forgotten to mention that to anyone back home. So his friends in Underhill would likely be of the same calibre. At the same time, having Kings hug him _ still _ startled James. Just watching the three of them, it was hard not to gape that he missed half of what they were actually saying. They looked more like three very close friends that were half hugging, half trying to grab Tony in a headlock as Tony was trying his best to trip him up. He couldn't imagine human royalty acting like this, or at least the images he had in his mind assigned to royalty. He was pretty sure he preferred this version. Although, he could definitely see Shuri trying to trip T'Challa.

"And not you too, I've had enough of Hetaris with that. Behave. My Fire has been running through the Firelands once more. It has found some fascinating people this time, he has barely had his Fire unlocked, and all of that around him just keeps building."

"A Reaper is always good to see Underhill! It has been far too long since your Reapers have walked these grounds. Such delightful chaos Ryn's Reapers caused..."

And now they were very much focused on him, which was probably why he should have been paying attention instead of gawking. Dagda even had a similar friendly, booming voice to Thor, but it was tempered a little compared to the Asgardian. James was meant to be looming; he honestly had not expected so many of Tony's kin to notice him, at all. Let alone actually want to speak to him.

"Don't listen to Dag, Snowflake. Any chaos was utterly because of him. I awoke one morning to find 4 of my Reapers vanished from my halls! Where do I find them?"

"All I offered was a little mead, a hunt perhaps."

"Conveniently, when I was otherwise occupied. Which is why I found the lot of them trapped in the black swamps, how long did it take us to free our _ mighty _ King Dagda from that Vine trap."

"Six Days, where he was complaining that we brought a poor offer of food the entire time."

Lugh added, grinning and slapping Dagda on the back who still seemed pleased with his part of the story. James was going to need this story he decided, quickly caught up with the camaraderie, finding himself smiling as the three men laughed. It was easy to be swept up in it with how Fae emotions tended to project outwards, winding around, with the three of them the Blue, Gold and Green laced together with ease. To a human, it was so strange. Emotions were purely internal. They didn't flutter against your skin and fill you with excited energy just because others were happy.

It didn't alter his emotions as he had first worried about, it was like a layer above his own. The first few times it had felt as if it swamped him, but now he could separate the two and feel the shining threads. He could brush his fingers over them and project emotions back sometimes, but he was just getting the hang of it with Tony's aunt before he showed Tony.

"You are certainly different from other Reapers we have met. There is something quite _ Silver _ about you."

Tony tilted his head, but Lugh just shrugged, not elaborating, or explaining. He was almost studying him, however. James had no idea what that meant. He was just confused. James had, however, read enough about Lugh to be very intimidated, despite his easy smile and friendly demeanour. He ended the battle before the exodus. This was the man who killed _ Balor. _The being that could vaporise you by looking at you, he removed your essence from existence, there was no passage to the land of the dead to those whom he turned his eye too, and Lugh was the one to finally kill him.

"Ryn, have you extended an invite to my battle brother?"

"Lleu? Last I heard he was not Underhill. He had taken a kingdom under The Blinding Sun. He has not exactly wanted to spend much time around Blodeuwedd, of whom is regularly in my circles. I have only briefly met him a few times before their engagement broke off."

"They're on much better terms now he completed his journey. He stopped being an idiot. He left for The Blinding Sun for wholly different reasons. When he was called back to fight by Orain's side in the Battle of Blackwood, many seasons past, the passage of Time Underhill changed on him. He lost decades, and he had been living in The Firelands." 

Tony winced slightly at that, and it was pretty much the only part James had understood. When you were Underhill, the passage of time switching wasn't much of a big deal. Those who dwelled outside of Underhill? It could mean going back for a day and losing 50 years, or going back for 50 years, only to find a day had passed. It was quite jarring, and he suspected it would be no matter which way it fell. Tony had told him that Underhill was marginally out of sync, but it hadn't always been that way according to Tilly. Fae had been working for generations to find out why Underhill was out of sync with the known universe.

"He has yet to open up and tell me what came to pass, but it is a wound that is yet to heal. It is why he refused to remain Underhill. I have never seen him so lost nor angry. Before the battle he was the happiest I have ever seen. I hope that time has helped, it would be nice to see him again, and your Ascension is a good excuse to invite him back so I may speak to him."

Tony looked slightly confused but nodded, summoning paper in his hand in a flash of Fire, writing spearing as with his other hand, a bright silver magic coiled around his fingers. James hadn't the foggiest what they were discussing, made a point to poke Tony later as it seemed to be about Blodeuwedd.

The shapes were different from what James had seen him use with the Fae magic. It was entirely different from anything he had seen Tony wield with before. James had wondered what it would be like to carry so many different threads of magic. He hadn't thought about how many of them would likely work under very different principles and styles. Fae magic, whilst it had different branches, held a theme. Tony's Fire was similar to Fae casting. This was completely different. Tony claps his hand together in a bright flash of light as he felt a different tenor of magic wash over him.

"Done, if this causes drama, I lay it at your door, unless you want to be less cryptic."

"Not yet. Operating on a hunch, might lead to no-where."

Lugh waved his hand in a gallic shrug, smiling as Tony rolled his eyes.

"If you had asked sooner, would have more chances to turn up on time." 

Dagda was chuckling lightly to himself. James just assumed Fae were cryptic half the time. He had worked out that not all of it was intentional. Hunches and ideas. Few had the sight on a comparable level to Tony's Mother, given this ability had blinded her, he understood why few pursued it beyond cryptic hunches that might lead nowhere

Tony suddenly straightened up, head tilted which James had seen enough now to know that someone was crossing his borders. The look on his face made James believe that it was someone he was openly _ unhappy _ to be hosting this time. At most he had been slightly grumpy at the delegations appearing at his door, happy and excited for others... this… this was something very different. Also, he could tell these men had been friends for many years as they _ instantly _ reacted to Tony's shift in stance and mood.

The laughing, joking men straightened at the same moment, and both looked to Tony, the difference was startling. A moment ago, they were three friends laughing and joking. Now, they were three, very powerful warrior kings, each with a hand resting on their chosen weapons. The magic around the lost it's soft shimmer and became sharp, hard, ready… almost… waiting. Just waiting to strike and the three still wove together seamlessly. He noted that their chosen weapons were quite well matched for a party too, sword, staff and spear. James imagined their fighting and magic styles would likely be complementary too.

All three were alert and ready for anything that came through those gates; he could easily tell they had not only been friends for many years. That they had trained and fought at each other's sides was clear to see. The synchronicity was beyond what they had achieved at the compound, and James had been amazed by how well the team's back home flowed with each other. There was just something more about this that he couldn't put his finger on.

James had to admit it. They were very intimidating. Dagda spoke first, his voice was thicker, heavier with power than before. With a few quick hand motions he didn't recognise, the men that had arrived with the two kings quickly moved behind them. 

"Only two Courts make you look like that Ryn, which one?"

Lugh was standing to Tony's right and Dagda to the left. Their men quickly took up position behind them. He remained slightly behind Tony at his left, which got him a nod from the other Kings. James was utterly not thinking about that too much as he had no idea what to do with that. He assumed Tony's Reapers must have quite the reputation Underhill as they didn't move to protect him; they made a space for him to face whatever was coming at their side with little question. 

James really considered mentioning he had barely been a Reaper for a _ week _ but instead was just as caught up in the hyper focus as the others, and quite honoured that they instantly made that space for him.

"Envoy Ciel Vas Dorfan."

Tony's voice was as flat, harsh and jagged as he had ever heard and felt it before. Lugh immediately scowled, and his and Tony mounting annoyance wound together and gave James the impression of a pissed-off cat. Tail swishing dangerously, eyes locked on a target with a palpable feel around it. Dagda was a shining wall of defence that seemed to coil protectively around his friends.

Their anger led him to believe that Envoy Ciel was from the Court paired with Lugh's Court, The Court of Souls Ease, but he could not remember it's pair. Tony's voice swept through his mind on a wave of power that had not accompanied it before. James wondered if that was because of his upgrade or the presence of a potential threat? A slip that Tony hadn't been able to contain fully. Either way, he was pretty sure he liked it. It was like his voice wrapped around him out of nowhere like heavy velvet of his Bane magic.

_ 'The Court of Yearning Heart.' _

Oh _ shit. _ That was one of the two Tony did not like, _ at all. _ James knew he seriously disliked two Courts. So much that he refused to work with them in his official position Underhill as executioner and enforcer. Tony had quipped once that he had enmity against a particular Court. James was sure that out of the two Courts he disliked, Yearning Heart was the one he was referring to back then.

"I told her not to send that cachgi into your lands. I warned her that you would not stand for such games again. Not after the last time. _ Especially _ if you took a Crown."

"Hmm, she likely does not believe me powerful enough to temper Seelie lands."

Lugh scoffed at that as if it was ridiculous. Dagda barked out a laugh at the same time. Tony was grinning himself. James knew that even though Tony had not planned for this, he would master it with the same ruthless efficiency that he does anything that he sets his mind on.

"Then she is blind, anyone who has seen you wield Llafn y Dienyddiwr knows you were bound for a Crown of Underhill. It was not your power or conviction that was ever lacking Ryn. Mostly it was how fast you moved whenever anyone mentioned your position. Out of windows on occasion. There was also that time you jumped from a bridge into a river and fell off of a waterfall. Even we could not predict that you would craft the Crownless Courts into your Crown. We should be accustomed to you taking the impossible and making it possible. Anyone else?"

Dagda was grinning when he spoke of Tony jumping out of windows, and apparently off bridges into rivers… oh, he needed those stories. As they talked, they kept the heavy feeling of readiness, hypervigilance and their eyes stayed heavy on the gate.

"Of course, Meliflour is with him, as he _ always _ is. There are ten in their party, as is the custom, but none that I recognise. It has been many seasons since I was lured into the depths of Yearning Heart. I suspect at least two Fragile Creatures, likely that they are masked beneath a glamour to tempt me into acting irrationally."

"His tactics rarely alter. She ignored every word I gave her regarding this event then. I do not know why I bother—her most obnoxious envoy, that holds _ several _ grudges against your name, and her torture expert. Meliflour still upholds that you cheated in the last games. He has been very vocal about it."

Lugh was irritated as Tony waved a hand as if it was inconsequential, even though James knew that accusing Fae of cheating and getting caught was up there in the worst of insults. As in wars had been fought over less.

"He is sour. He bet seven of his Fragile Creatures and seemed surprised when I turned up to collect what I was due. He had a week, and he failed. Even the Queen forced his hand. She would not allow a debt breaker to last long in her Courts. She knew that the game was sound; I have no need to cheat against one as low as Meliflour."

"Hmm, he spent twenty seasons in the Vire Cells beneath the palace for his shame of losing to the Lord of Iron. She was not best pleased."

James followed the conversation back and forth between Tony and Lugh. He knew that Tony had a habit of rescuing people from other Courts, but he had not thought about the _ 'how'. _ The idea that the people arriving next saw humans as something to _ bet _ with did not sit with him well. Made him happy Tony had won and got them out, with his crazy cat lady vibe. But with humans.

So far, everyone who had arrived hadn't been that bad on the surface. A little terrifying here and there, but even Mab hadn't made Tony look like _ that, _ and they'd tried to kill each other to say hi. 

James still hadn't worked out what relationship he had with Mab. 

Some of the people who had arrived were very friendly with Tony, very much so. Many were downright familial, whether by blood or bonds. So this was a jarring difference.

He liked that the two Kings had chosen to stand at Tony's side for this, instead of heading to their suites as they would be entirely within their rights to do so

Tony's Aunt had said he was well-liked; it was nice seeing evidence of it in the form of two formidable-looking warrior kings at his side.

"Give them a seasonal greeting son."

Tony took his eyes from the gates to glance at Dagda, who just nodded. Lugh quickly added on, causing Tony to roll his eyes. James was left not having a clue as to what was happening.

"Good plan."

"And what kind of greeting do you two have in mind?"

"Tachwedd."

Dagda responded with a smile, showing more teeth and looking vaguely sinister as Lugh laughed and nodded.

As the gates finally started to open, James realised that he didn't want these people in Tony's lands. Which might be obvious, from what little he had heard of their Court and these people, they seemed awful. But oddly there was this… bone-deep revulsion, instinct hammering on him. 

_ THREAT. THREAT. THREAT. _

Having them enter these lands, where Tony's people were safe and happy ripped through him that he wanted to hurl them out of the gates personally. Yearning Heart had hurt so many of Tony's people. They were safe here. These people might jeopardise that safety and James did not like that idea. 

He also had a problem with all of them standing on alert like this. It was uncomfortable. He might not be as human as he was even a few weeks ago, but he could not stand motionless and alert for as long and perfectly as Fae seemed to be able to do as they had waited for these people to reach Tony's gates. Not with this beat thrumming under his skin, he was itching to move, itching for steel in his hand and fighting a call for action.

Tony took a step ahead of them, and James was thankful that Dagda had the forethought to reach out, holding his elbow and with that hold kept him upright, he also shielded him with shimmering gold magic, from the sheer level of power Tony suddenly unleashed by raising his hand and sweeping across the open area. James was left blinking back spots, and his mind was pretty stuck on 'wow'. He didn't really have a scope on Tony's power level. It would be easy to see him passing out after healing and think his power level was low, but healing is intensive and extremely hard, especially healing other races. He had felt Tony wield many types of magic, but he knew he had no idea of what Tony could actively cast. Just atmospheric magic as he put the Crown on made him pass out and that was nothing really, just excessive overflow. 

This was the first real time he had seen Tony wield one of his weaves with an intent to be powerful. A new magic that he was still learning. Which made him wonder about the others. He knew he obviously was powerful, even before gaining his Crown, he couldn't _ not _ be powerful and be not only Underhill's executioner and enforcer, for instance. There was a difference between knowledge and _ feeling _ in—especially Autumn. James loved how Spring felt too, the delicate little flowers that spoke of new life, of beginnings and Balance. Like Tony, he just felt… more at ease with Autumn. With defence, vengeance, of harvest and thanks before the ice of Winter creeps across the land. He had only felt brushes of the seasons, as if they were brushing up against him, learning him, testing. He was fine with that, because if those little brushes were amazing. 

So the feel of Autumn and whatever aspect of it Tony tapped into today… _ Tachwedd, _ the feel of it as it swirls around all of them, questing, prowling before sensing something in him that has it drawing close. This time it took notice in him, wanting to push deeper. 

James can feel just how Inquisitive it is as electric warmth slides across his skin, feeling like the heat of a bonfire and a thrill of goosebumps as if someone walked over his grave. The contrasting sensations somehow work together with an odd duality he believes is inherent to a seasons nature. 

It is offering and asking at the same time. It's _easy_ to open himself and the sheer exuberance and joy that shimmered with a rainbow of vibrant Autumnal colours briefly, before it pounces.

When he doesn't flinch or back away, its interest grows even more, and he loses his attention on the courtyard as he focuses on letting this energy, that feels very sentient, investigate him. James isn't sure if it's him, but he is starting to notice magic seems to like talking to him. First, it was Fire, and that wasn't that strange, Tony told him Fire was different. Then Bane came with heavy promises of _ Mine _whispering to him as it wrapped around him. 

Now Autumn steps up, excited to find someone interesting and that just increased with how he reacted. It liked that James didn't see it as a thing, fleeting flashes of how Autumn is of harvest and defence but how it wishes to play, and there is an edge to its play, an edge of _Samhain._

The duality becomes more apparent with every grain of a harvest. Harvest and Sacrifice wound into one. The different sides of the season weave back and forth. Not just two sides of a coin, forever separated, no these weave back and forth. In and out. Together and separate. Tony had told him time and time again, the concept of good and evil is too rigid for immortality, but it's more than that. Good and evil is too rigid for mortals, the real world is flooded with a million shades of grey, and everyone has an opinion on how their one is right. 

More evil is done in the name of good that the Fae could probably conceive of. Autumn likes his thoughts, and then, there is even _more_. 

A good harvest weaved together blight and famine. Mischief and fun with stark terror and fear. A reap of a field and slaughter of meat. Taste of fruit is his mouth and scent of smoke of a pyre and the call of the Wild Hunt all at once, lighting him up with sensations in a way that is _ almost _ too much but that he holds onto with both hands and all of his being and just calls it in. Soak in it. Not shunning one side for the other. 

Satisfaction sparks, smug and pleased as it lazily coils around him and ferrets out the desire to defend the land, curls up and settles in him with a deep sense of contentment. Like the feel of a perfectly weighted and sharpened blade comfortably resting in his hand. His muscles loosen and leaves him with a slow smile across his face that he knows would unnerve some and have them whispering about the Winter Soldier. Wrists lose and his own magic coiled and ready should he need it.

Dagda made a noise of approval that made James think he was impressed too. Whether by what Tony did or maybe he saw some of what just happened to him. It has been seconds since Autumn took an interest in him, but it feels like so much longer. He is pretty sure that if Dagda hadn't taken his elbow, he would have dropped under the backlash of Autumnal magic, especially after it found him. At least he didn't pass out this time, and he concentrated on grounding the magic that kept building up inside him, it was easier this time. Dagda must have noticed something as he gave him an impressed look.

Unlike previously where he had to strive for every inch, now it's like silk. It flowed around him, not as fast as Tony drained it but much faster than he had managed before, he watched amazed as it joined into the magic of Tony, Lugh and Dagda, a Silvery Blue shimmer joining with the Gold, Green and Blue. It's a little shaky compared to the others, but it is strong, the silver dust shimmered around it...

James wasn't entirely sure what had happened, caught up slightly in his own mind but his attention was back on the courtyard as Tony's magic swept across the courtyard in a blinding array of beautiful Autumnal colours spreading out, flowing across the entire courtyard. And Tony's courtyard is rather huge. Flickers of Black and Blue Fire sparked here and there but the deep reds, glimmers of orange and sparks of yellow dominate. Any trees or green spaces caught in the wave immediately shifted completely to deep Autumn as the magic crashed over the men who had just entered Tony's gate—lapping at them like waves on a beach.

The magic swirling about them caused more than one of them to stumble slightly, the man at the front visibly paled before quickly recovering and making their way over to them. The itching need to attack and slowed, it wasn't gone, but now it spoke of patience, of hunts and prey. James doubts he would be allowed to attack a delegation from another Court, but Autumn was Fae, and there were many ways to play. The first man's skin tone was slightly more golden than Tony's, just under 6 foot, and James didn't even know where to start with his clothes, he couldn't help the look of disdain and had to school his face not to show too much. He didn't know what to do with any of their clothes really, they looked... complicated and nothing like any of the other Courts, but there was a lot of leather, chains oddly paired with painfully bright colours that made his head hurt. Put simply. They looked like dicks. 

"I never thought you would dare to wear a Crown of Underhill, oh Bane metal Lord. You're usually too busy _ running away." _

The guy who had stumbled the most was first to speak as he stopped a few feet in front of Tony. His group organised itself behind him in a formation that looked rehearsed. He was at the front, a man close to him with the others fanned out behind them. Making them a point of an arrow. Most of them sneered and laughed along. James had a headache forming and just knew this lot was going to cause trouble. Autumn might have faded in the courtyard, but he could still feel it around him, a flash of a deep, burnt red fur in the corner of his eye nearly distracted him from the group in front. He hoped Tony could help explain some of what was happening.

"Just because I don't jump at every _ base _ offer of a title doesn't mean I don't have them, _ Envoy _ Ciel. Then, even when we were of a… comparable rank, you were beneath me in that regard. I've given up more titles in a season than you could hope to dream of gathering in your lifetime. You've entered my lands beneath Autumnal Law, do you accept?"

Tony sounded almost bored, but James could feel the thrum of power beneath his words. That it spoke of Autumn almost had him listing forward slightly with how much was already wrapped around him. James wasn't sure what it said about the group behind the Envoy that they actually laughed and sneered more at Tony's hit back against their own Envoy. Seems they were open to pile on and shred at any perceived weakness in their vicinity, even if they were of the same Court. That said something and none of it was good.

"Are you offering us a choice?"

The other man that stood out from the pack, a 5 foot tall, whip-thin man who was similar in skin tone to Tony, also mixed but there was an apparent red tinge to his skin too, it said something slightly different too which had James thinking he had something other than pure Seelie blood. His shock-white hair was held back in a severe and complicated style, pulled back from his face was a stark contrast to Tony's relaxed stance, wearing comfortable yet obviously high-quality clothing. His hair was partially braided and wound with black and silver metal, but somewhat loose over his shoulders and curls down his back. The Black Iron Crown stood out as did the sword on his belt.

James saw everyone in their party eyeing them. No, nearly everyone there was a man and a woman at the back of their party who looked... dazed, staring off into space. Everyone else's focus was entirely on Tony to different degrees. Some haughty, arrogant, distaste but James could definitely see barely disguised fear there on some of them. 

"There is always a choice. Not my debt if you don't like the options. Envoy Ciel?"

Tony held his hand out, and Ciel scowled before striding forward and clasping Tony's arm with more force than James thought necessary. Tony didn't seem to care. It wasn't like when he and Mab had done this. This was different somehow. They held each other's wrists, and magic didn't flood out around them.

"Break the rules of the Iron lands, and I will exact payment. You know my rules by now. Do you agree?"

"We should be allowed to conduct ourselves as our Court dictates."

"No. You are _ just _ an _ Envoy, _ Ciel. You do not carry a piece of Yearning Heart on your path. Unless something has changed since we last met?"

"This is highly irregular-"

"It is what you held me to when I last set foot in Yearning Heart territory. You taught me a valuable lesson. Let me repay it in kind _ Envoy _."

James had no idea how Tony's voice did that. Heavy with power and strength, smiling with a look of sincerity, but it was evident that he was mocking the other man. Judging by the snickering and how Ciel's jaw tensed, eyes narrowed in anger, he heard it. Tony looked the picture of ease, as if he did not care either way. As if Ciel barely ranked as important as a mayfly in his mind and somehow, something about how Tony stood and spoke, but the message was clear. Although from what little Tony had said, this wasn't unprovoked and they had done something to him last time he went to Yearning Heart.

"Let me remind you. You are on _ Seelie _ lands. Not the Lower Courts. You will do well not to forget this. I shall not say it even a second time."

James still had no idea what exactly was going on, but he figured it was something more than just them clasping each other's forearms. Tony speech patterns had changed too at the end there, becoming sharper and heavily underlined with magic. With a similar pop that he had heard before. Back when they were dealing with Steve and the Ved'ma. When Tony had been pushed too far and slammed Steve into the wall? James hadn't thought about it much before; it had felt like a threat. Now he was reassessing, because now it felt like magic.

"You can't hold me to magic that does not exist. Your tricks are fooling no one."

Tony looked as if he pitied that man, which of course angered him. James suspected that was the intention. 

"I would be careful with your words were I you, you are within hearing distance of 3 bodies of water and several copses. For now, I will leave you with this. So I will know if you break any of my laws. And _ Envoy _ Ciel, those under your command in my territory, it means they are your responsibility. Decide now if you wish to continue alone or remain as you are. Autumn does not forgive as quickly as Spring."

The man nodded and suddenly grunted in pain but quickly passed it off as a cough. From the smirks on both sides, neither his own people nor those on their side believed it. James again found himself surprised by how _ quickly _ and _ willingly _ his own people took amusement in his predicament. He was unsure if it was a trait of their Court. Or if he was just that much of a dick. 

An orange and red shimmering leaf was now somehow branded on the inside of his arm. James was going to be asking about that later.

"Are you able to find your way to the guest suites, or do you require an escort?"

"Why would I know my way around your paltry dwellings?"

Tony nodded as if the man wasn't sneering and glanced at the copse of trees to the left of them. The trees suddenly had a shimmering red glow before a man stepped out and made his way over to them.

"You require us?"

"If you are settled, I was wondering if you could settle these guests of mine."

The man looked surprisingly similar to Maru, just, not tiny enough to sit on his shoulder. He also was clearly armed and seemed not too different from the armed guards' Mab and Titania had had in their parties. Although he was clearly not a Seelie Fae. James didn't notice at first, but now there were differences to the gold and silver-skinned Seelie Fae. His skin was closer to a light bronze, his ears were not as pointed as a Seelie Fae, and his eyes were closer to humans in shape but not colour. The red and gold neatly folded gossamer wings that James had initially mistaken for a cloak was a difference too. 

James knew there were much more species variants within Wyldfae compared to Seelie Fae, but James couldn't see that much of a difference himself. Underhill had all kinds of people, but from the arrogant distaste of the Envoys face, James just bet he was a racist against those who were not Seelie Fae. Who Tony had heavily armed and put in charge.

Instead of Summer or Winter, this Wyldfae was very obviously Autumn. Who James was pretty sure Ciel had just insulted. He found himself biting his tongue from laughing, when Tony wanted to be petty, he was _ good _ at it. Dagda caught James' eye, and he could tell he wasn't the only one holding back a laugh, the friendly giants bizarrely gold and green eyes shone with it. Lugh just rolled his eyes at them. The Autumn warrior's eyes flickered a deeper shade of red, and James got a heavy feel of amusing and plotting coming from the man, he wished him well and all the fun and games he desired. James hadn't thought that he would somehow hear him, but as he passed, he tilted his head and winked before leading the Yearning Heart delegation away. Maybe it was because of how much of Autumn was still wrapped around him.

Ciel practically stomped off, Tony watched the procession go, but James knew his focus was on the two at the end. Because James was watching Tony when everyone else was watching Ciel and the Autumn warrior, he saw Tony summon the dark blue Fae magic to his hands and send it at them. Their eyes did not completely clear, they still looked dazed and compliant, but they did blink a few times. James could see whatever Tony had done seemed to settle within the human's Blue Fire. Tony was glaring at the doors long after they went inside. Lugh slid his arm across his shoulders, trying to talk Tony down from his hyperfocus. 

"You can't save every Fragile Creature Underhill, Ryn."

"I can damn well try."

"A Fo Ben Bid Bont"

Tony shook his head at Dagda, before setting off in a different direction the other Court had headed in, Lugh quickly moved to speak quietly to Tony as he and Daga followed. Their people promptly fell in behind them. Tony and Lugh were distracted, so he figured he would find out what Dagda had said. 

"What did you say to him?"

"An old proverb, A Fo Ben Bid Bont. He who would be a _ leader, _ let him be a _ bridge. _ Ryn has a talent for connecting people. He has laid across that river time and time again for those to cross his back, and he will do it time and time again. That, young Reaper, is why we conspire."

  
  
  
  
  


Tony had been understandably distracted by the arrival of people he obviously hated at the same time as those dear to him, so it wasn't until just after they had shown Dagda and Lugh to their suits. They made sure all of their delegation was settled and had informed them how to request food. They had been planning a lunch for several delegation leaders to meet up now they had quite a few of them, so Tony had been distracted. As soon as they were alone and if James remembered correctly, they were meant to be training, so they were wandering to the kitchen before heading back to Tony's room. 

James pin-pointed the moment Tony noticed something was different, because Autumn still had not left him. He was still catching flashes of deep, dark, old, blood-coloured fur. He had meant to ask Tony if he had any idea what it was when he realised what it meant. Tony's reaction caught him off guard. He felt Tony's focus settle in a heavy way that he'd never felt before, head tilted slightly, and then he was pinned against a wall after a smash of magic burst around them. Slightly dizzy from Firewalking so fast and having Tony suddenly pressed as close as he could possibly get as he nudged his head to the side.

"You smell like Autumn."

His head was slightly fogged as he tried to formulate much of a slurred reply, but a combination of Tony, Firewalking and Autumn rocketing up in strength around and inside him had him stuck pretty much on 'wow'. All he could do was _ feel. _

"That good?"

"Definitely Good."

This hadn't been what he expected as Autumn curled around him, but he definitely liked the reaction. Unsure of Tony's teeth at his neck or another surge of Autumn magic cleared his head a little, but the sofa was a few steps away and much comfier than a wall. Tony chuckled as they mostly fell in a heap.

"I can see why Autumn is so attracted to you."

"Oh, I'll certainly be inviting it around more often."

"Will you now?”

James smirked, Tony was slightly flushed, his voice had gone a shade darker and a trace of an accent he hadn't heard before, nor could he recognise. It was going on his list of favourite things. His eyes were practically black with a shimmer of gold around the edges and just as Tony kissed him like he was drowning James figured they weren't going to be having a magic lesson today. Unless it was about practising his control over Autumnal magic, he thought. Smirking as he decided to try something out. 

Grounding was expelling magic. He wondered if he could flip that, draw it in, with a focus on Autumn magic. Forgetting momentarily that he was naturally gifted in drawing magic too hi, but Tony groaning as deep red magic suddenly shimmered around him, skating across his skin and leaving him shivering slightly in all the good ways.

"You are deviously Fae."

"Do you want me to stop?"

"Fuck no."

  
  
  
  
  


James was enjoying lunch with possibly the strangest group of people he had ever seen. So far any meals had been in small groups with himself and Tony, enough people had turned up now that it had led to this.

Tony had invited the leaders, and anyone they chose to bring along, to a lively dinner, but as he had asked a woman dressed in shades of red and orange, he had a feeling Ciel's invitation was going to run late, or get lost. It hadn't taken James long to work out that the Wyldfae of Autumn and Spring had been treated as a lower class since their magic was lost in the war by some and that it had pissed Tony off for years.

With Tony pulling the magic back to Underhill, the first thing he had done was bring it back to those of Autumn and Spring. Then he had started bringing them into his lands into the open areas created by the wall expansion. Large patches of empty land on both Spring and Autumn. He knew Tony quite well by now. This would have been obvious to him. James could tell, however, by the way, those few Wyldfae he had seen looked at Tony? To them, it was huge, and Tony didn't see it yet because in his mind, what else would he have done. James could tell they were already fiercely protective of him before he had done this. Dagda had bet him that Tony wouldn't notice for at least 60 seasons.

Tony and Mab were sitting next to each other deep in conversation, in a different language that was far too fast and fluid that his translator Ward wasn't even trying to make their speech understandable. James also had to be careful not to pay attention for too long, as with many things about the Fae, it was entrancing. It was fluid, musical with occasional harsh notes that James swore he could feel in his mind. 

More than once, he had almost zoned out just listening to them talk even though he didn't understand it. He imagined were he still wholly human; he would be helpless against it. Tony's hands were moving a mile a minute, and James knew that whatever they were discussing, it was something Tony was very passionate about. Mab was equally as enthused, which was surprising; it changed a lot about her somehow.

"Careful now Reaper, you are still new to your mantle from what Ryn tells me, and might just be human enough to become lost in the Winter language. Even many Fae have become entranced, especially at the speed they speak." 

James had to physically tear himself away from Tony and Mab to focus on Arawn. Blodeuwedd had apparently vanished, maybe he had gotten more lost in watching the Fae talk than he realised. Spotting her and Tony's Mother deep in conversation with Cernunnos and Herne. Lugh, The Dark Warden, Clíodhna and were filling their plates again whilst speaking to Titania. 

He knew Clíodhna was excited to be collecting her Fragile Creature soon and he could see it in the barely contained energy, so similar to Tony. James was looking forward to meeting another human in a similar position to himself. She wasn't a Reaper of course, but from what James had worked out, Clíodhna had her own humans like Tony had him and Rhodes. Quite a few of those gathered did. James jumped slightly as Dagda dropped down next to him with a plate full of food for them both, he didn't remember Dagda leaving, let alone collecting food for him. His mind was still a little foggy from just listening to Tony and Mab _ talk. _

"Winter language?"

"Hmm, we tend to use a common tongue when we speak, the translation Wards allow people to hear others as their first language barring certain things if they chose, in time you will learn to control the ward, to allow some languages to come to you in their full form. Whilst all of Underhill comes together. We are quite different, even those who are Seelie, let alone Fae as a whole. Some languages are too complex for even many Fae to understand, even with many years of practice. A single word in the language of Winter can have nearly a hundred meanings. It is the most complex language found Underhill."

"That sounds unnecessarily confusing."

"Hmm, I agree, even many who are of Winter can't speak it. Mab decided to speak it around Ryn enough that he took it as a personal challenge. You can imagine how well that turned out. Ryn's lands are renowned for being 'of many languages'. There is no _ set _ language here, as he accepts people from so many places. Some chose to speak the common tongue, use translators, or retain their primary language. As you probably guessed, Ryn supports their choices and endeavours to learn any language spoken by his people.."

Considering Tony was deep in conversation, James is pretty sure it turned out well for them both, as Mab looks just as into whatever they're discussing—somehow seeming younger and enthusiastic rather than the cold and aloofness he had presumed of Winter and Mab. Fae just liked messing with his preconceived notions.

He could also see Tony not setting a single language for his lands too. With how he taught the compound brats different languages, James had noticed that collecting languages seemed almost to be a hobby for Tony. That he was a hyperglot even though he had access to a translator ward.

Dagda abruptly turned. James glanced around in confusion as he realised everyone had stopped and was facing an open space in the room. 

James wondered how Fae _ did _ that, was it an extra sense? Or was it just them being all mystical and fancy? And kind of creepy. At this rate, he was going to have to write down questions he kept meaning to ask Tony. So far, James was putting it under the 'Underhill Groupthink', and it seemed to make up for the fact they didn't have time in the way they did back on Earth. Things were not fixed Underhill, so they seemed to make up for it with this extra sense, somehow.

A loud crack and what looked like lightning, but it was indoors and just one thunderous strike, followed by static electricity feeling that flooded the room. James was blinking back spots when suddenly another very tall Fae stood—wearing a red cowl with a brass mask that looked like a hawk facing forward. A bear faced him. If James remembered correctly, there were four sides of the mask, one on each side of his head, a cowl for each mask. He could just see the edge out what he assumed was his Crown above the masks. Both were the same bronze as if they were connected. His hands were the only part of his body not covered, and they were severely burned, not that he seemed to care. 

James knew who this was easily, because of the sheer amount of magic that clung to him if nothing else. So many different types of magic flickered around him, James recognised some from Tony's weave, but there were so, so many more that he didn't have a clue about.

Math strolled over and stood in front of Tony for a few minutes. Tony had stood in front of him, calmly. Everyone in the room waited with a degree of patience he honestly had not expected from Fae. A sense of holding your breath, a heavy feeling of waiting settled over the room. Even Mab and Titania seemed happy to wait on him. Math, however, was a scary guy and the Fae's expert in _ all things _ magic. Which the Fae were deeply entwined with, at least since they came to Underhill.

Tony had told him once they had been as magically inclined as most other pantheons on earth and races across the galaxy. Binding their species to a sentient dimension that feeds on magic had fundamentally altered their species. Just looking around the room, it's hard to consider them as anything other than deeply entrenched in powerful magic. The room was flooded with different, intense magical signatures. He had been practically grounding constantly since he sat down, it was good practice. Which was probably one of the reasons Tony brought him along. He had mentioned something about stepping up his training as he seemed to have garnered quite the skill of attracting seasonal magic whilst smirking.

"Finally. If the Seelie queens accept, I will officiate."

James noticed that more than a few people looked shocked. Tony's Mother seemed very smug, however, as did Mab actually, James knew Math officiated some ascensions, but rarely at such short notice. Tony seemed to have no idea what to say. Blinking and just stunned in shock. 

Which was a miracle in itself. How often would he get to see _ Tony _ speechless?

"Of course Math, we will be honoured for you to usher in a new Ruler into the Seelie lands. Winter will back our Dienyddiwr of Underhill."

"Summer, of course, will back the Balance of Underhill."

  
  
  
  
  


James stretched, he was starting to feel the need for a nap of some kind as he leaned slightly on Tony. That Tony was idly playing with James' hair as he was talking to Arawn did not help. It was slowly causing him to relax further and further, as this rate, he was going to pass out on Tony's shoulder. Between the constant grounding he had been doing since they stepped into the room and their very, hectic day, James was kind of tired. He was definitely improving, but he had done a lot more with magic today than previously, and it felt like he was coming down and was about to pass out. Preferably curled up on Tony. He wondered if this is what Tony felt like when he overexerted himself. The thought didn't really stick. He was mostly stuck on _ feelsnicesleepywarmcomfort. _ So it was good really that Tony had taken over his grounding.

He hadn't clocked it at first, oh he had felt Tony's magic wrap around him the second his hand slipped into his hair, but he had been utterly distracted by the heavy Bane magic that still said _ mine _any time Tony cast it near him. (The undercurrent of Autumn that Tony had taken to weaving into magic around him definitely distracted him.) It amused him that even if Tony were using Bane for something else, some of it would stray in his direction. So James had been so caught up in that that he hadn't felt the slow grounding underneath. Only when he realised that he had stopped and yet hadn't gotten dizzy was when he caught what Tony was doing. Not that he minded, today, like every day they'd spent Underhill had been jam-packed. He had leaned against Tony, resting his head on his shoulder, curled as close as he could and whilst listening to people talk around him, occasionally joining in.

James wasn't entirely sure about the time. The 60 hour days and 40 hour nights had completely screwed up his body clock. Mostly they just seemed to go to sleep when they were tired. James had given up long ago trying to put the Fae and Human concepts of a day in his mind. It didn't matter if it was pitch-black out, when they woke up he called it the morning. Just as when they went to bed, it was night, no matter where the sun was.

Which seemed to be the generally done thing Underhill. Even if the Fae were fine with 60+ hour days, none of them required 40 hours of sleep, as such the time and the sun just didn't seem to dictate, or even barely affect, peoples schedules like it dominated people's lives back on Earth.

He had been talking to Tony's Mother and making a valiant effort on staying awake, but from her indulgent smile, he didn't think he was doing too well. In his defence from the moment Tony had sat next to him after doing the rounds, he had pulled him close, and Tony was warm and playing with his hair. Tony had done this enough that James had a pretty standard reaction now, adding in magic just wasn't fair, but at the same time, he definitely didn't want Tony to stop.

Without restrictions on his magic, Tony was free to use more, which James knew on a logical level. He hadn't expected _ this _ to be one of the things, not that he was complaining. Heavy, soft magic was a constant hum against Tony's had, and it felt ridiculously good. He was well on his way to being a pile of boneless mush at this point, and James was pretty sure Tony was doing it absentmindedly on top of grounding his excess magic.

Math suddenly appeared behind Tony again… and thwacked him across the back of his head before sitting down next to them. James tilted his head to see what was going on, Tony didn't pause his magic nor ministrations for a second, but now he had a vested interest to be awake.

"Should I even ask what I have done to earn your ire today, Prime Magus."

"Nothing today, but there is still time, and you hardly lacked conviction in such endeavours in the past. No, that was because the Red one still holds magic."

"She is bound. I would not have left without precautions in place and different levels of defence should she cause trouble. Loki of Asgard and the Sorcerer Supreme have eyes on her. She is even confined to the magic-null cells in the depths of Kamar-Taj. I don't think it was possible to do more."

"She is twisted by the mind stone. What you could have done was torn that rotting, dread magic and that malignant sentience from her mind. I have never known someone to have worked so well with that stone. I did not believe that stone would find a creature like it, let alone in a Fragile Creature."

"I know, my bindings reflect that and they aren't a permanent fix. It is to give the human government time to call for action. I can't take over everything. The bindings work on several levels, including draining her and locking the mind stone presence within her body. Everything is in place on my return to tear her magic from her and destroy it in front of her, and I will do it on the request and as a favour to the Accords Council. It sets me up nicely to announce my… promotion on my return. I have contingencies in place if they decide to allow her to keep her magic, but I do not think they will come into play."

Tony summoned a pile of papers to his hands and passed them over to his mentor who immediately started looking through. James also enjoyed hearing of Tony's plans when it came to the Ved'ma. The magic wrapped around him had increased the more he spoke of her though, so James would have to be careful about that. It was still too close to the incident for Tony's instincts, to be reminded of why he made those binds. As Math read through the information Tony handed over; Tony had turned slightly to rest his head on James.

"Fascinating mix of different weaves. These bands at her ankles look Elven? Well, at least they started off like that, I can see your hand in the circuit. You might want to offer a trade to them for this updated version."

"Hmm, they do not do well being bound whilst imprisoned. So the Light Elves formed these bands. To drain magical energy so as not to build up and torment the offender during confinement. I hadn't thought about this being an upgrade, but your right. I will put together a sample for the delegation to return home with."

"I recognise this mask too. Remember when you told me it was pointless to spend those decades amongst the Light and Dark Elves?"

Tony chuckled against him, and some of his tension bled away. Math was definitely good with Tony. He could see why Tony had apprenticed with him for so long.

"As if you would ever let me forget that I said something that became incorrect."

"Having you allow those who betrayed you live in a palace sounds like one of those things."

James definitely paid more attention after that, because he was interested in what Tony's family thought about the Rogues. Math clearly wasn't fond of Wanda and judging by how their conversation was now attracting others, oh yeah, this could be interesting. James had wondered, the longer he had spent Underhill, the more he had discovered regarding Tony's family. That they did _ nothing _ in retribution for Tony's mortal life seemed… unlikely.

Tony had mentioned that Steve wore a Flower Crown, Steve hadn't mentioned anything like that to him. He assumed back in the meeting room that Tony's Mother had something on Steve, but he had clearly stated herself as the messenger. He had assumptions, but he wondered if he might get a story straight from the Fae themselves.

"What rush was there for me to punish them? My interfering family was already involved. How did you garner passage to Wakanda without me facilitating by the way?"

So, _ something _had happened in Wakanda. He wondered, when he woke up everyone was… rattled. In a different way than their agitation before he went into cryosleep. Steve had been nervous of flowers and Sam twitched anytime he saw a bird. He knew something was up with Natalia, but he hadn't quite known how to talk to her yet.

"We were lenient, the Ved'ma and the Captain were given the gift of freedom, I crafted him quite the beautiful Flower Crown. See what they did with it, I have not seen you so angry in centuries."

Tony's aunt added, and now James was really interested in what had happened because Tony's aunt was quickly becoming a close friend. When Tony had first mentioned the Flower Crown, it sounded innocuous. At that point, James hadn't considered what a Flower Crown could be, but now he knew it was Bloudewedd? There was surely more to it. Tony's aunt had a fantastic mind. He tilted his head and caught her grinning in his direction. The idea of Steve going up against her? That was hilarious. All Steve would see was a delicate, beautiful woman, not the wicked smart mind hiding behind.

"They attacked one who is mine, on my land. The only reason the Ved'ma did not die in that room was because I swore to my apprentice. That was before I uncovered the enormity of their vile actions."

James definitely wasn't the only person to notice how the air around Tony was now flicking with black sparks. He pressed his head into Tony's shoulder, and when he started slowly running his hand through James' hair again, his breathing slowed. The dangerous edge to Tony's aura slowly returned to normal. More than a few people around the table shot him approving glances. He hadn't done much, Tony's instincts were generally calmed by proximity. All James had to do was remind him that he was close and _ safe _. Within his grasp. Anything to stop Tomy thinking about what could have happened. So proximity helped to bring him back from that dangerous edge his thoughts were steadily going in. Plus Tony relaxed considerably when he got his hands in his hair.

That's the problem with a brain that can calculate an insane number of battlefield tactics. Tony could take a situation and run it with different variables from a hundred different angles. This is very useful in his job, but it didn't take James long to work out that Tony couldn't just switch that part of him off when he pleased.

Being reminded of the Ved'ma trying to wipe James' mind, immediately started Tony thinking about all the terrible ways that day _ could _ have gone. It was just how his mind worked. James just had to short circuit that. Mixing that event with Tony's past trauma that he hardly (not at all) addressed when it came to mind control… and Tony's mind turned dark very quickly, where every scenario resulted in him being gone, or worse. So he reminded Tony he was not gone, and then gave him something to do. Something that calmed Tony and that James liked, which in turn made Tony happy as the action carried more weight to a Fae. So James didn't do much really, he just helped where he could.

By the time the conversation continued, Tony had turned to pull James closer and the dark magic cracking around them had been replaced with a soft red and gold hue around him. The Bane magic wasn't gone, James could still feel it wrapped close around him. Out of all of Tony's power that he had experienced, James was actually starting to favour his Bane magic, because it was utterly possessive. It always said _ 'mine', _and he would be lying if he said he didn't like it. Autumn was just as good, if not better in certain ways.

"Well, you didn't _ really _ think we would do nothing. That was why you were careful with your words, nephew. You did not bar me from going after the Captain. You just asked that I avoid causing an international incident. It wasn't exactly hard to get Bast on board."

"I don't think I want to know."

"You might not, but I absolutely do."

"Snowflake, are you encouraging my family? They do not need encouragement. You have no idea what they will do with even a little encouragement."

"What? I think me and your aunt are going to need another tea session."

"Of course! We can have quite a bit of fun if we sneak off and then Scythe can pretend he has no idea what is happening."

"Plausible deniability. You two are menaces."

As much as he complained, James did, however, notice that Tony was smiling and the flickering gold magic told him that Tony was actually quite happy with the idea of him and his aunt conspiring it seemed.

"I took the Archer for a run. I had hoped it would clear his mind from the snares that wrapped around him. There was little I could do for him given the local. Now you have freed him I shall appear to him again. He seems fit to hunt, and after being prey for so long, yes, he needs to hunt. I have something for you to pass onto him. A gift for outrunning us with cunning tactics, and a choice maybe."

Yup. James _ really _ wanted to know what happened in Wakanda, especially if the Wild Hunt was involved. There had been an _ incident _ about Wanda's magic before he returned after Tony healed him, Scott and Sam had flinched at birds for weeks after. No one would actually tell him back then, Steve hadn't wanted him to worry about Wanda's powers as she had exceptional control _ usually _, and now he knew what he did… James knew that it was to make sure he didn't find it too much about what she was capable of. Whilst the Rogues would not tell him, Bloudewedd would.

"Taliesin visited the other two, the ones you are growing to like. He had a little fun, oh and he should arrive soon for the festivities. He may drag Tom too. Taliesin has mentioned an interest in visiting the compound if you are interested."

Tony's Mother added. James wondered if Tony knew exactly what happened in Wakanda. Come to think of it, James had a better source. If this happened in Wakanda, then Shuri had videos. When they got back to Earth, he was contacting her. He likely had enough to trade based on the unicorns alone. He wondered if Bloudewedd would enjoy watching the videos of their antics too. 

So maybe James was hoping to bring some that he had met Underhill back to the compound, at least to visit. He was pretty sure Tony would be up for it, as much as Tony had complained about everything back on Earth… had warned him and tried to scare him off, James knew that Tony had been enjoying himself. He didn't suddenly think Underhill was safer and full of sunshine and daisies, but then James believed that that was one of the things he liked about Underhill, one of the things that made him feel so at home.

"He is always welcome on my lands. I have been slowly introducing the Fireland Heroes to all things Underhill. They might not adapt as well as my Snowflake, few can, but I believe that some visits could be in order."

"If anyone is visiting Steve, I want to watch."

Tony chuckled, but the Bane magic increased in intensity around him which had him trying not to yawn. Between Tony's magic, his hands, he was warm, safe and sleepy.

"They are an interesting lot. It has been a while since a group of humans has drawn so many of us. The Archer is mine."

"I shall leave you to your plotting family mine. Do not plan too much chaos in my lands."

"Would we ever do such a thing?"

Several people wished him goodnight after Dagda's sarcastic quip, but James was too warm and fuzzy from Tony's magic to comment much, it felt like barely ten seconds later when Fire caught them and then he was falling into bed.

"Sleep Cariad, you have had a long day of training and greeting."

"Can you keep doing that thing?"

"This thing?"

The Bane magic picked up again as Tony pulled him against his chest. He could certainly get used to this.

"Hmm, that's the thing, feels good."

"I am glad you like my magic Cariad. You might have noticed today that I am rather fond of yours too. Now, sleep, and I shall guard your dreams."

  
  
  
  
  
  


After the dramatic entrances of the last few Courts, the last five were somewhat anticlimactic, James thought. He was however quite happy for that as he was able to loom behind Tony as he greeted the Envoy of the Light Elves. Followed barely 10 minutes later was the Envoy of the Dark Elves. It was a little stiff and quite formal. Tony had smiled and greeted people within the parties warmly, but he could tell Tony didn't have the same ties to them as he did to others, like Dagda, for example. Or dislike them as much as he did those of Yearning Heart. 

The differences between the Light and Dark Elves was quite shocking, but then one side lived in a land of permanent sunlight, their skin was likely to reflect that. As such, they were much darker than their once brethren that lived in constant darkness. The Dark Elves were mostly covered, but then the silver sun was up and shining brightly. To them, it must be hard to be under such light suddenly. The journey must have taken longer than a day he supposed; otherwise, he suspected they would travel under the protection of the night sky. Their clothing did an excellent job of keeping them covered, he could sense a faint magical signature, but again that wasn't surprising. Tony had told him that Dark Elves magic was potent at night, the drawback was that it was severely weakened in the light. The Light Elves had the opposite problem, but as they were arriving in the day, they were faring much better.

Tony led them to a different door, which went under the Pannex to which they were very grateful for. The cold stone of the underground caves was much more forgiving to them.

James noticed the considerable difference between the Foci of a Court arriving versus an Envoy of a Court when these Courts arrived. The apparent difference was not so shocking after he discovered that Foci actually took a piece of their Court with them as they travelled, which was a shock. When Tony had said his new strength would come back with him to earth, he didn't realise then meant he literally carried some of his Courts with him. 

He hoped Tony decided to take him along when he spoke to the Executive Accords Council after returning to Earth. At the moment, he had informed them he was actually from another dimension, heavily invested in Earth and spent many centuries being born as a human to help. That because of recent events, he would be able to help in a more active role. After telling Fury he was the Celtic God of the Balance, he had informed the council that he was amicable of telling them more about himself. They were dying for the information, but in the months since Tony returned from Siberia, it had not taken them long to realise he was strong, important and willing to go to bat for Earth. He also had been giving them just enough information but not all in a very Fae way, and it seemed they had come to the conclusion not to push too forcefully or they were concerned Tony would leave. 

Tony had been having quite a bit of fun playing with them, but then as much as Tony puts on the human act for them, in the end, he is Fae. It would be weird if he didn't have fun when it came to word games. He had told James before they left, if he returned as King, then he would not be hiding that fact from certain groups. The first the Executive Council, then he would just be open with it at the compound and see how long it took people to realise. He was giving the Executive Council the choice when it came to telling the full Accords member countries. James asked him if he was going to drop his glamour right at the podium, fully decked out with his Crown, and Tony had just smiled at him. Wide, flashing his fangs. James then facepalmed for giving Tony that idea, Rhodes was going to punch him. 

He liked the idea of Tony bringing a part of his Courts back to the Firelands. Because he loved the Compound, it was home… but even though he had not been here long, he was starting to see this castle as home too. Although he hadn't actually told Tony that bit yet, he was going to miss it when they returned home. That Tony was bringing some of it with him just like he had brought Blue Fire Underhill, it had comforted him, knowing Autumn, Spring and Bane would always be there.

He hadn't even noticed that the Yearning Heart Court had been different. There had been two new Foci near him at the time, so his senses had been almost flooded by their Power mixing with Tony's. Plus he had been inundated with Autumn. Now, meeting more delegations that were sending Envoys rather than the leaders, he could now feel the difference between the two options. It was about as different as Tony before and after he took his crown.

  
  
  
  
  
  


They had been about to head back inside for their little lunch when Tony stalled. 

"Well, today is certainly busy. The last two Courts that will send Foci have just crossed my border." 

"Who is left now?" 

"This is Loremaster Ogman for The Court of Shining Star, and Council Member Mae'r who is the current Foci. The Council of Time runs the Court of Fading Shadow, but only one Fae may be Foci. They vote on it every few decades."

"And you know the others will send Envoys?"

"The Court of The Final Word always sends Envoys. If you wish to see Dian, you go to him. No matter your state, he doesn't make house calls."

"For a healer, he is a bit weird."

"Hmm, well. Healing is more of a side effect of his work. It was never the goal."

Tony started walking towards the courtyard, and James easily fell in beside him as the next delegations arrived. They couldn't look much different from each other, really. One was very old, with an amazingly long white beard and looked kind of what James imagined Merlin would look like if he were Fae. Unlike most of the others, his hair was loose and not braided at all. The only time he ever saw Tony like that was in his rooms, it was kind of... odd seeing a Fae like that weirdly enough. Somewhere along the line, since coming Underhill, he had started associating it as a 'done thing'.

It was like a person turning up stripped down to their underwear or something. It was actually creeping him out quite a lot, which was strange as before coming here, seeing someone with the complex, often metal-filled hairstyles the Fae gravitated towards had been weird.

He was wearing dark grey and purple robes and unlike virtually everyone else, arrived via carriage. Then, he looked _ old—the _ first old looking person he had seen in fact. James still mostly creeped out by his hair. Underhill was making him weird.

The other was around 5"6 and arrived riding a pale horse that just looked horse-like, but James had given up trying to work out which horses you could have conversations with and which ones you couldn't by now. After he tried to talk to a box the other day, he kind of decided just to follow Tony's lead on horse-related confusion. 

He looked young in complete contrast to Fae-Merlin, he was wiry but had a massive smile on his face, looking at everything as if thrilled to be there. It added to the image he had set up in his mind for Fae-Doctor Who.

As they headed inside for food, planning on having a small lunch alone in Tony's rooms before jumping back into dealing with so many people, Tony tilted his head, sending him a questioning look, likely having picked up something over their link. He took his hand, Firewalking them straight to the sofa, pleased to find food already set out as James was starving.

Tony shrugged his shoulders as Black Fire rippled out, changing his clothing. James had noticed that too, come to think about it. Back at the compound, Tony just wore what he wanted to be comfortable, damned anyone else, unless it was required that he wear a suit or if they were training. His hair was short and hidden beneath his glamour, so it hadn't known there was something to notice.

Underhill, clothes were another way of saying something. The longer they had been back, the more Tony had been changing into the fancier clothes automatically. Without his Mother or Aunt poking him into it. This included that his hair was always _at_ _least_ braided when outside of Tony's rooms.

Tony shook his head, and with a shimmer of black Bane magic, his hair was loose and curling down his back. Which lined up with what he was thinking, that it was the kind of thing you don't do around general company. James also kind of liked this idea because Tony always shook his hair loose when they came here. 

"What was it about the last two Courts that made you uneasy? I thought you would like their Courts?"

"I do… it's just. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but is it weird the Fae-Merlin has his hair completely unbound?"

Tony burst out laughing, almost choking on what he had been nibbling on after he had finished speaking. James handed over a drink quickly.

"Fae-Merlin, Ogma will love that, and… you aren't wrong. Ogma is just so old and rarely leaves his library that mostly we pretend we aren't seeing it. You might have noticed few of us look as old as him? It takes a very, very long time for our kind to visibly age to that extent. Most die long, long before. No one knows how old he is. The joke is that even he doesn't know how old he is. Ogma is powerful. He knows _ every _ book in his library. He is the Archive. Knowledge _ is _ Power. He is like… the strange old relative that has forgotten taking off his shirt and trousers during family reunions is not done."

"It really does feel like the human equivalent of walking around in his underwear! I haven't even been here long, and already it feels weird."

"Actually, Fae would prefer you walk in your undergarments than have your hair unbraided. Or completely naked. It's a good thing. You are picking up on subtle things that can take years for others to understand. Is that why you started tying your hair back?"

James can't help chuckling at that. He should have expected it really.

"Yeah, I mean it isn't as fancy as what you do, but I don't think my hair is long enough for that. I wouldn't know where to start when it comes to braiding my hair. I would make a knot. Several in fact."

Tony turned his attention to his hair then, James was not remotely surprised when after shifting closer, he removed the tye to let his hair down. He had that look on his face that he was giving very serious thought to something, which made him think that tying his hair back had actually been an excellent idea.

"I'm sure there is something we can do about that."

"Making my hair fancy or that it's too short?"

"Both, whatever you want Cariad."

  
  
  
  


They didn't have long to wait for the last envoy. The gates would remain open after the last delegation arrived. Tony mentioned that a few other people who wanted to attend, travellers, nomads, people who he had walked many paths with. Including those not aligned to a Court like he had once been. Tony would leave the gates open for a night and a day before they closed and would remain closed until he opened them as the King.

They had barely finished eating when Tony felt the final delegation cross the border. James knew who it was as there was only one Court left, but even if it were not, James would have known it was The Final Word. 

He had expected Tony to react as he had for when the Yearning Heart delegation turned up, so he was surprised when Tony seemed to completely shut down after he said they had crossed the border. The whole thing and James guesses about Tony's experiences with The Final word had James new instincts ratcheting right up. James planned on dragging Tony right back here the second they were able. He had a feeling Tony was going to need it, because the way he had completely shut down was _ new _ to James and he did not like it one bit.

Tony waited until they were close to the courtyard before his clothing changed back to the appropriate for greeting guests as they Firewalked to see this group. James was schooling his expression as by now. He was quietly seething.

Now, James wasn't sure if it was his preconceived bias, everything Tony had told him or what he had heard from Tony's people. The Envoy and delegation from the Court of the Final Word were _fucking_ _creepy._

There were 11 in total, which meant a single leader followed by 10. Which was '_ the custom' _ apparently, he had intended to ask Tony about that, but then they'd gotten distracted with Autumnal magic and James wasn't remotely sorry about that. James was pretty darned smug about that in fact.

The leader was a man in these white, creepy, sort of robes, the style was weird, but he was _ entirely _ covered, including his face. Only his eyes were visible, and James was pretty sure were also covered somehow, or the guy's eyes were completely black, which was not at all fucking creepy. His robes were that bright, gleaming white that you know means you're going to sit in dirt, but of course his were pristine. They looked as if they had been starched and were perfectly straight. They concealed everything, even to his sight, he was like a sucking black void. He quickly dialled his sight back as that had given him goosebumps, and he had broken out in a cold sweat. Definitely not doing that again and he was doing his best not to think about why supposed doctor types needed to hide their identities to almost excessive degrees.

James couldn't say much about the ten people following Mr White and creepy. He only knew he was a he because somehow Tony recognised the guy, _ somehow, _and introduced him as such. That pissed of the Creepy Envoy, that Tony had effortlessly identified him despite his excessive effort to hide it. Even angry, he sounded pretty emotionless, there was nothing in his voice, no life. 

The others were dressed identically to the leader, but entirely in red instead. James had spent more time watching Tony than the strange newcomers who he wanted to kick out of Tony's lands. Along with Yearning Heart. 

It was because his attention was devoted to Tony that he saw it.

Now Tony had said that he disliked two Courts. After seeing him interact with Ciel, James felt pretty confident saying Tony hated Yearning Heart, and especially Ciel and Meliflour. Watching Tony interact briefly with Envoy Damon, James was convinced of a few things. If Tony hadn't told him that he hated The Final Word, James probably wouldn't have known, because Tony's reactions to them were _ nothing _like Yearning Heart.

The entire time The Final Word stood in the courtyard, if James had to hazard a guess, Creepy Envoy Damon dragged out the introduction for 15 fucking minutes. Not that judging time was an exact science Underhill, but James had taken to counting after a few interactions to keep himself calm. Mostly because Tony would not be pleased if he punched the man. So, he guessed it had been around 15 minutes because of the counting.

Tony held himself stiff in a way James had never seen before, his back was completely straight the entire time, and he was holding his hands behind his back. The point where James had started counting was when he realised Tony's hands were white with how hard he was crushing them. Sure, he outwardly looked calm, but this was Tony, if he didn't want something seen, you didn't see it. 

Along with the counting, he was now watching Tony closely. He had also switched to standing right next to him and when he realised that helped, but he didn't obstruct Tony's view of the others in any way. Also, he kept himself away from the delegation, allowing Tony to plant himself as a wall. Which was another huge red flag, the last time Tony had made himself a wall was against the Ved'ma. James had initially thought it would be best to put himself as a wall, before a surge of panic smashed into him across the link. James immediately shifted his position and Tony had returned to his calm, but tense stance without a single person realising what happened.

Also, Creepy Envoy was forcing the conversation to continue, which pushed James irritation up several more notches. He then gently leaned on Tony's arm. Because he wanted him to know he was there, even if he couldn't do much, he could be present. Which also helped, but not before another concerning data point added to his pile of red flags. It was minute, no one other than him noticed, and he only knew because he _ felt _ it. Tony _ flinched _

Every painstaking minute, Tony watched every single member of the Final Word delegation very closely. Which was weird as generally, apart from a few here and there, Tony only really dealt with the leaders. This ten were utterly silent and just milling about. They didn't even speak amongst themselves; they didn't do anything, just stood stock still. It was eerie. In the end, it was Tony's reaction that gave him chills, because to his eyes, they were creepy, but that was it. Tony however _ never _ turned his back on them. He also had them watched _ constantly _ whilst they were on his land. He even had systems in place, tech and magic, and James was surprised he hadn't brought FRIDAY in for it. 

The second they stepped foot within the first gate, and until they left, Tony had them under constant monitoring. He had also told Creepy Envoy that if he said a single word to any of his human staff. A single word, then Tony would take up his blade against one of the two Courts that had never seen it out of its scabbard.

So, James was convinced of a few things. Tony hated Yearning Heart. He was cold, harsh and brutal with a wolf-like smile and words as sharp as his fangs. When it came to The Final word? Tony might hate them, but that wasn't the end of it.

Because James was pretty sure that Tony _ feared _ the Final Word. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the Courts have arrived! Woohoo  
I'm sure everything will be perfectly smooth sailing from now on...
> 
> Cachgi - Coward
> 
> Oh, I forgot to add an explanation. November in Welsh is Mis Tachwedd, which translated pretty directly to "Slaughtering" xD.


	75. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 7/7 Update, Big Oof, subluxed my darn right shoulder in my sleep again and it went back badly. So it is utterly murdering pain wise and throwing migraines, which means next weeks chapter is going through final stages quite a bit slower than usual. It's mostly written, it just needs final tweak and proof on the final 6k. Will post ASAP :)
> 
> I think I should stop giving myself word limits.
> 
> It's like a constant game of chicken with my insomnia that ends up with me posting late because proofing takes forever 🤣.
> 
> The first section was originally a small add on, yeah, well. It didn't stay small. If there weren't a set number of Underhill chapters, I would have chopped this into two pieces!

**Natalia POV**

Waking up, she finally knew where she had to go, she had been waiting for the location for several nights now, and she found herself positively jumping with energy. It wasn't often she had the chance to  _ truly _ become excited about something. It wasn't a feeling she allowed herself to indulge in. This time was different. This time her Queen had encouraged her to let the walls down, to let herself really feel it. It was hard, because it meant she must trust that she wouldn't spend days getting excited only to have it torn away from her at the finish line. Nat  _ trusted _ her Queen. So she threw caution to the wind, she excitedly told Clint, she made  _ plans. _ It was all worth it too because now she had the destination in her mind; all those days leading up to this had her overcome with excitement. The smile on her face as she woke up was new, and Nat liked it. Clint had hugged her at breakfast, saying he had never seen her so… free.

She had cleared her little getaway with Carol, and everyone was surprisingly good with her pitch. Every stage where she normally would have guarded her heart, she threw caution to the wind. She trusted not only in her Queen but in her friend. 

That a powerful being from a different dimension had invited her to an important event. A chance to foster links, even though she didn't have much information to give them now. Nat would never have let herself  _ hope _ based on such… flimsy ideas. Yet, she did, yet? Her friend came through for her.

Carol had seen how excited she was and somehow smoothed those ruffled feathers for her. Carol did this just because she was a friend, not because Nat had planned to use her. No plans to trick or convince. All she had done was to tell Carol precisely what this trip would mean to her, to show her how she really felt. It had taken four attempts, but every morning they had coffee. Trying the most insane drinks on the menu, seeing how much syrup and other fun ingredients they could add. When she finally came out with it, Carol had given her a knowing smile and said 'leave it to me.'

And she did. 

Nat didn't chase her up, didn't question her, didn't use her many, many tricks of her trade to check up on the woman. Instead, they continued to meet each morning. It was so strange, allowing oneself to feel each moment. To not guard her heart, never lowering her expectations. It had been hard, and Nat hadn't quite understood why. Surely it would be better to wait until there was confirmation? Yet, somehow, feeling all of that made that confirmation so much better. So much, in fact, she had jumped and hugged Carol before realising what she was doing, it was like the excitement building up couldn't be contained, and then Carol was hugging her—saying how proud she was of her.

She didn't need to pack much, but then she was good at travelling with very little. Carol insisted on helping, that friends help friends get ready for special vacations. Even though It was second nature to her to lack little, to have little, she found that doing this with a friend changed things again. Instead of only packing things she needed, Carol prompted her over cupcakes and vodka to also take things she wanted.

No longer did she wake from her dreams exhausted, pained or hypersensitive. Or, rather the latter part was still true, but she seemed to have learned how to regulate it. Each day she gained more and more control, discovered new things. Carol occasionally glowed, with bright blue and white wings and a massive sword like an avenging archangel. Carol told her of The Sight, what little she knew of Tony and Rhodes, that she was seeing past the normal vision of humans, into people, into their true selves. Nat could not control it as such, it only really worked around Carol, but lately, she was noticing a green shimmer around Clint.

It was all because of Tony, really. The way he spoke of things  _ changing, _ she started to wonder if she was becoming something different. Not one of Tony's Reapers, but maybe her Queen saw potential in her? After she began to think along those lines, after she stopped fighting and started accepting, she woke up overflowing with energy. 

Nat set off, but instead of merely leaving as she once would have, friends came to see her off. To wish her well, Carol even gave her a thermos filled with her favourite coffee. It was strange, how allowing herself to be excited about an event she didn't even have confirmation for, led her here. Whereas she had once looked at emotions and the pain they wrought, sure in herself that sacrificing the good and the bad was worth it to protect herself from the pain… now? Now she was not so sure. How much  _ good _ would she have missed out on if she had guarded her feelings in fear of pain? She promised herself to really try in the future, maybe the duration of this trip as a test run. To feel, take the risks she normally never would have. It made her nervous, but hopeful too.

It did not take long to drive to the place she had been directed, time flying as her mind kept repeating over the last few days. The roads steadily gave way to dirt tracks, and soon she had to park to walk. Her pack was heavy but well within her capabilities, and she had her thermos as she began her track. Occasionally checking her GPS. The forest was surprisingly easy to navigate; she felt as though she slipped through the silence. Clint would be proud of her. She'd nearly turned down her Queens offer at first because of him. It hadn't been long since she got Clint back, but he had  _ insisted _ she go, and bring back wild stories for him. He was doing better, Rhodes had taken a particular interest in caring for him, between therapy and friends? He smiled more than he didn't. It was not perfect sailing, but whatever Tony did? It was helping.

Clint told her that he now understood what Yasha had told her. That it was a helping hand in his mind, a friend of sorts. If he became trapped in spiralling thoughts, it would prompt him to pick up his phone. Not intrusive, but a gentle nudge. He compared it to a person holding their hand out when you fall. He could reach out and take it or ignore it. St first it had made him nervous, then he had been having a particularly bad night, trapped in flashbacks of things he had done under Wanda's control. He had been ready to climb into the vents and suddenly had the thought to take his phone, which had been the only reason he had been able to call her when he had a panic attack. Since then, he reached out more and Nat actually recognised the signs from James' oddly fast recovery. That they had initially put down to Wakandan tech.

"I knew you would find your way."

Nat jumped, she had become lost in her thoughts she hadn't heard her Queen sneak up on her.

"I was worried I would get lost."

It was strange to see her out of her dreams, in the  _ real _ world. Strange to be honest about something she once would have seen as revealing a weakness.

She had known those dreams were just as real, but there was something more about this, even as her queen held out her hand in such a familiar gesture. Different when she felt her hand curl around her own. 

"Are you ready to cross into my realm, little one? Brother mine has given me leave to invite you to his Ascension as you know, should you wish to go with me?"

"I've never been more ready for anything in my life."

"Excellent, we get to surprise him! You see, I hid your identity from him so that we can shock him and his Leannan. It is a surprise for you too."

The world shifted and shimmered around her. The forest spun away as wind swept around her in an almost playful fashion. She couldn't help laughing at the feeling of light, giddiness that shivered down her spine before suddenly the forest was suddenly gone. Bright, vibrant green grass was beneath her feet. With a touch, her backpack vanished in a burst of wind, leaving her unburdened.

"Come, we have permission to ride through Winter. I find the Snow Plains to be beautiful, pure, untouched white snow that erases your tracks as you move. The ice crystals take light from the silver sun and shimmer with colours through the entire spectrum."

She had not known what to expect when she had agreed to this trip, but as she was helped onto the horse, she took in the strange scene before her—wondering how the ice did not melt as her Queen slipped behind her, wrapping her arms around her as she took the reins. Magic surrounded her, which took her by surprise. Her clothing shifted slightly, her black trousers looked similar to what she had come here wearing, but they felt different and shimmering white symbols tracked up the outward-facing seams. They, along with the shirt, felt more adequate for summer than winter, the material was so light and soft, with shimmering white symbols. A larger, more complex symbol was over her heart. Nat did not know the meaning of these symbols, but she could feel magic upon them as a long, silver cloak settled over her shoulders.

"I would not want my chosen freezing, even if we do not have long to travel. You are still quite human, even if you are so close to a decision."

"A decision?"

"Hmm, yes. We Fae tend to have different ways of changing the humans our magic finds. I have been quite influenced by brother mine over the years. It is your journey. Not mine. For you, it was each time you faced the Banshee's scream. Such strength you showed, the magic began to cling to you. I have not seen so much of my magic circle a human before. Now, there is your choice. What paths you wish to walk on in the future. If you wish to be mine, if you wish to play a larger role in the Balance of life, all these pathways are at your feet. All you need, dear one, is to walk them."

Nat thought about it, thought about how Tony had talked about potential, about the Balance. A pathway in her future led to a chance to help. Not just help people, help everyone. To not be alone as she did so. Sticking with her plan to say as she felt instead of hiding, it was easier with her Queen, but she was still nervous. To put herself out there without 100% confirmation.

"I am already yours."

"That is what I hoped you would say. For now, let me lay claim to you? So that none of my kin dare touch you as you walk paths Underhill. Brother mine is meticulous about protection in his land, but there are many wolves inside his gates for his Ascension, so we must guard ourselves lest something terrible disturbs your path."

She didn't know what to expect as she turned around, not able to fully face her Queen due to the fact they were sat upon a horse. It was easy to agree, Nat knew the lands she was travelling in were not safe, she did not begrudge her Queens wishes to ensure her safety. Nat hardly noticed the snow falling around them as her queen kissed her and wrapped her in magic, until it was everywhere and her skin practically hummed at the sensation. Nat had kissed many people, many times, rarely because she herself wanted to. It felt different to those times, her stomach even swooped, and Nat had been convinced that was just a lie told by over the top romance books and weird films. It was strange to experience it herself. There was little Nat hadn't done or seen, jaded with the world before she was 12 years old, now colour was bleeding into her world, she was feeling things she hadn't thought existed for other people, let alone her. She almost felt like the teenager she had never been.

"That is much better darling mine. I also made this for you. Whilst you are Underhill, and as you carry my claim, you will be unable to remove this. Should anyone offer, do not trust them and call upon me. I will come to you."

"You'll hear me? No matter where I am?"

"Of course darling mine, a claim is not simply magic to tell others you are mind. At least, not the kind I have used. There are some claims that simply mark you as property, but this claim is more than that. It is a bond. If you feel fear, I will know. If your feet take you down dark paths, I will find you. Even if I am not at your side, I am with you. I have never made this claim before. I had to get Brother mine to teach me, to ensure I made no mistakes."

Nat was in a little bit of a haze as a beautiful silver bracket with white stones was fastened around her wrist. At a touch, the clasp vanished. She thought that if this had been anyone else, she would be freaking out, but there was a comforting calm that came with the knowledge that she was her Queens. The static is her mind peeled back even more, and everything was  _ bright _ and  _ colourful. _ In the time since her queen had come into her life, she had learned so much about herself, and about others. She had once believed herself to be an expert at reading people, only to discover she was missing so much, just under the surface. Decisions she had once thought inane or ridiculous suddenly began to make sense to her.

Things such as friendships had not been something she entertained. The closest she had managed was Clint. She had been on the way with Tony too she realised. Somehow he had snuck beneath her skin and Nat had no idea how he had done it. She had panicked and ran. She ended up  _ hurting _ him with her reckless acts and desperation to right her world. Tony Stark, even as a human, defied expectations, made decisions she could not understand or track and had made her feel. 

She had not believed permanent relationships of any kind were for her. Or for anyone really, all they led to was pain and suffering. 

Happiness was a good mission. 

The goal was to be the best. Not just good, but the best and nothing else mattered bar that and survival.

She couldn't just be a person with ordinary wants and desires. Then she had stayed in one place. She stayed around the same people. They opened their doors to her, even knowing what she was. Tony made a point to learn things about her. At first, she had thought it was to use her and she hadn't understood when all he wanted to know was her favourite candy so he could buy it for her. To know what popcorn she preferred to give her a bowl during movie night. Nat had not understood these actions, they made her uneasy, but she also liked them. It was little things like these, seemingly inane and pointless and then he was under her skin, yet he still didn't try to use it against her. He trusted her. That had made her panic and get ready to run, now… now she knew better.

Now, she had  _ friends. _ She did things just for fun! Life was more than the mission. So much more. She did pointless things like making weirder and weirder concoctions at the coffee shop just because it made her and Carol laugh. The best part today? That was the safety she felt with strong arms wrapped around her. Safety had been just an alien concept to her. There was no such thing as safe; only idiots believed in safety and let their guard down. Now there was safety, wrapped in her Queens arms as she relaxed, let go of her tension, let go of everything and just feeling safe, looking at the beautiful land before her and only looking because it was beautiful. Not to assess risks, not to track their path, giving over to that safety.

Like her, her Queen was slight, short and delicate, but Nat  _ knew _ she was not weak. Nat felt... safe, allowing herself to like her Queen. She was strong. She could look after herself. Because that was one thing Nat feared the most. One thing Nat was terrified off.

Not the loving. 

The inevitable losing.

It was why she had feared Tony so much. Just one look at him after a particularly gruelling fight. A building landed on him. In a hospital bed, bruised with tubes everywhere. She remembered thinking over and over that it was not right that he was so still. Tony should never be still. It was  _ wrong. _ Fear clawed at her throat, crushed her chest, and she hadn't understood  _ why.  _ Now she did. Now she only had to hope that one day Tony would give her another chance.

When the mountain came into view, she listened as her queen explained how the Kingdoms of Summer and Winter have been at war since Winter was created, even now the current Queens have worked well together for millennia. However, they were still  _ officially _ considered at war. The creation of this new Kingdom between Summer and Winter was a chance for tensions to reduce even further. The hope that the three rulers could work  _ together _ to rule over all of Underhill.

Nat had been a little confused, as her Queen was also a Queen. Underhill was a confusing dimension with many different lands. She was of the lower Courts. Fifteen of them in total, the Seelie Courts were above, so they were a different kind of power.

"It will be different than standing in my presence. Even as the Seelie monarchs temper their magic, you will feel it. Know that you do not have to kneel as you are not of their Court, but it is okay if you do, you are very sensitive to magic in general. My Court is more closely aligned with Winter than Summer, so Mab may affect you more. I am much more closely bound with brother mine, but he is very pro-fragile creature. He will not force you to your knees."

"I will do my best to keep to my feet, the only Queen I belong to is you."

"I like this. It has been... quite some time since I even felt the drive to Mark someone, eight centuries I walked alone, now I feel like sharing my path. More so than I have with others that came to my power. I have seen what it looks like to share a path walking side by side now. This is what I want. Look, we can see the gate from here."

She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as she leaned further into her Queen. Someone to share her path with? That was perfect. Sometimes she wondered how her life had become so fantastical. The shining white walls were instantly recognisable, even from such a distance.

"The walls, they're the same as the compound?"

"Atronach. It is only naturally formed Underhill and magic users everywhere want it. We allow small amounts out, but few know just how much we have. One of the beads on your bracelet is Atronach. You are developing quite the sensitivity to magic. It may respond to you in time as your abilities as one of mine develop. They all will as you advance, some are unique to my line."

The five white stones she noticed were all different. At first, they looked the same, but now she looked closer, she could discern subtle differences. The Atronach one warmed and hummed against her skin. She wondered how Tony got such quantities of this precious stone out of Underhill. Although the walls surrounding this new Kingdom dwarfed those back at the compound, she realised as they came upon the gate. The road was also made of the gleaming stone after they entered. Maybe they considered the compound wall 'small'?

They were waved at as they passed by people in the villages. Each was decorated for large, outdoor street parties, stages were set up, and everyone seemed very active and happy. Everyone was so different. She found herself looking everywhere and finding something new each time.

"Everyone seems quite excited."

"Hmm, they have waited quite a while for this day. Brother mine has long run from his titles as a Prince of two lower Courts. Heir to many. Even going as far to abandon all titles and become nomadic. He rarely stayed in place for long, he apprenticed in many Courts but left when any mentioned him becoming part of said Court. He collected a few people though, because he is soft-hearted. He even took a position Underhill that precluded him formally from allying with a Court."

"He sounds quite invested in not being part of a Court, so how did he end up here?"

Nat didn't know much of Underhill, but she knew it was safer to be part of a Court. Choosing to remain apart for so long, her brother must be powerful.

"He created all of this. This was once the most dangerous, bloody and brutal border in all of Underhill. No one lived here. No life bloomed. He originally came to mine Iron, then Atronach. Eventually, he rented land from both Summer and Winter. He built homes for his people. Since then villages have grown, new villages formed. He took in any who wished for safety. He homed the tired, unbound and broken of Underhill and he was named the Lord of Iron. He didn't even wish for that title. He has someone in his life now who can make him see sense. This Fragile Creature is why Spring and Autumn have returned to our lands and our hearts. Why we shall soon have the Iron King. The family is quite awed in fact, many already speak of him and wish to lend debt to his station."

Nat took everything in, wondering if she would get to meet this other human, also wondering who else would be at this Ascension. She also looked at each village differently as they passed through now. Her Queens brother was clearly well-loved given by how happy people seemed to be—celebrating his Ascension. The closer they came to a second, even larger white wall, she could see that considerable amounts of construction were ongoing in the vast open spaces beyond the biggest village near the gates. She had noticed there was a lot of open space beyond each village and from the wall and had wondered why, but it made sense the villages would start around the wall.

"Your brother seems to like walls."

"Very much so. He is a renowned wall builder amongst many other things. Brother mine has not had the easiest time of life, and because of this, he feels a constant driving need to take those he cares for and bring them behind his walls. To protect them from what he could not protect himself from. It eases his mind when his people are secure, safe and able to live their lives free from compulsion.

"The magic he lays into walls is also very sought after Underhill, nearly as much as the Atronarch itself. That which he crafted for me is very beautiful. He developed the Wards to feed from and into the land, that my Banshees can skate along the ridges at speeds they had only dreamed of! They are envied by many. To have your walls constructed by him is quite the status symbol, a boast that everyone can see when the white walls catch the sun. The debt for the Atronach alone is rather high as he controls 100% of the supply and is one of the best for working on it. Having spent many years perfecting and testing the capabilities of Atronach, few of the Trí Dé Dána can boast the same level of skill. Few have so much to practice upon."

Nat nodded, eyeing the walls and the beautiful gate as they passed. Her Queens brother had seemed impressive the few times she had spoken of him in the past, now he had passed that, and gone straight into intimidating. She wondered what happened to him to create his drive to gather his people behind these great walls.

Inside this wall, the neat definition of Spring and Autumn shifted. It was as if both seasons operated the same space. Just like outside and back in Winter, each season wasn't like just a random summer's day. It was the  _ perfect _ representation that you can think of. Autumn was full of trees bearing these utterly perfect red and gold leaves. There were no brown leaves, nothing like that. It was somehow just as vibrant as Spring, but with a darker feel to it. 

Summer had been full of bright, thick flowers, Spring was delicate, with light, new blooms of springtime flowers. Seeing both seasons of Spring and Autumn in one space was genuinely bizarre, especially as they were two seasons that didn't even exist close to each other on earth. She wondered if it was like this all year round. All four seasons existing together across these lands. She had been so wrapped up gazing at the seasons that It took her a few seconds even to notice the utterly huge castle carved into the mountain.

"Oh, and do call brother mine's home a castle! His Leannan has been convincing  _ everyone _ to call it so. We are all rather invested with his crusade. Many have begun to call him a Spark. They're rare, even Underhill. Those who spark change wherever they step, naturally, without even intending so."

Nat eyed the freaking huge castle and wondered what else she would call it? It was huge, the doors at the front looked as if they were built for one much larger than the tallest human. The mountain was so large that much of its summer was obscured by silver clouds throwing fractal rainbows that mixed with the Blue Fire that wreathed the castle. There was so much detail, so much to look at. Nat had never thought she would be one to be awed by a building, but there was just so much going on, and yet it didn't look cluttered or tacky.

"Not sure what else I would call it if not a castle."

What on earth does her brother think this is?!

"Brilliant, we are having quite the fun regarding it. His Leannan has quite the way with people, and brother mine has no idea what to do. It is hilarious. He has finally met his match."

They could enter mounted as they were and still barely brush the door frame she noted. She barely had a chance to start looking as they turned and headed off to the side, quickly coming up on large fields and several stables. There were a surprising amount and variety of horses, many far larger than found on Earth.

She almost fell from her seat as her eyes scanned over the horses in the field. Somewhere pretty normal, like theirs, others were absolutely huge. Also, there were unicorns, and others had  _ wings.  _

She barely noticed the golden-haired man that helped them down as she was staring at the unicorns. 

Very little of her childhood was a  _ normal _ childhood. She was taken to the Red Room very young, around four years old, she believed. Because of that, she didn't even remember her parent's faces, but she had remembered bits and pieces over the years. The longer she was free from that vile machine that had written over her memories, cracks slowly appeared, and memories fell out.

Some of her favoured memories that she had painstakingly recovered in secret, were bedtime stories and even dreams. The kind of childish dreams when you know you are safe and that your parents would always protect you. 

Other dreams then of her early years in the Red Room. When she had envisioned a life beyond the halls, a life beyond the pain and a life that entirely belonged to her. She had learned eventually that dreams were for children and that even though she was young, she was no child.

Some dreams persisted for the longest time, how she dreamed of breaking her handcuffs and running into a forest at night, a shining white unicorn would approach her, she wrapped her hands around its neck and then she rode away. The same every time. It was just a silly child's fantasy, and when she had finally accepted her place in the Red Room, they had stopped. Something had broken inside of her then, and Nat wondered if it could ever heal

Now she knew that dreams could be more. That unicorns were  _ real. _ She still remembered these dreams with startling clarity, even after so many years… still feels the break. She wondered if there was a chance… she did not need a unicorn to help her flee anymore, but she wanted to heal. Her Queen wrapped her arms around her waist, resting her head on her shoulder and looking upon the unicorns with her.

"After we have lunch with brother mine, and when we have settled in, would you like me to introduce you to them? Brother mine must enter a deep restorative sleep for the upcoming Ascension after lunch, so we are free to do as we please on his lands. He has already given you the right of no obligation for our stay."

It was still hard for her to be so easily read by someone, for someone to know something she wanted so much she could feel it. To be vulnerable and  _ asking _ for it. When she did, she was rewarded with a broad smile, a look of pride that she still wasn't entirely sure what to do with. Pride over being  _ open. _ Pride for allowing herself to be  _ vulnerable. _ Pride for wanting something that had  _ nothing _ to do with being Black Widow or a mission.

"Really? That… that would be amazing."

"Anything mo Chridhe, all you have to do is ask, and it would bring me great joy to gift you with such things."

Too many emotions seemed to cross her mind at the same time, and if not for the firm grasp of her hand, and the weight of the bracket at her wrist, she thought she might drown under so much  _ feeling.  _ So much of something she didn't even believe she was capable of. Something she hadn't even believed was worth the pain. She hadn't worked out what to say in reply, but she knew she was smiling more than she ever had, Black Fire crackled on the floor near them that derailed her thought process.

Her first thought was Tony, but when she looked, it was different from Tony's columns of Fire. It wasn't straight up, it was rotating, almost like a Fire tornado. Starting at the ground and growing into a large column of twisting Fire that had a heavy feeling of immense power surrounding it. Another difference was that it wasn't just Black Fire now she looked closely. Thick, Black ribbons filtered through the Fire, seeming to absorb all light in contrast to how the Black Fire somehow provided a strange light. They seemed contrasting, and yet they worked perfectly with each other. It was beautiful and powerful, more so than what she had felt from Tony back in the meeting room.

"This is going to be fun. He is travelling very slow too, either to give you time and not to scare you, or more likely he has been...  _ distracted. _ We are… more vulnerable in that in-between space, he has been taking his Leannan into his Fire for quite the time, for him to trust another with something so precious and dangerous? It brings us joy to know he let someone behind his walls.

"Well, I hope your brother likes me."

She wouldn't admit it to anyone else, but she was nervous. Her Queen  _ obviously _ loved her brother. Her  _ immensely powerful _ brother. Nat wanted to make a good impression. For once. Fae had a habit of seeing through masks, being as adept as they were at creating them. Could they see the blood in her past? Would they think little of her for it? Her Queen proved her point for her when she tightened her arms around her, bringing her as close as possible as if to shield her from the world whilst running one of her hands through her hair. Somehow she could see her nerves and turmoil.

"Remember mo Chridhe, Fae… we are not humans. We may seem similar now and then, but we are different, we see people very differently. Fae do not look upon you as a human would. You are a warrior, a defender. You are a  herald of death and power shimmers around you with potential of where you will step. You are mine. You are on the path of the Sgàil Gheal, my white shadows.

"A singer of lament that will offer hope of changing events that may spell doom. We may be feared, darling mine, but we are a  _ Power.  _ One that is on the side of death, which means we are the Power of Life and that of the Balance too. Brother mine? He is also these things Death, Life and Balance, but a different kind. He knows Death Gods of so many pantheons that I could not count and he brings them together, that we may know of problems before they cascade. That is why we fight so well together. It is why his Fragile Creatures and mine oft work together. Our goals align.  _ Relax _ darling mine, here is a place you are  _ wanted, _ without having to hide the dark parts of your being. All of you, every shattered and healing piece is  _ wanted. _ "

Nat was frozen, listening as something that had been tight and grasping in her chest for  _ so long _ that she  _ almost _ forgot about it. That painful grasp eased as she took what felt like her first-ever breath.

"Wonderful, mo chridhe, see how you shine."

Just as two forms stepped from the Fire that Nat had actually forgotten about, she noticed that her usually pale skin was actually shining slightly. Not like a lightbulb, but like a bright white stone under the sun, with a silver hue. Like Atronach. She was dying to know what it meant when her mind derailed entirely as she took in the newcomers.

"Yasha?!"

"Natalia?!"

Her and Yasha stared at each other as her Queen chuckled slightly. She was still close to her, Nat was facing the new pair and her Queen at her side, but still wrapped around her, her head still resting on her shoulder and strong arms about her waist. Not caring who saw which warmed something inside of her.

"Now, I had wondered what potential wrapped around you, Natka, but I had not thought any could catch my dear sister's eyes. Now I look, I don't know how I missed it. Welcome to the Iron Lands, for your visit, know that food and drink is given freely with no obligation, and if you wish it, you may carry my mark as one of mine."

She glanced at her Queen, not knowing if she  _ could _ carry another's mark, but her bright smile and nod made her think otherwise. Which was when the other words caught up with her. She snapped back to her Queens brother, looking harder this time, and now she wasn't sure how she missed it. In her defence,  _ a lot _ just happened in the last 90 seconds.

"Tony?!"

"Mmhmm, I see my sister wanted to surprise you too? And don't worry about carrying my mark. Your Queen always comes first, but it means that others know you are protected. You should see this one he is collecting in royalty like stamps."

"I don't even know how it happens; people here just seem to like me."

That actually made her feel better. Her and Yasha… they were of a kind. That he had been accepted so? Some of the nerves vanished as Tony held his arm out. 

_ Tony. _ She had known he was powerful, but she had not truly thought him like her Queen. Although after what she said of her brother, she could see Tony's personality in those actions. He looked quite different from her Queen and how he had looked on Earth. Nat had thought after he revealed his tattoos that that was it. There was much more, although Nat could see enough to recognise him. Some of his blue tattoos were quite distinct too.

Her Queens eyes were closer to humans. Although the colour was much more striking than any human, they were almost grey-blue, but shining with silver. Their skin was alike. Her Queen was a little paler. She wondered if her Queens eyes were actually like Tony's? No white and slit like a cat. She also wondered about her ears.

Tony's short hair was now very long, curling down his back and partially done in an elaborate style with several braids and black metal beads or chains. It pulled his hair back from his face revealing pointed ears. She couldn't help staring a little at the changes.

"Cariad has quite the talent for wooing Fae off of their feet."

Tony held his hand out, and Nat tentatively offered her own. A rush of powerful magic that felt so different from her Queen. Heavy, strong and warm instead of fluttering and light. Three little symbols appeared on her wrist. They were tiny, a shimmering gold spiral on one side, a deep red double spiral. In the middle was a pure black seven-pointed star. At the size they were, no one with a tattoo gun would have been able to do that.

"Only Fae can see it. It is masked to any other unless you  _ wish _ it to be seen."

Yasha peered over, studying the new tattoos on her wrist. He could obviously see them even though she didn't think she had made them visible.

"How come I didn't get anything like that from your family marking me?"

"Lower Courts don't leave marks. Peter, Harley and the others are probably so confused right now. After I put on the Crown, they would have appeared."

Yasha laughed at that and Nat joined in, she hadn't honestly gotten to know the others at the compound, but she was getting there. 

"That's probably a good thing, who knows how many tattoos I'd end up getting."

She couldn't help smiling as she ran her fingers of the small symbols on her left wrist. The bracelet on her right. Feeling the magic from both, that these Fae saw her as theirs. That Tony  _ still _ wanted her in his life, even though she had followed Steve into that room, even when she hadn't seen Yasha suffering. This tattoo meant all of that, it was a sign, and it was one she was not going to waste, not when she knew how lucky she was.

Tony, who could be vicious and vengeful in his defence of his human. Similar to how her Queen would be to her, and yet, here she was. Standing in his lands and carrying his mark with Tony's sister curled around her. Maybe she hadn't lost her friend. Perhaps, in this strange land, where no Rogues could interfere, she and her Queen could genuinely spend some time with Tony and Yasha.

Although she had no idea what to do with the fact  _ Tony _ was soon to be a  _ King. _ It wasn't that she thought he would be a bad King. She had already seen enough to know his people loved him. There was no hunger, no homelessness. Everyone they passed on the way in looked thrilled. It was just odd to think she knew one Royal person. Now it was two. Yasha caught her eye and grinned, catching her train of thoughts with startling ease.

"Don't worry. You get used to it. I mean, you can only watch supposed Kings and Queens chase each other, pounce on each other like teenagers, teach them about selfies and watch them rough house before you just stop seeing them as untouchable royalty."

That time she did gape a little, wondering what the hell Yasha had been up to since he came Underhill!?

How long had they been here? When she had left, she had thought he and Tony were just hiding out—spending some time alone to help Yasha heal from what Wands did. That's when she realised Carol probably knew Tony was here when she set everything up. Making a point to bring her back something nice.

"I will take your word on it. So, Tony, are you going to show me around your castle?"

Tony blinked, and turned to Yasha who was trying, and failing, to keep a straight face.

"How?! She has barely stepped in my lands!"

"I didn't do anything. I'm utterly innocent! Maybe it's because you live in a castle. Ever think 'bout that?"

Tony stepped closer, and Nat grinned, it was good seeing them so close. The warmth of her Queen wrapped around her made her smile, and she wanted that for Yasha. Although with how low and magic-infused Tony's voice got, she wondered if he forgot they were there for a moment. She felt Tony's magic slip around her. It was like it was almost incompatible. It was however damned powerful, and she wasn't surprised when Yasha listed towards Tony. She felt a little weak, and it wasn't even aimed at her, her Queen was the only thing that kept her standing.

"Oh, I will show you a castle before we leave Underhill."

"I will hold you to that."

"Hmm good, now let us feed our guests."

Tony's voice slowly bled back to normal, but he stayed close, wrapping an arm around Yasha's waist who quickly pulled him closer, draping his arm over his shoulder. The height difference was cute when you knew the powerhouse Tony could be. That sheer power she had just  _ felt _ coming from Tony, just an overflow that he barely seemed to notice.

Although she could see Yasha shimmering with power himself. She suspected this potential power they had discussed was no longer potential. There was something more too, he looked different from Rhodes and herself somehow, even if she wasn't sure  _ exactly how _ .

They looked good together, Yasha shined here, and Tony looked like the cat that got the cream and would slice anyone up who tried to take it away from him.

"Finally Brother mine, making a crossing too and from the Firelands always makes me hungry."

"Hmm, then you will be happy to know that last night I made that strange concoction you are hooked on."

Her Queen cheered happily as they started heading inside. The oddly large corridors, doors and stairs, that were definitely not making her nervous, were however perfect for two couples walking side by side. Especially with how close they were. Nat wondered if it was just their Fae, or if it was a Fae trait to be so tactile. She had noticed Tony was more tactile back home, but this felt slightly different to those times although she couldn't put her finger on why.

"Should I ask?"

Yasha was always drawing stories out of Tony. Nat had been near a few times. She had never been part of something like this before. With a bonus of finding out something of her Queen.

"I was very drunk, as was she, and she was tearing up my kitchens complaining that I did not have the perfect snack. There was one problem with procuring her such delicacies."

Nat was wondering what this was, especially as her Queen was chuckling slightly. Nat was trying to imagine her drunk as she asked.

"What was that?"

"My dear sister mine, had no idea what she wanted. Yet, she demanded I fetch it immediately. Around 300 rejected choices in…"

"300!?"

Yasha gaped, and Nat was certainly impressed.

"I was hungry, and brother mine always looks after those he deems family. Plus, he is hopeless against a challenge."

"Well, I knew she liked honey, but the texture was wrong. She almost ate two whole raspberries at one point, and she was  _ still _ drinking all of my Winter wine. So, I decided to make something new. The recipe is a heavily guarded secret, but it includes all I mentioned and a little more mixed into whipped honey. Then I passed out if I remember correctly. "

"It is divine. I treasure each and every jar he makes. And you did, the chef was unimpressed that we slept in the pantry."

"It sounds interesting."

She was starting to see what Yasha had said, hard to see them as untouchable royalty when they're getting drunk and passing out in a pantry. 

"Mo Chridhe, you can try some if you like."

Tony half tripped over and was caught by Yasha who was trying not to laugh, that Nat saw Yasha slip his hand into Tony's curls likely had more to do with him not sulking.

"That is quite the feat, Natka. In all the seasons since I crafted her this special whipped honey, she has shared it with no one. It took a few thousand seasons before I was permitted to try some! Even though I make it!"

Everyone was light, laughing and bantering back and forth as they continued to wherever Tony was taking them. She couldn't help the warm, fuzzy feelings at Tony's words.

They entered a beautiful room with a few small tables made of the same silver stone. White Atronach in small tiles along with a very dark grey made elaborate patterns on the table. Beautiful knotwork and amazingly detailed designs and carvings that she wondered if they were Wards like she had on her clothing. Nat hadn't really been one to stop and admire such things before, but Fae had a particular talent and eye for shocking levels of beauty. It was impossible  _ not _ to look and admire. Even Yasha was looking, and he had clearly been here for a while now.

They had left the central part of the castle she noted, having moved to what looked like a whole palace just added on, in the silver shining stone, also with atronach stones creating beautiful patterns, similar to the table. Yasha called it the Pannex and Tony briefly attempted to call it the Silver Wing but looked as if he had given up trying to coral Yasha's naming choices. 

They didn't bump into another person as they sat down and Nat guessed this was a private eating area of sorts? Assuming the other guests were elsewhere. Something she was quite happy for, a little time to acclimatise would be good. That she now had three people she knew had made her more confident of being here. Especially after Yasha mentioned that all the Court delegations had arrived, a lot of Wyldfae, Spring and Autumn and several other nomadic travellers of Underhill. Tony had once been of their ranks she supposed, so it made sense that they would attend.

There was a strangely normal and domestic feel as they selected food. As if they were just in a restaurant, ordering food, rather than her being the guest of a Queen, in Tony's castle for his Ascension to become King. She was starting to understand what Yasha meant when her Queen and Tony began tossing something back and forth in an attempt to catch the other off guard. Nat watched as they were very invested in their game that seemed to have sprung up out of nowhere.

Yasha caught her eye and raised his eyebrow. Gesturing at the two monarchs and mouthing- 'See?' Just as Tony missed thanks to a yawn that caught him off guard, and the silver light splashed on his shoulder. 

"Victory is mine!"

"Humph, I totally could have won."

"Sure thing brother, I am sure you could have beat me. Maybe you were distracted, I told you that you could not avoid the sleep. Now, what is my victory prize?"

Tony waved his hand, and a Silver box appeared in front of her Queen in a flurry of Black Fire. She cheered, and now they had finished acting like teenagers, her Queen had pressed close to her again. Resting her head on her shoulder. Nat noticed Tony had done similar with Yasha. She hadn't even seen them move, a blink between the end of their game and the distance vanished. Like in the meeting room, Nat noticed Tony was carding his fingers through Yasha's hair and had tucked himself against Yasha's neck. He did look tired but also seemed stubborn about staying awake. She had seen that look on Tony's face many times.

"Me and Hetaris were working on something for you. For your collection."

In the box were several white stones. Not too dissimilar to the ones of her wrist. At first, you could mistake them as being the same, but just like her bracelet, they were different. There looked to be seven different stones and three of each type. With how excited her Queen was, and looking at her bracelet, it was easy to assume that she was delighted with what Tony gave her. She couldn't exactly work out what made each stone different, but her Queen showed her one that looked as if it was Atronach but nearly 100% covered whilst opal coloured Wards. The level of detail was shocking. Tony grinned, obviously happy with her praise as food arrived.

"As you do every time Brother, you amaze me and surpass yourself."

Nat didn't know what half the food was when they'd been selecting what to eat. Actually, even half would be incorrect. Yasha had recommended some things he had tried, and Tony had ordered several things for her and Yasha to try. She was starving, and with no reason to try and cover her requirement for more calories, as everyone at the table was like her. She hated eating out with people, even if she liked them as she ended up hungry. She had a feeling that this time would be different. Carol had been a revelation, but she was working at undoing years of conditioning.

"Oh, Nat, you have to try this."

Yasha poured a shockingly purple drink into an empty glass as the scent of blackberries, and an undertone of honey hit her. She tentatively sipped and like the other food, was surprised at the intensity of the flavour. That seemed to be a thing when it came to Fae food. There was no such thing as bland. Even normal, mundane flavours on earth had something… more here. For some, it wasn't just taste. Some food created different sensations and even  _ feelings.  _

A soup made her feel warm and fuzzy like she was wrapped up in a blanket with a raging snowstorm outside. A fruity pink drink came with the feeling of the sun on her skin and the scent of salt from seawater. It was a full sensational rollercoaster, so she was surprised when the blackberries and honey burst across her tongue but wasn't accompanied by something 'else'. Even though she knew not all food did that all the time, which was just bizarre. Yasha was grinning, however, so she was expecting  _ something. _ When it hit her, she almost jumped as suddenly she felt raring to go. Any tiredness from driving and riding was just gone as her fatigue and aches utterly vanished. She felt as if she had just started an intense workout, when you're in that stage when you feel like you have all the energy to do anything. Like she had pounded ten cans of red bull, but better because even her head was refreshed. Like she was suddenly running at 150%.

"Wow, how long does this last before you crash?"

"No crash, you just return to normal, maybe a little sleepy. It's restorative. If you finish the bottle, it would last around 18 hours on Earth."

"On Earth?"

"Time is weird here; on Earth, everything is fixed. An hour is an hour. A metre is a metre. Sometimes things get wonky here, even with me linking Earth and Underhill. We don't really think in time like humans the closest we get is seasons. I attempt to convert things into human terms, but it will never be as precise as you are used to."

Nat looked confused, because how did they set events if there was no set time.

"Then how do people know what time to come to your thing?"

"The answer to most questions is Magic. If you watch, they just seem to know when to be in certain places. Where to look before someone appears. It is bizarre."

Tony was looking tired as he was practically curling up on Yasha like a cat now. Her Queen was watching the pair with a big smile. Obviously happy to see her brother happy.

"It is just a sense those of us Underhill have. As much as Fy Cariad says, it is weird, he told me you were here today as I was distracted."

"Wait, I did? How did I do that without noticing?"

"Mmhmm, you've taken to Underhill like a fish to water."

"Huh, cool. That's also going in my 'no idea box'. Now, we need to get you to bed."

"M'not that tired."

Nat snorted as Tony sounded very sure of himself, but he looked as if he was almost asleep.

"Your eyes are closed, and you've practically curled up on my lap. Hetaris told me you need to go into a deep sleep for this Ascension. That the books are totally vague on, which isn't annoying, at all."

Yasha mostly grumbled the last part under his breath, and even though Tony was well on his way to being unconscious, he automatically responded to Yasha's tone of voice with his hand slipping to the back of his neck. There was no pain to take, but it was sweet that even half out of it that that was his impulse 

"Been conspiring with my mountain against me."

Nat was unsure, they had mentioned Hetaris a few times, and she couldn't tell if he was a person or the mountain which the castle was built into, which she was struggling to wrap her mind around.

"Brother mine, you know you have to enter the restorative sleep. You threatened to tie me to the bed when I tried to avoid mine. And what happened to me?"

Tony smiled and chuckled but didn't actually open his eyes and somehow sounded even more tired.

"You fell asleep hiding in the pantry again. Had to carry you to bed."

"Exactly, the sleep comes on, whether we wish it to or not. Now have your Leannan carry you to bed."

For a few seconds, Nat is pretty sure Tony passed out and judging by how Yasha was getting his stuff together, he was getting ready to carry Tony to his room. Nat imagined it was quite far away given Tony's love for places at the top of very tall buildings.

"Mm okay, you two have fun. I should see you before everything starts, but if something comes up and I don't, you have seats reserved. Have fun girls, don't do anything I wouldn't do. Firewalk?"

"See you two later, sure thing Kotenok."

In a much faster swirl of Black Fire and deep Black ribbons, warmth flashed across her skin, leaving her blinking. It was so strange blinking and having someone vanish, but seeing Tony being all sleepy and adorable with Yasha was a memory she would cherish.

After they had bid Tony and Yasha goodbye, her Queen caught her hand and tugged her close again. Nat wasn't used to such closeness, or for someone so  _ willing _ to pull  _ her _ close. So every time she felt dizzy in a good way, and her stomach swooped. All things she never thought she would feel and was convinced didn't actually exist.

"I never thought I would see the day he would take another person into his Fire."

Her queen looked contemplative as she ran her fingers over her wrist, around her new bracelet.

"We could walk to our rooms... or, would you like to Windwalk with me?"

"Windwalk?"

"Yes, I have never brought another with me, but seeing brother mine step through Fire with his Leannan at his side… I can see why he does it. I would like to do so with you. It is similar to the Air Crossing we used to cross into Underhill. I am very proficient at Air Elemental work, so when I learned to walk to ways, it was easy to use wind to take me."

"Is it rare to take someone with you when you teleport then?"

"Very, most never do so in their lives, barring emergencies maybe, even then that would be a light dip into the ways, not a full enclosure. Not like how brother mine and his Leannan are. It is… an intimate thing. I will take you into the ways, forming a path entirely of my power and essence. You will essentially be wrapped in the core of my magic. You could hurt me with a thought in such a state. You could bind me to your will. A number of other things too. I know that such things would never come from you, we are taught never to take someone with us into the ways from the day our magic presents, but, I want to wrap you in my power mo Chridhe, I trust you."

Nat didn't know what to say to that, to how much trust her Queen had in her. She also wondered if Yasha knew any of this, or if Tony had offered him the chance without explaining how special it was. Because that was a very  _ Tony _ thing to do, to get more caught up in doing it and utterly forget to explain anything.

It was a heady thing to be trusted like that, from creatures who had lived for millennia and were  _ Powers _ to be reckoned with. To know they trusted you so much, that they wanted to do this. So she couldn't help but nod.

"It can be a little intense at first, just hold me close and remember to breathe."

As well as being a big deal for the trust reasons, she could tell that it was more than Tony and her Queen trusting her and Yasha. Sure, that was part of it, if they didn't trust them, they wouldn't do it. But just because they trusted them did not mean they had to take them on trips. She saw the same look in Tony's eyes before they vanished into Fire in the meeting room as today, even with his eyes half-closed. Her Queens eyes shone too, but silver instead of gold. This was very important to them beyond those reasons. It was something they both seemed to want but had never achieved before, and she wondered why as wind began to stir up around them. Why them? Deciding to talk to Yasha about it soon, as she paid more attention now to the gentle wind that was steadily becoming stronger.

In seconds it was whipping around them so quickly as the hallway vanished. She felt arms tighten around her for a single step and just as quick, the wind died down. Lowering into a gentle warm breeze that skated across her skin on top of the sensations of shifting, left her shivered slightly with goosebumps flashing across her skin. It felt like seconds, and her mind said they couldn't have gone anywhere, but they were in a large living room by the looks of it. Stood in front of a huge fire, there were a few doors around the beautifully decorated room. Nat was pretty sure this was not a guest room but rather her Queens room as it was decorated similarly to some of the rooms she had seen in her dreams. Silver was prominent. The silver stone had thick groves carved into it, that then looked as if they were filled with silver. There was a lot of wood, and it was so dark it was almost black. The sofas were a deep emerald green, and everything else matched the theme.

"Wow."

"Does that mean you will walk the winds with me again, Darling mine?"

"Any day, any time, that was amazing. I get why Yasha always wants to Firewalk."

"I'm glad you like it so. I would like for you to join me often."

"I was wondering, you are Fae, like Tony, right?"

"I am about ¾ Seelie Fae, closer to Winter than brother mine. He is an almost equal split, although there is more power to his Winter half. We are blood bound. His father might have technically been a prince before he left and forfeited such, but he was quite far from Queen Eliera at the time, she was his 2nd Cousin I believe. Plus, women tend to be stronger usually in Seelie lines with a few notable exceptions. I assume you are wondering about my eyes? Rather than brother mine's genealogy, even though it is rather interesting. I have a glamour on. Brother mine is required to remain as he is, no Glamour of any kind whilst he is himself until after the Ascension. Do you wish to see me as I am?"

Nat nodded, putting away some of that information for later as it didn't exactly make much sense to her, yet at least. She had assumed her and Tony were actually brother and sister, the way they occasionally argued in a typical hyper-competitive. Yasha had told her of when her Queen arrived, which somehow resulted in her Queen chasing Tony. She decided to ask more about that later, for now, she had other things to be distracted by.

"Definitely."

Her queen grinned before waving her hand over her face, brightly silver magic shimmered around her. Not much changed, not like Tony. Her hair and skin remained the same. Her eyes were a significant change. Like Tony, there was no white, with dark cat-like pupils. Her Queens eyes were a bright, shining silver. The silver was shifting, and the metallic colour seemed to move and shift like Tony's did, similar to one of those shimmery drinks but with darker and more vivid colours that seemed to shift with their moods. As Nat complimented her, the silver brightened considerably until it was almost white and silver, shining brightly. 

"They're beautiful."

"I worried that you would be unnerved mo Chridhe, I am glad you think so. Many humans find our... more natural features unsettling. Our eyes, in particular, my brother loves his Woad but has spent so long covering it up. As soon as I realised his Leannan encouraged my brother to drop his Wards?  _ Daily?  _ I accepted him as a brother. But shh, he does not know yet. It seems my brother and I have become quite lucky after all these years. Few beings are like either of you."

Nat grinned at the slight blush across her cheeks as she stepped closer to get a better look. She wasn't surprised Yasha was encouraging Tony to drop his glamours more, maybe she was just good at reading Yasha, or he felt no reason to hide whilst Underhill, either way, Nat knew that Yasha had quite the thing for Tony's woad and eyes. On several occasions during lunch, Nat had seen Yasha following the patterns of Tony's woad on his arms, neck and occasionally his face. It could easily be mistaken for just mindlessly drawing patterns with his fingers as many others do. But they were too specific.

Nat would have to be blind not to notice how Yasha looked at Tony's eyes. Tony also seemed to have stopped covering all of his Woad, back on Earth and she had a feeling that was for Yasha too. She had known they were close, but she had vastly underestimated their relationship back on Earth, if she had seen just 5 minutes of that lunch earlier? She would be 100% assured.

Nat hoped when they returned they could continue as they were. Both were happy here. For herself, she understood, there was no reason to look over her shoulder. She could just do what she wanted, and that was her plan. Well, there were reasons to be cautious, but they lacked the personal minefields living with the rogues created.

She raised her hands, slowly so her Queen could stop her if she wanted, and felt emboldened when she did not—slipping her hands beneath the thick red curls to find her ears. Nat gently ran her fingers up and over, searching for the sharp point and grinned when she found them. Her interest was derailed at the hitched breath. Her Queen let out, tilting her head, she repeated the move. Her queen's arms quickly wrapped around her and pulled her forward to kiss her, Nat grinned into the kiss and definitely logged that information in her mind, she might even tell Yasha if she was feeling generous. Wondering if it was a Fae thing, or if it was just her Queen. The strength of the reaction made her lean towards it being a Fae thing.

Right now, however, all she could think about was the beautiful woman in her arms that had turned her life from painful grey to fantastical technicolour. The sounds she made as Nat pulled her close and kissed her, keeping one hand oh so gently skimming her ear, as the other slipped into her beautiful hair. Magic was all around Underhill, that had her skin much more sensitive to every touch. Her queen's room was already saturated in her magic, that seemed happy, almost joyful to curl around her making her wonder if her magic could choose to act on its own, grinning slightly that if it could, it liked her. All of it was adding more and more until she was almost dizzy with sensation.

She had to wonder what she had done to deserve what was happening to her. Her Queen picked up on the slip on her thoughts. She didn't pull far away, just enough to see her without getting a headache as intense silver eyes gazed at her in a way that made her feel open, exposed… but in a different way. Her hands cradled her face at the same time, holding her close, making her feel wanted and cared for before she spoke. Still so close that she could feel her breath on her face. 

"Mo Chridhe, bidh thu a ’deàrrsadh mar ghealach airgid. Darling mine, like the moon in the dark velvet sky, you shine silver bright, with  _ everything _ that you are. An tè Airgid agam. My Silver one."

She wanted to squirm and back away from such praise, but her Queen was relentless as she then sank into it as her Queen switched back and forth from English to something else. Something that felt old and hummed against her skin and sank into it with a smile and knowledge that she belonged, was wanted and was protected. The next time she kissed her all she thought about was that they were no longer alone, that they were together, and that she shined. 

  
  
  
  


**James POV **

James knew that Tony was still meant to be resting, Hetaris had told him as much for whatever the third part of Tony finally being made king required it. For whatever that Math was officiating now everyone had turned up. He was also starting to think things were being kept intentionally vague. Everyone seemed just to know what was happening in that weird Fae way that James was actually beginning to get used to. So, in an effort to make Tony rest, he and Maru had decided to venture to different parts of the castle. Tony had even promised to remain in bed, which James was quietly impressed with if he managed it.

Maru was small enough that even the iron heavy parts of the castle were not uncomfortable for him, as long as he avoided the walls. It meant the chances of him running into Random Royalty or a Delegation of some kind was diminished. James quite liked a few people who had turned up, but most of the delegations were now in the silver stone wing of the castle due to the Iron. The chances of sneaking by the other terrifying or not so friendly Fae was low. Given the Fae way of just knowing shit and the fact bored Fae were notorious for games that he likely did not want to be involved in. He knew Tony's claim on him was strong, but he figured not testing it was best.

James had just decided to stop in to check on Tony. Because if he was not resting, he would totally tell Hetaris. 

With Maru flying in occasionally, he had even gotten quite good at finding his way around the castle. (He also had lots of the castle's residents now calling it a castle too. His campaign to have more people agreeing with him about the castle that Tony still shrugged off as a small house was doing very well.) At one point they had both gotten lost, which had been hilarious, he and Maru had a lot of fun muddling their way around. James had worked out pretty quickly that trying to draw a physical map was useless, as the castle was not static, knowing your way around was just as much reading the walls as remembering directions. Even though nothing visibly moved, sometimes paths just led to different places.

James waved at the retreating gold light and again wondered when such things had become normal to him. It was strange how things seemed to slot into place, as if this had always been his life. 

He hadn't honestly expected to find Tony properly resting in bed, because this was  _ Tony _ they were talking about and he had a good idea of Tony's patterns by now. Tony sucked at resting, but James  _ had _ expected to find him in his rooms in the very least. That was usually how he got around people telling him to rest. He would remain in the room he had been told to rest in order to trick people and then do the opposite of relaxing.

So he was a little thrown when everywhere in Tony's rooms seemed empty. He checked the bedroom last because James honestly had not expected Tony to be asleep in bed. 

The bed was a mess, so he had at least managed some sleep by the looks of it, although where the idiot was now was another story altogether. Chasing down a Fae who can teleport was tricky business, but James liked to think he had gotten good at it. He also knew when to go to other people for help. James had also realised since Tony had laid down the claim, he usually got an idea of where Tony was. It wasn't precise, more of a direction and a sense of how close. Weirdly he was getting a reading that Tony was in his room, even though he didn't seem to be here.

Jam had just been about to give up and see if he could track down a family member of Tony's when a noise drew his attention to one of the higher cabinets. James took a few steps back and looked up and saw movement on top of one of the larger pieces of furniture. The gap between it and the ceiling was small that a person would be forced to crouch down low in the dark corner.

James' first thought had been 'Why is Tony on top of the cabinet?'

A flash of copper registered first before his Sight quickly followed.

His first thought was followed very quickly with 'That is not  _ Tony _ .'

"Hi, DubhMáel."

"Ryn slipped back when resting. I cannot reach him."

DubhMáel was entirely still, crouched down as if to make a smaller target of himself, mostly back in the shadows. James couldn't see much more than a vague outline and his eyes that reflected light and were a prominent copper colour. Nothing like the gold he was accustomed to seeing. James could just make out that his head was tilted, that he was watching him warily, and the speech patterns were the biggest difference between him and Tony. A little stilted, as if he was not used to speaking, which James had worked out from talking to Tony to be true. James could also tell that DubhMáel expected to be in trouble for being forward, even though this was clearly not his fault, which of course made his protective instincts ratchet right up. 

James assumed this restorative sleep thing Tony was forced to enter had left DubhMáel at the fore, likely without either realising it was going to happen. Tony would not have left his brother in such a situation without some planning, and DubhMáel was not used to dealing with people. Especially suddenly and without Tony to back him up.

Tony would definitely have put something into place to protect DubhMáel if he had known this would happen, James would have stayed for one. Anyone could see the sheer  _ joy _ and shock on Tony's face when they had actually started talking. The alcohol likely had been part of it, but Tony hadn't really been managing the effect he could have on people that say. So he had not held back and let the full force of happy, excited, Fae just flood out, so much that it was like being hit by a wave of warmth. No one in the room had been unaffected by it, and he was pretty sure Tony hadn't realised how much he had slipped.

The amount of power Tony had let loose in those sentences without knowing? It had left all of them, even Loki, blinking under the power snapping around the room. Tony was  _ always _ holding something back. He especially curtailed any of the natural reactions humans had to Fae. Still, at that moment, they saw the full force of what a Fae could be like around humans, and even Asgardians if they did not control that effect. The alcohol really didn't help. It was getting easier and easier to understand how humans were effortlessly entranced just by proximity to Fae. He and Rhodes were slightly protected because of their Reaper status, and he had still felt it flood over him. The kind of feeling a human could get addicted to and chase all the way Underhill.

There was so much laced into Tony's declaration. Claiming. Happiness. Joy. Shock.  _ Fierce _ protection and precious, tentative hope, all wound together. In the typical Fae fashion of too many emotions at once that confused most other races.

_ 'He is  _ innocent _ . He is  _ mine _ . I call him Fy Brawd, my brother. Fy Machgen' _

Witnessing Tony's usual protective instincts amp up was a thing to behold, and James almost felt sorry for the idiot that hurt his brother.

Compared to Tony  _ now, _ it was just a glimmer as a prelude to the light show. The compound was going to get one heck of a shock if Tony was still learning to control his new power levels when they travelled back.

"You can't reach him? Well, I'm sure he will come forward soon enough. Why are you on top of the dresser?"

"No. I tried. I did not push him back. It is safe the higher up you get. "

"It makes sense that he slipped back whilst resting and I assume the restorative sleep he required may have triggered it. We should have considered this happening really. He'll be back soon. Are you going to come down from there? You and Tony have a thing for heights, but I'll get a sore neck looking up like this."

DubhMáel shifted forward slightly, as if he was considering it or wanted to, but was unsure. Almost hovering on the edge. James was half expecting to have to carry on having this conversation like this. He was patient. Maybe he could lure him down.

"Why?"

"I'll definitely get a crick in my neck talking to you like this."

"Why do you wish to speak to me?"

What Rhodes had told him, how DubhMáel was oddly innocent, even when threatening to kill you. James had not gotten to speak to him much, bar a sentence, so he had not seen it. He wasn't sure if Rhodes was being weird, but now he really did see it. The confusion was heartbreaking in a way. Even knowing just what DubhMáel was capable of, James had a fierce need to protect him like a little brother. Which was a bit strange as he shared a body with Tony, who he had very different feelings towards. What was weird was how easy it was to separate the pair in his mind.

"I thought we could get to know each other? You saved me from space! I'd like us to be friends."

James watched as he went from puzzled to utterly confused, and he was starting to think that he would be having this conversation like this. Just as James was considering dragging a chair in to make things a little more comfortable. DubhMáel surprised by taking an awkward step down from his perch. How he made that single step look like he was walking downstairs rather than getting off a very tall piece of furniture, James had no idea, especially from a crouched position.

DubhMáel was still wearing the same clothes he had last seen Tony in, but now he was down from the cabinet, he could see differences in his glamour. He assumed this was DubhMáel's chosen glamour anyway, and James wondered if the two of them realised how alike they looked. Probably not. Somehow, Tony was one of the most oblivious people he had met. Which, considering as he was also the most observant person he had ever met too, was quite hilarious.

If James didn't know they shared a form, he would have pegged him as Tony's brother anyway. He was very close in looks to Tony with his glamours down with very few differences. His hair was streaked with silver instead of lighter reds. It was bound in a tight single braid with a red cord wound in it. It was obviously more for function, keeping his hair out of his way.

His eyes were one of the most noticeable changes, they had a copper hue to them, instead of the shining, bright gold he was used to seeing. As if red had been mixed into that gold. They still shifted and moved with a metallic sheen as Tony's did. There were minimal differences with facial structure. James could  _ easily _ mistake them for identical twins.

However, James knew enough not to  _ say _ that. To  _ either _ of them actually. Not yet, anyway. They had spoken after the battle with the doughnut aliens, but James knew it would take more to mend bridges that never actually had a chance to be built before they were burned down. Tony was almost painfully hopeful.

DubhMáel was obviously less confident in this environment than he had been on a battlefield, or Firewalking through space practically to his death. It made James want to wrap him up. Just seeing him awkwardly standing and he understood now what Rhodes was saying. That he was somehow perfectly calm and capable when fighting, but a normal conversation was clearly stressful for him. He had never seen Tony look so hunched, uncomfortable and looking virtually anywhere but at him. He was also edging back towards where James had found him. Running his shirt through his fingers and barely keeping still for a few seconds.

James now got why Tony called him his  _ little brother _ , and why Tony had a vicious level of protective instinct around him. James already had a similar feeling. He might be thousands of years old, born in battle with chaos and pain and forced to fight and kill countless people, but James would put him almost in the same category as Peter in his mind. Which apparently showed itself in a need to feed people, great, he was turning into his mother.

"Do you fancy some food? I even know my way to the kitchens now."

"Why?"

"Well, I'm pretty much always hungry. Food Underhill is damned good. Plus it is one of the few places I can reliably find without getting lost."

"But why invite me if you are hungry?"

James thought that maybe he was approaching this wrong, and decided to change tactics.

"Food is always better to eat with company. Why don't I fetch some food for the two of us? If you've been hiding out here for a few hours, I bet you're hungry too."

He got a slight, tentative nod at that, which James was taking as a win.

"I shall wait here."

"Right, any preference?"

"I… do not know?"

And yeah, that did it. The Avengers were totally adopting DubhMáel.

"I'll get us a bit of everything. Tony will probably eat our leftovers."

Well, if there was any. James had noticed that his appetite had taken a considerable jump since coming Underhill.

It didn't precisely take James long to slip out, stock up on a few different plates of food and return. When James had a mission, he was pretty single-minded, and the castle seemed to respond to that by making the kitchens very easy to reach. He wasn't sure if Tony would overly approve of his mission, he wanted his brother to be with him to an almost painful level, but his brother also had a bad track record in the past. Something had obviously changed. James didn't know what, but that he was talking and came to rescue him and Stephen? Something was different.

James figured they had a chance here. To iron out the misunderstandings that had plagued Tony's relationship with his brother. DubhMáel slept most of the time, but he did occasionally come slightly forward when Tony was in control. The only time Tony had mentioned was when Tony had attacked Steve, so not the best experiences. Whatever had pushed him to Firewalk to space had triggered something and James was not about to let the opportunity slip. Plus, he couldn't just leave him there.

He dropped the plates on the table so he could search out DubhMáel. He had hoped he would be waiting in the larger room with the sofa and table, but was not shocked to find him once again crouched down, perched on top of the tall cabinet. Far back in the shadows again, that all he saw was a reflective glint from his eyes.

"I brought food. Want to join me?"

DubhMáel looked slightly baffled, as if he had not expected James would return with food. He slipped down from his perch much faster this time. 

He stuck close to the walls as he moved to the next room. His fingers were running against the stone. He was almost circling the sitting area before jumping to perch on the back of the larger sofa, still crouched down, continually making a smaller target of himself. James never thought he would meet another person who was so adamant in their refusal to use sofas correctly. Tony and Peter were terrible for perching at the highest point whilst Harley hurled himself at chairs like he had a grudge against them. James found the lot of them ridiculously adorable. Rhodes just sat on chairs like a normal person.

He grabbed a plate and put a little of everything on it before balancing it on the back of the sofa. James didn't know if he shared some of Tony's quirks, such as not liking being handed things, so he figured this would be best. It also allowed DubhMáel to approach it at his own speed, as he was looking at the food with a confused frown on his face. James didn't imagine someone like Molaich supplied a varied diet and he rarely seemed to stay forward long after they were free. Whilst he occasionally watched Tony, he obviously didn't watch when Tony was just normally functioning. James was pretty sure he only 'woke up' when Tony was seriously angry.

"You did well convincing him to put the Crown on. I thought our grandmother was going to have to get involved. Her methods tend to have explosive results."

James' eyes flicked up at that as he was jarred out of his thoughts, which was when he realised that the Crown was gone. He had already gotten so used to it that he had not even noticed. He did cheer inside his own mind when DubhMáel tentatively pulled the plate towards him, investigating its contents. It was pretty simple fare, James had a feeling that he wouldn't be ready for very rich foods straight away. James had seriously struggled with the rich Wakandan food after 70 years of gel packs and Nutri-shots. He understood what it was like to be faced with the idea of eating as if you never had before. Food from the future was nothing like his scant memories from the depression. There was so much flavour now.

It was strange in a way. What he went through was terrible, horrifying, but… if it gave him insight and the ability to help another person turned weapon? James was kind of happy about that. He wondered if he could introduce him to Nat at some point too. Heck, if there was some magic way that he could have Tony and DubhMáel separate that would be cool. Although, Tony would be fine being alone in his mind if the compromise had his brother in front of him, he suspected, but DubhMáel was not used to operating alone. That much was obvious.

"I try my best. Mostly I just reminded him of things he already knew, that his fear that those who matter would treat him differently would not come to pass. His people seem to see him as King already, and he'll always be Tony to me. I worry about the debt he still thinks he carries. It must have been a bit odd for you to wake up with a Crown."

"Why would I have the Crown? I am not to be king. You did a great thing, Ryn is stubborn. You are good for him. As is the other Reaper, and his strange friends. It is nice to feel him… content. I am less on edge."

James wasn't actually sure who was more confused. 

Himself finding out that the Crown somehow  _ knows _ when Tony isn't at the forefront and straight-up vanishes, apparently.

Or DubhMáel at the idea that he would have worn it in the first place.

"Magic Crowns."

James rolled his eyes, wondering if he would ever stop being blindsided by the weird rules Underhill.

"So, is more of your family turning up? I've met a few aunts, I think. I thought everyone had turned up already."

He wondered if he was going to come with something that didn't cause DubhMáel to look at him in utter confusion.

"You have met our grandmother."

"I have?"

"Of course. Ryn told me you were there when the Winter delegation arrived. Weren't you? We spoke briefly after he took the Crown."

This conversation was possibly the most bizarre and confusing conversation that he had had since arriving Underhill. Which really was saying something. DubhMáel seemed just as confused as he was, though, which made him feel slightly better for having no idea what was going on. 

When Tony felt more confident about DubhMáel, he figured he and Rhodes could create a list of people to introduce him too slowly. Eventually to some of the younger team members maybe. James tentatively would put his age at under 20 if he had to guess, and figured that it would be good for him. 

"I didn't know he was related to anyone from the Winter delegation. I know he has relatives in Summer and Winter, but that's all he has mentioned, Tony tends to forget things that are normal to him. Although I guess it makes sense that family would turn up to this."

James shrugged, he had gotten quite used to Tony's selective memory by now. Some things he would provide tons of data on, others he utterly forgot until it was on top of him. It told James that Tony really hadn't been spending much time out of the cycles on Earth doing anything but working. Rhodes told him that Tony's blindspots had been legendary as a human, being several millennia-old apparently just increased the random nature of said blindspots.

"Mab took quite the interest in him. She tends to hoard her family like a dragon. Only those who impress her though, as she had quite the extended family. Ryn is strong and has survived much. Winter is attracted to strength, and Ryn has gathered much strength and power. Many times simply because someone said he could not. He has survived things that have killed many, so Mab recognised the spirit of Winter upon him."

James nearly choked at the fact Tony and Mab were related whilst DubhMáel looked at him again in utter confusion. Before he could question any of that, mostly because James had no idea where to even  _ start _ questioning...  _ that.  _ He had wondered about them, there was a familiar cadence between them, even when they were trying almost to kill each other to say hi. At the same time he was just happy DubhMáel was starting to feel more confident talking.

He remembered when he had been surprised back when Tony told him that he had almost destroyed his mother's palace. That seemed like such a small thing now. Palaces were old hat, apparently. Although it made sense, in a strange way, he supposed. Most of the Fae chosen as Foci would be the more powerful Fae. Those Fae being related would make sense if the bloodline were prone to it. His Aunt did say 'The Family' consisted of many of the upper echelons of Underhill.

DubhMáel then carried on, as if this was not a massive revelation to James that had him questioning everything. He was going to make Tony give him a damned list of family members who were royalty. A full-on family tree and everything. Then maybe they'd stop sneaking up on him.

"There is one thing that concerns me about Ryn's recent developments."

That immediately had his attention as he watched DubhMáel pick at his food. He was eating small amounts, testing each thing before he tasted it, James was more than happy about that. So whilst this conversation was confusing with bizarre reveals, he figured they were doing quite well.

"What is that?"

"He and Thanos are linked in a way. Ryn got involved in Thanos' schemes several times. This was strange, as few would stand up to the mad Titan. As he did, the fates then intervened and connected their threads. Ryn could have contested, but he believed it was penance for lives taken when we were not in control of our blades. That Molaich had worked with the Thanos, that we carried out his work. This pains Ryn.

"They each operate in similar ways on the surface level. They both collect and gift people with abilities. These people are very loyal—The Children of Thanos and The Reapers of Cadeyrn. If Ryn could have defeated Thanos before, he would have by now. They have clashed often. But the scales have always been balanced. Do you understand?"

Well so much for the good conversational topic, this, however, was pretty important. Tony had mentioned that he and Thanos had been pretty balanced, but James hadn't followed that thought to its conclusion before. If they were linked, and if Tony had just had a severe jump in his power...

"If Ryn is gaining power, you think it is because Thanos has messed up the scales? That he has suddenly gained a lot more power? Which Ryn is evening out by gaining power from becoming a King. A Seelie King at that."

Oh fuck, that was not comforting in the slightest. James was just starting to get an idea of Tony's change in power.

That was not a comforting thought. He wasn't sure why he hadn't thought about it sooner, Tony had mentioned that his fights with Thanos tended to come to stalemates several times. Even over thousands of years. Where Tony had to focus on ruining his current plans rather than defeating the Titan over the years. Even as Tony gained power over the millennia, they had stayed at a perfectly even footing.

James had not thought that there was something potentially  _ keeping  _ them on a level footing. James had  _ felt _ the increase in Tony's power when he put the Crown on. It was a sobering thought to think Tony had been increasing  _ in line _ with Thanos.

"Yes. I believe that the Titan has messed with something he should not have, Ryn was  _ always _ going to gain a Crown, I felt this, but I was  _ sure _ it was of the Lower Courts. It was always of the Lower Court. It was just waiting for the opportunity. There were several that had him down as successor before he took up his blade and complicated matters. Now? That he has forged a  _ Seelie _ Crown of  _ Iron? _ What this tells us about Thanos is worrisome."

James knew he should be focusing on the obviously bad thing, but he kept coming back in his mind to how thrilled Tony was going to be finding his brother having a kind of normal conversation. Okay, he was a little stilted here and there, his speech patterns were slightly strange, and DubhMáel focused on whatever was in his hands when speaking. Also, the conversation was mostly about decidedly abnormal things. James had only seen very brief flashes of bright copper eyes. But he had a feeling this was a huge improvement over anything in the past. He mentally shook his head and forced himself to focus.

"Yeah, okay, that does sound concerning."

"What did his children want?"

"The Time Stone. Tony said he is collecting the Infinity Stones."

"Infinity Stones..? They would be very tempting to one such as he. They would also drastically augment Thanos strength, even in a cradle, as the master of the stone grows closer, their energy will align. Although if he is searching out multiple stones… it will augment him in a... temperamental manner."

"How so?"

"The stones are finicky, with defined personalities. They are constantly looking for a master and will only settle if they approve of their power. It is particularly rare for a stone to truly accept a master that it must share. They are jealous and have in the past harmed a person who thought to control more than a single stone. If he hopes to control several stones? It is risky, should the stones sense another master they do not have to share? They will abandon him. He must have a device to  _ force _ them to bend to his will. Ryn's Crown, Hetaris, they will be  _ loyal _ to him and him alone. It will never look at another unless he truly dies. The involvement of the stones would also explain Molaich's involvement. He was obsessed with them. It is why I know much of how they operate."

James was nodding along, he had no idea what the hell DubhMáel was talking about, He obviously knew a lot about the topic, and this was all valuable information. He knew quite a bit about the infinity stones, stuff that Tony might not know? At least things that Tony had not mentioned to him and Rhodes in their meetings. The ones they had back home each had a single owner. No one carried more than one… which was when the last sentence fully registered in his mind. James jerked as he realised what DubhMáel had just said.

If Tony was linked to Thanos somehow, that pales in comparison to Molaich. A being Tony could not even  _ speak _ of without his aura darkening. The being which led to the most painful events in Tony's life that he knew of. How he bonded to the Fire. How he fell under his control and became a weapon, the birth of his brother directly into servitude.

But he was trapped. Tony was  _ very _ pointed on that. After they defeated Balor, he and six others used a modified Wish-hex to take the remaining generals and forces and pull them into the void. Tony had told him about it after speaking to the terrifying dead people. Tony had been confused by what the Reaper had told him, because they were trapped. They couldn't leave without those who closed the door knowing. Mab guarded the old way they passed, and Tony was sure if any passed that She would tell him.

Now that he knew they were related, that made more sense.

If Molaich had been in New York after he had been abducted? That was extremely concerning. He was also pretty sure that Tony didn't know about it too. This... was not going to be good. This was definitely not good. Ah, fuck he was going to have to tell Tony wasn't he. He hoped that it wasn't how he was thinking, that this was another misunderstanding.

"Isn't he trapped?"

"Did... no one else saw him? He arrived with the Children, in an effort to force me forward and recruit me. The coward fled. I… I did not know others had not seen him. This is why Ryn is the General. Why I am the Weapon."

DubhMáel scowled at his hands, and James really didn't like him talking about himself as a weapon. It reminded him a little too much of how he had thought of himself in the beginning. Plus it was something he could focus on that wasn't the daunting task of telling Tony that Molaich was not only free, but had tried to recruit his brother.

"Tony didn't know of Molaich's involvement. That is not your fault, after rescuing us you were exhausted. You are a person too. People make mistakes. Now I know, we can tell him, and he can look into how he might have escaped."

"Sometimes, I forget he does not see what I see. After he left, I disregarded his importance to my mission. I should have informed Ryn, he knows what information is important or not. I am not good at that. I have been sleeping since the battle, so I was unable to speak much. I did not know he didn't know."

"You nearly died rescuing me. You needed that rest."

"I can function optimally without rest."

"I know, I can too. But I am not an Asset. You are not a weapon. We can learn to be people and part of that means not considering functionality over being well-fed, well-rested and happy."

That got his attention and hopefully stalled the potential spiral he was heading towards. James figured that maybe directing the conversation away from Molaich was wise. He knew what he needed to tell Tony. He didn't want to make  _ either _ of them talk about the Fomorian ideally; unfortunately, the world was conspiring against him.

"You believe I can be happy?"

"Of course, I'm determined about it and everything. Tony too, Rhodes will want in too. We'll work on it together. Be nice having more people I know I can chat to over here. Some of the delegations are terrifying."

"Have you spent much time with the Knights yet?"

"No, not really. Why?"

"Did... Did Ryn not tell you about the Knights?"

"He just mentioned they were human-ish."

"Ryn is a stubborn idiot."

He muttered under his breath, and James was slightly confused by how DubhMáel seemed to jump topics, but he wasn't about to interrupt him. He seemed to be gaining more confidence when talking to him.

"The Knights are humans. But that is not why I thought he would introduce you. They are chosen by The Queen Who Is. It is a mantle of power, a very, very powerful mantle crafting from the Queen herself. The Winter Knight, for example, is not just the Queens hands or will. He carries a piece of Winter at his Heart. Not a minor piece either. They are extraordinarily powerful beings that primarily guard the Queens, as well as help them in their endeavours. They are one of the highest positions in a Seelie Court beneath the Queens. Even though they were once human, because of how much of the Season they carry, they can be above even many old and powerful Fae in a way. Station is not entirely linear Underhill, a Knight may be weak or garner much strength, Fragile Creatures are interesting creatures, they attract power like few other species."

"Huh, I didn't realise how strong they are. Fae seemed to have a low view of humans, so I wouldn't think that they would be given such a position. Humans seem to have a habit of falling into high impact situations, even though people look down upon them."

He should probably read up more on the Knights. Although he didn't think the Winter Knight liked him that much, the Summer Knight seemed friendly. It would be nice to know a few more humans around here. Especially humans who had taken on a mantle like he had, with a lot of power.

DubhMáel had a good idea there. He wasn't sure why he or Tony hadn't thought of it before. The only other human carrying a mantle that he knew was Rhodes, Nat was on the way, but the White Shadows had a different kind of power to Reapers. They were both combat units, but Reapers packed more of a punch, White Shadows worked in different ways. 

Getting to know other humans who were in a similar position, but much more powerful it seemed, it could be helpful. They probably had some tips about being a human around Fae too. If they had developed Fae magic along the way, they could help there too. Hopefully, they would be amenable to conversation.

"It is partially because Fae can alter humans. Fae can pull apart a human down to basic cells and slowly rebuild them as they wish. Including to hold Seasonal Law. Humans are versatile. Such procedures cannot be done on Fae by anyone other than Underhill herself, and it takes much to catch her eye. Many view humanity as lesser in its base form, but even the arrogant cannot ignore how humans can be changed or how they burn so brightly, how power effortlessly finds them. How big is the universe and how many Infinity Stones found their way to the humans?

”In a changing land such as Underhill, to be changed is strength. Ryn is very adept at changing humans. Many are impressed with his Reapers. A few see it as a weakness that he cares for each human in his care. That he alleviates pain and suffering rather than causing it. That he values consent so highly. It is seen as aberrant behaviour."

Earth and humans really did seem to attract more than their fair share of trouble. For how many races he had heard of from Loki and Tony, and how Earth was seen as a lowly backwater, barely able to travel to space, yet they already had 3 Infinity Stones in Earth without  _ trying.  _ Thanks had been searching for gods know how long and who knew how many he had.

"Tony cares a lot about choice, he was very excited for me to be a Reaper, he wanted it. Dead people were pushing him and yet he still wanted me to choose. I'm guessing that it didn't hurt when he released my Fire is not normal to other Fae?"

"No. He puts a lot of his power into making the experience not only pain free, but also enjoyable. In the time of the first Reapers, he stitched the requirement for fully informed consent into the binds. So no one could force him to take that choice away. Ryn is cautious about taking a person's choice. He lives in fear of ending up like Molaich."

James just started for a second, but no, he heard that right. James had thought this debt Tony was convinced he was carrying around was his main roadblock. Apparently, it was"t.

"That… that is ridiculous!"

"I know! I tried to tell him, but he will not hear. He has rarely allowed himself to rest or enjoy life since we were freed. Lately… I don't know. He has recently begun to think about things he could have and enjoy rather than his self imposed restrictions and penance."

"He has? I didn't realise he was… well, we know he worked too much. We try to get him to relax. I don't know how much help I am."

DubhMáel blinked at him this time, looking at him with a facial expression that he recognised from Tony. If it was the same as Tony, then he thought that James had said something completely dense or ridiculous. 

Although he wasn't sure which as he had slightly different facial expressions to Tony, James didn't think he said anything  _ that _ confusing. He just tried to get Tony to relax now and then, convincing him to have breakfast with their little group. Occasionally just the two of them. Their trips for lunch across the world were good too. There were lots of little things, but Tony worked himself extremely hard in-between. He and Rhodes aimed to have him finally get to enjoy the fruits of his labour occasionally. If that meant hiding his tablet and half sitting on him to watch a movie? They would definitely do that. He had quite the arsenal of tricks by now, and he and Rhodes tag teamed Tony.

Tony had just told him and Rhodes that he was a bit of a workaholic. That it only  _ seemed _ that much because they were human. The idea that Tony had been overworking himself for millennia. That he didn't allow himself breaks or to do what he enjoyed out of some kind of  _ penance. _ For acts that he committed whilst under the control of another. That maybe this was more than Tony's fear he wasn't good enough to take that Crown, this… this made a sad sort of sense.

James understood that guilt. He knew how it could eat you alive.

How it can seep into every part of your life and rot it from the inside out. 

How you can even doubt if you  _ deserve _ a piece of damned fruit because you will  _ enjoy _ it. A monster didn't even  _ deserve _ that. 

That he even hid his nightmares at the beginning because he didn't think he  _ deserved _ help to move past them. They were his  _ reminder _ of what he did. Of what he was.

_ Thinking _ over each nightmare when he woke up gasping, not letting them go, he held onto it—replaying it over and over as he wrote it down in his notebooks. He really hadn't been doing as well in Bucharest as he thought he had been. Therapy had helped him see his self destructive and putative behaviours.

That he shouldn't be  _ allowed _ to move on. Shouldn't be permitted to lead a life like everyone else. That he owed it to the people he had killed to suffer. 

_ Saying _ every name before he was allowed to sleep, before he was allowed to eat. Over and over and with each name seeing the blood on his hands...

That any pain he felt was not only deserved but not enough. Never enough. That he was getting off easy.

_ Feeling _ the pain in the metal arm when he was on the run was his routine, it was in need of maintenance and on some days it was like flaying his damned nerves.

That Cryo was the only true place for him in the end. Because he proved every thought correct in Serbia. Trapped in the horrible unending darkness as he consciousness floated in and out of horror-scapes of his mind's creation. All the while, the ice and the pain sunk deeper and deeper into his bones.

That he had  _ truly _ believed that  _ whatever _ Tony wanted of him? That it was his duty to give it when he arrived in Wakanda. That anything he had experienced so far was paltry to meeting one of the names on his list—a person whose life he irrevocably harmed. The sheer anguish and despair on his face, and James had beat that man. Siberia had proved every dark thought in his mind. Proved he was a monster and monsters didn't deserve  _ choice. _

That if he wanted to kill him, he would not fight. His only worry had been that he could hurt another person again without meaning to. His body just reacted, he had wanted to stop fighting so much in Siberia, but he just kept ongoing. 

Then Tony had offered him  _ mercy, _ offered him  _ healing, _ offered him  _ choices. _

Tony had been instrumental in how he slowly moved past all of that, how he learned that he could live his life. Would he have spoken to therapists without Tony's healing and intervention? Steve had been dead set against the idea.

He knew that if he had been left alone after he was healed? James knew how  _ easy _ it would have been to slip back into that well-worn pattern. Something about that feeling Tony put off, the watching predator, somehow it had comforted him enough to agree to Tony's plan to heal him and urged him to reach out. For weeks after he had wondered if he had made a mistake because he was so sure he did not deserve it and the opportunities it presented. Tony had told him to message him anytime his thought patterns started down that path; he had responded every single time.

It was why he had been so sure he was not worthy of Tony's Fire… but… he  _ wanted _ to be. The more and more they spoke, the more he  _ wanted.  _ Tony, the idiot, his brother was right there, didn't realise that him not feeling worthy of the Crown was the same. They were both good at being idiots, but he was sure he was doing better in the 'not being an idiot' category. (At least no blindingly obvious things about himself hadn't snuck up on him for a while.)

Tony hadn't just told him that it 'wasn't his fault' and to 'move on' or that he just 'didn't need to think about it', that he was  _ innocent _ like Steve had. If anything, that had made him feel worse. Those he killed didn't deserve him being so callous. Tony had helped him work  _ through _ it. 

The first time he had just sat and ate ice cream, because he had  _ wanted _ to and because he  _ enjoyed _ it, that it had been an act purely for himself and his own enjoyment. That had been a huge deal for him. 

Looking back, maybe he  _ should _ have wondered just how Tony seemed to understand so well. The longer it went on, the more Tony replied, the idea that he wasn't just going to get bored or fed up with James… he had just been happy that he wasn't  _ alone. _ That someone  _ understood.  _ That with a few words, Tony seemed to know what was happening and what he needed.

That Tony didn't allow himself the same? It was a punch to the gut that reminded him of the wild look in his eyes when James had pulled him out of that nightmare in Wakanda. After he had healed him to the point of exhaustion, even if it left him alone and vulnerable in the hands of a man who had nearly killed him. Looking back, James wanted to slap himself for being blind to something he was uniquely experienced in.

James  _ couldn't _ just sit by and let Tony keep on torturing himself, not now he finally knew the damned extent of it. He had already done enough, had his life on pause long enough. How many centuries, how many thousands of years has this gone on? James knows one thing well from his own mind. 

There will never be enough years. Because it doesn't work like that, in that frame of mind, there will never be enough years. He will never have worked enough. Never have suffered enough. Never saved enough people. It will never be enough. It's a goal you will always fail at reaching, which just enforced the same patterns that trap you in that cycle.

" You are the change. The other Reaper too, but  _ you _ represent something I truly thought impossible. Before you, I did not believe Ryn could let a person close to him. That someone would get behind his walls. It is… he rarely allows himself to truly enjoy something for very long. If he 'slips' he would overwork to make up for it. Ryn is a master of masks. Few notice what is beneath, you do. You make him happy, no one else has gotten this close in my memory. I have never seen him craft freely like this. You guard him, even from himself, that is a path that is open to you, should you wish it."

DubhMáel tapped the clasp that he had clipped to his shirt. Sure he didn't have a cloak on, but he liked it. It felt warm and buzzy in his hands. The side full of the magic Tony had pulled from the iron would shift and swirl in interesting patterns when he held it. Like it was reacting to him somehow. So even when he was not wearing a cloak, he tended to keep it on him.

"You think I have made that much of a difference? I mean… I try, but he is stubborn. I have had to throw him over my shoulder on a few occasions to get him out of the Workshop."

It didn't feel like he made much of a difference, the more he understood just what was going on in Tony's mind, the more he wondered just how he could break a cycle Tony had been in for who knows how many years. 

"Yes, you have had a striking difference. It is one of the many reasons his family react to you so. They see the difference in him. You have pulled him back from the ledge that he has been balanced on for many, many years."

James really had no idea what to say. This conversation had been… eye-opening to say the least, and he had no idea what to do about it. He had no idea where to even start. DubhMáel, also, wasn't quite finished with him.

"He is also an idiot. Do not forget that. I understand his fear of pushing you into a role or power. After what he suffered under Molaich, it is one of his greatest fears. But how can you possibly consent, if you do not know it is an option?"

And… he is back to being utterly confused again. He only remembered Tony freaking out about him being a Bone Reaper. He still hadn't worked out how to broach that conversation again without Tony panicking about him being pressured. James knew that the Bone Reaper mantle was an option though.

"What is an option?"

DubhMáel was now definitely looking at him as if he also thought he was just as much of an idiot as Tony. 

James was confused as DubhMáel also looked more serious than he had at any point in this bizarre conversation; he actually maintained eye contact for the first time when he answered.

"That  _ you _ are his Knight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For everyone who called James being utterly unimpressed when he worked out just what was going on in Tony's brain...
> 
> (Oh yeah, my Tumblr is locking me out a  
Again. There was a good day where I got to actually talk to people. I will fix it, I am determined.)


	76. Darkness and Silver Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "This is the moment I get a phobia of mirrors, isn't it?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every so sorry there!
> 
> So, here is a rather colossal chapter to make up for it. As I was slowly working on putting it through the last checks, it grew quite a bit (it was 9k in my spreadsheet before the new shoulder injury. I have no idea how this happened.)
> 
> After 'Surprise me' near the end, is a very short story. I had considered including little short stories, so this is a test, it's also one I love because Taliesin rocks. If it doesn't interest you, you can stop at Surprise me!
> 
> My shoulder is not at full form yet, but I hope it will heal soon. My elbow being a mess is enough, my shoulder joining in is just mean :)

**James POV **

James stretched as he slowly woke up, and the first thing he noticed was that he was alone as he ran his mind over why he was sleeping on the sofa, and wow, that was certainly a rush of memories to crash over him.

After he and DubhMáel had had their extremely confusing conversation, on both sides, because as much as James' worldview was tossed around, DubhMáel was as much in the dark as he was about certain topics that James thought were obvious. Many times they simply had to pause to catch the other up, at first it had made their stilted conversation feel even more fragmented than it was. In the end, it had turned into a flow of give and take, moving back and forth in a way that worked for both of them. With each turn, DubhMáel became more and more confident about approaching topics, his speech began to even out a little, and he began to talk more and more.

Not as much as Tony. Where Tony favoured a story-esque manner of speech, DubhMáel was less likely to beat around the bush and go straight for the jugular. He could be as dry as the Sahara but with a keen eye and an interesting way of looking at the world.

_ "That you are his _ ** _Knight_ ** _ ." _

Those words were ringing in his mind; a cord struck as deep as Tony first telling him he carried Fire and what it could mean if he so chose. Something he felt so deep and intrinsically that it _ couldn't _ be ignored. James still had Autumn at his fingertips. The season had never entirely left him after the day, which he _ knew _ was odd. He had kept meaning to ask Tony if there was a reason a season would stay with him, why it was talking to _ him, _ but things were hectic, and he kept putting it to the side. 

It wasn't as if he _ wanted _ the season to leave him after all. He loved the feel of it clinging to him, and it made him realise DubhMáel was pretty justified in looking at him as if he were just as much of an idiot as Tony.

Tony had told him quite a lot of the four seasons. He knew that humans had a lot wrong when it came to seasonal perception, and thus was learning from the ground up. He knew _ all _ Fae carried space for each season, that they felt it. That Tony had always felt Summer and Winter. What he kept putting to one side, was that even a Fae as powerful as Tony had _ never _ called those Seasons to his hands. No matter how strong his familial links were to each Court.

He had mentioned Winter coming to him before, but never under his control. It never stayed. Autumn had come to his hands at his request, stayed, moved as he directed and when those five words struck through him? It had surged. It had said _'Finally'. _In a way that reminded him of '_you idiot' _from DubhMáel. That he could understand it, yeah, that was on his list of telling Tony and asking if it were normal. Tony knew he could talk to Fire, but that wasn't just it any more, and that alone had shocked Tony now he thought about it. Now he heard from other paths. Bane and Autumn being the main two, he wondered if he would hear Spring too.

That wasn't even the most crucial conversation he needed to have with Tony that had spawned that conversation. Oh no, there was worse, way more uncomfortable things he needed to tell Tony. That Molaich was not only out of his trap in the void, that he was operating with or at least near Thanos. That he had already tried to recruit DubhMáel when Tony was not around to protect his brother. James was not looking forward to that.

They had switched through a few different topics, varying from dramatically life-changing epiphanies, to horrifying information that he would have to deliver, to things James would consider fun. He had no clue when DubhMáel would feel strong enough to surface again. He was clearly harder hit by what he did that he let on. Then he even allowed himself to feel. Tony bounced back fast, but he was older. Whilst DubhMáel had technically existed for a very long time. He had not been _ out _ much since leaving their detainment; he was young in a way James felt hard to quantify. It didn't take James long to figure out that this wasn't because he wanted to sleep or that he didn't like people as Tony and DubhMáel said. 

No, it was because he was fucking terrified of everything that was not Tony, and Tony was utterly terrified he would be hurt. Any time James was confused, DubhMáel had hunched as if waiting to be struck down for speaking out of turn. His usual tactic of threatening violence was stripped from him as he liked James. That left him floundering with nothing because he had long since learned that anyone who was not Tony did not react well to him. Tony's endless patience of talking to him, even though he didn't answer, confused him almost as much as James simply explaining things. Very, very slowly, the haunted cast had slipped away, it wasn't gone, but it was progress.

They had kept it up until James had noticed DubhMáel was listing to the side. Signs of exhaustion that he recognised from Tony were becoming more evident as DubhMáel was simply less adept at masking them. It made him wonder if either the restorative sleep that Tony had to go into was affecting him. Or it may only be that he had not completely healed from the battle with the doughnut aliens and Molaich. He settled on it being a combination of the two. Tony didn't seem to be under the impression that he was going to be waking up anytime soon, so he guessed that he was meant to be still asleep.

It turned out that getting DubhMáel to go and sleep in a bed was even harder than getting Tony to go to sleep in a bed. Something James had not thought physically possible.

In the end, however, he had managed to convince him down onto the sofa to read through some random books, under the guise of helping him learn stuff about Underhill. DubhMáel was determined to catch him up on things Tony forgot about, which he thought was sweet, like Tony's lessons on fundamental basics of magic. James hadn't been paying much attention as to what he picked out but went with something huge and bulky. It was one of the books from Tony's Aunt of Fae history.

It didn't take long, less than an hour he figured and DubhMáel eventually slipped into a light sleep leaning against James' shoulder. He was similar to Tony in that any touch seemed to sway him and draw him deeper into sleep, and there was something quite satisfying about getting the kid to sleep. Just resting his hand on his head drew him in, he knew how tactile Fae could be, between Tony's decades of being human and DubhMáel's complex issues, actually, both of them had more issues than James was probably even capable of conceiving. It resulted in both of them being pretty off-balance in that regard. Tony had gotten to a place where he was comfortable attaching himself to James like an octopus, DubhMáel was the trickier case there.

James hadn't intended to fall asleep himself. Still, this whole day-night cycle of Underhill was blatantly not built for human circadian rhythms, even if his own sleeping pattern wasn't purely human these days, he had decades of thinking you sleep when it's dark and wake at the light. So he found himself dozing off in full daylight or waking up in pitch darkness often. Or dozing off when it was light, waking up to discover the sun had not crossed the sky at all. Tiredness just snuck up on him here. One thing he _ had _ noticed was that he required less and less sleep to be fully rested now. Still more than Tony, but nearly half as much than he required as the Asset. Even when dozing outside of Tony's bed that was charmed to increase restoration, a few hours was just as good as what would have been a full 7 hours when he was entirely human. 

He hadn't quite thought he would be _ able _ to sleep after that conversation of revelations. Ignoring the fact that Mab was Tony's _G_ _ _randmother_, _ which made him question _ so many things. _ Also, it had him determined for Tony to sit down at some point and to draw him a family tree, maybe have him explain the extent of what they called _ The Family. _ He had discovered from DubhMáel that that was a title too. That it wasn't like a human discussing _ a _ family, it was how _ everyone _ Underhill addressed a particular group of highly influential Fae that spread amongst the higher echelons of much of Fae society as a whole. It was _ The _ Family rather than merely _ my _ family, it consisted of blood relations to varying degrees, to those brought in as named like Blodeuwedd, or those blood adopted like Tony's Sister to friends who were accepted like Dagda and Lugh. It was sprawling and touched nearly every corner Underhill in varying degrees of importance. 

So, Mab, The Morrigan, Blodeuwedd, Clíodhna, Lugh and Dagda. Were of _ The Family, _ and that's all he knew, _ so far. _ That was _ six _ Courts of Underhill alone. Including Tony that now made up 2/3rds of the Seelie Court and Tony had ties to the royalty of Summer too, if not as tightly to the ruling Monarch of Winter. _ The Family _ had been moderately terrifying when he simply thought he was meeting Tony's family. Now he knew that it was made up of some of the strongest in magic, power and influence Underhill, and even beyond the mists. Like an Underhill freaking Mafia, but with magic.

As well as being utterly daunted by the sheer _ extent _ of The Family, he was thoroughly caught on two pieces of information. One of which he knew it was now his job to tell Tony. James _ really _ did not want to be the person who told Tony about Molaich. _ Especially _ now he knew that Tony lived in fear he would _ become _ Molaich, apparently. Something he was still trying to wrap his head around.

That little bit of information now made perfect sense of the fact that Tony wouldn't have mentioned the chance of him being a Knight. Any human can become a Knight, it is entirely the choice of the ruling Monarch of course, but just like a Fae bonding with a Loci, just because you want it doesn't mean it will work. Seelie Monarch's for years have simply been drawn to humans that have lured the seasons to them. If a human heard Winter at some point, it would increase their chances of being a Knight. Well, Autumn was _ still _ hanging around, and he could understand Bane. That wasn't the issue, however. 

All that was good; the problem was a simple _ misunderstanding. _

When James was still a little brain scrambled just after Tony had put the Crown on, just as he was trying to sort out these new impulses in his mind whilst going _ ooo pretty lights… _ Tony had completely misconstrued his shock at being named a Bone Reaper. James had known _ something _ panicked Tony, but he hadn't quite realised that fissure ran so deep, or so agonisingly painful. Tony had taken his shock at being named a potential Bone Reaper as _ fear _ or simply not wanting to take on another Mantle.

The Knight Mantle was _ a lot _ more than being a Bone Reaper. And it was likely what Tony had been implying that him taking the Crown had opened new paths for James. (Part of him couldn't wait to return home, right now Rhodey was mostly too far out to be affected by Tony's steadily growing power, so, when they returned James was pretty sure Rhodes was going to catch fire again.) 

Tony had taken his _ shock _ as _ fear _, and in pure Tony fashion - never brought it up. Not wanting to put James on the spot likely, so he didn't feel pressured.

James had gotten pretty good, at least he thought he was getting good, at stopping Tony's brain thinking utterly ridiculous things. Well, he was making a good start. There were literal millennia of complex issues to unpack of Tony barely allowing himself to live for a few minutes, let alone _ confront _ said issues. Every time he made some progress in one area, he was finding something worse in another that he had not thought possible. James had learned enough about Molaich to know the very idea that Tony could be like him was _ beyond _ ridiculous. When Molaich had the option of DubhMáel taking upon a mantle, he had slammed it onto him with even bothering to tell him, let alone giving him the chance to consent or even prepare. The idea of that was repugnant to Tony, and yet…

When an idea got itself lodged in Tony's head… getting it out was an arduous task. James knew that to be a fundamental fact of life, and Tony had had millennia to foster this belief, James knew it was likely to be as strong as the non-existent debt that Tony refused to let go of. Potentially even worse, as Tony was at least admitting to the _ possibility _ that there was no debt, but had mentioned he simply didn't know how to leave it.

His head was getting bogged down with the mass of everything he had taken in under such a short period. One issue at a time, that was his method, and it hadn't failed him in the past. Although if things continued this trend of multiplying complex issues every time James blinked, it was going to be tricky. It wasn't as if they were blessed with an abundance of free time as is. When the sun came up, Tony _ had _ to be clear-headed. In the meantime, Tony's home was full to the brim with some of those most powerful and influential of Underhill. Some that seemed little more than sharks in the water waiting for a drop of blood. Tony had taken a considerable number of people into his Court, no longer just being Iron but the Wyldfae of Autumn and Spring had been making the journey from their scattered homes across Underhill and beyond to come to a place that felt of magic they had believed lost to time and war. With them, the delegations and others interested in Tony's ascension, from powerful nomadic Fae that usually didn't come together for an event such as this, but Tony had once been of their number, so they made an exception.

Dagda had told him that Tony built bridges amongst people. It wasn't until he started seeing the distinct groups that rarely existed in the same place effortlessly come together in his lands that he understood the implications of what that meant. Tony's castle was huge, but there was now a lot of Fae under one roof, relatively in one wing too. Add in his Reaper training, his currently crucial magic training thanks to the fainting, the lofty goal of maybe discovering if he once had a Fae ancestor. Something that might explain so much of his life.

All the while, Tony was preparing for something that James did not know the ins and outs of. Now, he might be charitable enough to believe that because this was the first Court of Iron, that the ascension was built of unknowns. James, however, knew enough about Fae for this to be untrue, which meant Tony and even his Aunt and Mother felt that James' unease of not knowing until the day was _ preferable _ over him knowing the ins and outs of this event. James had become quite quick as sussing out Fae and the twists and turns inherent in Fae conversations. There was going to be something he did not like about this Ascension, he knew it in his bones, but he tried as he could to put it aside for now. He would know soon enough, and there were enough things to occupy his mind.

He glanced around, still no sign of Tony or DubhMáel. He wondered if he had gone back to the wardrobe again when James noticed there was a note, literally right in front of him on the table that he had been oblivious too whilst trying to sort out this rats nest of issues that had landed in his lap. Tony's handwriting was identifiable to James from a mile away by now, given how many books he had written that James had read.

The letter shimmered when he picked it up, which was strange until he read its contents. Then it made perfect sense as the weight slipped into his mind.

At this rate, he was practically _ collecting _ thanks from Tony that he had no idea what to do with. Considering how _ adamant _ Tony was about him not thanking him, he was certainly ending up with quite the collection. The paper stopped shimmering as soon as he acknowledged the thanks, which was bizarre and James was now more than convinced that Fae just liked making normal things like sending letters as weird as possible. Tony had guessed what had happened with his usual accuracy, given he woke up in a different location it was pretty obvious. DubhMáel had been asleep when he had woken up, so he thanked him for caring for his brother when he had been unable. Tony had been curious as to what had happened whilst his mind was elsewhere, but he did not wish to interrupt James' sleep. Given how curious Fae could be, James was quite impressed with Tony's restraint. 

Especially with how Tony felt regarding his brother, not for the first time James kind of wished for a magical whammy that could pop them into different bodies. He knew it did happen. He just didn't know what _ caused _ it, or if there was a singular cause. Some Fae became almost completely integrated like Tony's Mother. Tony had told him Lugh and Lleu had once been like Tony and his brother. Silver and Gold instead of Balance and Chaos. When Lleu had reached a level of confidence and safety, something had slipped them apart. Although Lleu found himself cursed shortly after if he remembered correctly. Fae came into existence in many ways; being born was just one. Tony's Aunt was a construct from actual flowers.

There were benefits to Tony and his brother having a body each, but that would also be a mess in itself he thought, he knew Tony was _ painfully _ hopeful, to the point it felt like a raw nerve, which hammered in James' mind as painfully as DubhMáel's abject fear of anything 'not Tony'. Rhodes and himself had somehow made an impression too. James just wanted to help them both. 

Millenia old Fae they may be, sometimes the human perspective, or his mishmash perspective, showed Fae angles they just didn't conceive of. Tony said it was the blessing and curse of immortality. Mortality being fundamental to humanity meant they approached things differently on several levels, time being one. A hundred years was a lifetime to a human, to a Fae, it could be nothing or everything. James couldn't imagine repetitively sacrificing nearly 30 years of his life, for instance, and yet Tony had been doing that for God's know how long, just to help humanity in any way he could. To the point his family were concerned he was spending too long in the cycles, surprising a lot of his Fae aspects that had become more evident the longer they spent Underhill.

Unfortunately, James didn't see a magical human way of telling Tony about Molaich.

Tony was also in his forge, which James had no idea how to get to. He had identified the buildings from outside, but he and Maru had travelled a lot, and he had not found anything remotely like a forge or workshop. The closest was Tony's office. Which, according to Tony's letter, was intentional. It seemed the only way to access Tony's forges, was Firewalking. Picking up the black disk that had been weighing the letter down, and turning it over in his hand, he tried to get a feel for it. It didn't _ feel _ like magic, it certainly felt entirely inert for him, but it seemed that snapping it in half would whisk him to Tony's forge. He was getting quite good at sensing magic objects, so he wondered if this was intentionally entirely inert until activated?

If the only way to access Tony's forge was via his Fire, then James guessed that Tony did not make a habit of actually allowing people into his Forges. Given how rare it was that he took someone into his Fire, which James just didn't understand. Firewalking was amazing and _ always _ made him smile. He would always jump at the opportunity; he didn't know why others had not.

He guessed that Tony wouldn't want this token being easily identifiable, it was essentially a key to Tony's Fire. He put the token and letter back on the tablet and decided to clean up and get changed first. He had some of his clothes from Earth in Tony's ridiculously huge wardrobe, but more that had been made by Tony's people since arriving. He figured he would lean towards Fae crafted, choosing something loose and light as he assumed a forge was going to be on the warm side as he tied his hair back. He kept the clasp, as he had taken to wearing it even without a cloak to pin. He liked his collection of items from Tony and his people, and it hadn't taken long to work out that wearing items Tony had made for him, made him happy. Which considering the conversation they were now heading for, yeah, James was not looking forward to it, plus the warmth of the magic in the pin and the connection to the Court of the torc plus his brace… it made him feel better—more solid, grounded even.

James had obviously never Firewalked _ alone _ before. Such a feat being impossible so he was a _ little _ nervous as he held the disk. Usually Tony directed him, he assumed Tony would have worked that out. He snapped the disc in two before his nerves got the better of him.

Tony's Fire had been acting differently since he put the Crown on, and this time he watched the Fire sweep around him from the ground up. The inky darkness of Bane magic fluttered between the bright Black Fire, now James knew that the core of Tony's magic was no longer just Blue Fire, it made sense, even though he knew having dual cores was bizarre to most. It was strange but the different magics, both black but so different from each other, worked well together. 

As he didn't know if he was meant to walk, something told him to hold still, so he did. It was almost as if Underhill moved instead of him moving. In the Fireworld things moved past him at speed even though he was stationary and soon enough, the Fire was dying down, and he was in a different room. The black disc had vanished from his hands. 

  
  
  
  


The first thing that hit him was a wall of sheer, oppressive _ heat _ that left him immediately sweating even as his Black Fire surged up and wrapped around him, the heat was _ nothing _ like he had ever felt before. The forge he had been transported to was a very large, open room, equipment that he had no idea the purpose of was spaced around. Despite him not knowing what the purpose was, he could recognise a similar pattern to how Tony laid out his different types of workshops. Just as he had guessed when he had first arrived Underhill, one of the walls was completely missing. Coupled with how high up they were, it afforded him a magnificent view over all of Tony's lands. That he could somehow see the far gate as clearly as the courtyard, however, made James think the open space was not merely a missing wall. Also, most of the air from being so high up looked as if it was being channelled into the fire.

His attention was on the Forge itself more than the view, partially because he was surprised. Well, James hadn't known what to expect from a Fae Forge, but he had expected more magic. Not that he knows much about crafting regular swords, let alone magical swords, but much of the equipment doesn't look too strange to him. It has a familiar feel to what he would assume a blacksmith might have to work with.

Tony also seemed utterly oblivious to his presence as he was so absorbed in his work, and he was torn between watching Tony in one of his favourite places or announcing himself.

The Fire was mostly made up of White Flame from a guess, but he was sure there was something more to it. It felt different to Rhodes, and other colours flickered in sparks that occasionally shimmered across the colour spectrum. Maybe it was other Flames, but so hot that it burned white-hot. No way was James actually approaching that anytime soon, he was flat against the wall on the other side of the room protected by his Fire, and yet the heat is pushing at him, he can feel himself sweltering already. 

Tony was standing right next to the fire. He was dressed for the heat at least, wearing a black, loose sleeveless top that James could see much of his Woad around including his Fire which was burning slightly brighter than usual— James figured that his Fire maybe protected him from the heat. Even so, he could see Tony was sweating from there. His hair pulled up into a high ponytail, braided and clipped away from his face.

He picked up a pair of tongs that had been black before he touched them. The metal was shimmering and shifting through different colours as he took something out of the fire. The metal was hot enough that it left spots on his vision, but it didn't seem to affect Tony as he inspected it. Tony moved around his forge as he moved through a fight; his movements were just that much more fluid and utterly controlled. No wasted energy. He tossed something over both sides of the metal, James wasn't sure what but it was the consistency of sand before moving on. This was pretty much what James thought of when someone said a _ forge, _ but he had not expected the Fae version to match the human version so closely. He had expected more magic rather than a visceral display of strength. Although the shimmer that Tony's tools gave of when he turned his attention to them told James that there was something different about them. 

As he was crafting a metal formed of shadow and fire, that had a tendency to slice through other metal? James was not surprised that they required specialised tools.

James waited until Tony returned the metal to the Fire before deciding to walk closer. The tools Tony put to one side shimmered slightly before returning to black. He wondered what they were made of, assuming anything on Earth really would not be strong enough to stand up to a Reaper Blade. Even at this stage of crafting. Tony glanced up and spotted him, smiling before holding his hands out to halt his progress.

"Hang on, the heat in here is quite intense, even for your Black Fire. I should have put this with the note."

Tony sent a shimmer of blue magic towards the Fire before crossing the room to him. James wasn't sure how long Tony had been here, but he could tell the work was hard and intensive beyond just the heat. Tony fished a small black disk out of one of his pockets, barely the size of a penny before coming to a stop in front of him. James quickly recognised Black Atronach, and he could see the intricate carvings before Tony paused. James nodded to the question in his eyes as he reached around his neck. Pressing the cold stone to the back of his neck. The effect was instantaneous. The sheer, oppressive heat vanished in a second, leaving his skin refreshed and cool. It rippled out from the stone and then spread, leaving his skin refreshed and clear of sweat too. James wondered why Tony was not wearing one, given he was covered in a sheen of sweat right now and patches of black dust.

"Wow, that is awesome."

"Yeah? I was hoping it would work well for you. It's geared for Fae. I'm working on your blade, finishing up a few daggers too. Too much energy, I had to burn a little off."

That perked James up. He had guessed that was what Tony was doing but hadn't wanted to assume. Getting to see his blade take form was kind of cool. Tony led him over to the other side of the Forge where there was a comfortable-looking bench with scattered notes and designs covering a desk in front of it. The Fire was barely a flutter against his skin now, he could still feel the magic of it, but he wasn't beaten down under the sheer weight of that much heat. Blue magic crackled just as he sat down, which drew Tony attention back to his fire. This seat definitely gave him the chance to see more.

"I need to pull this out, tell me about Fy Brawd when it is back in the fire?"

James nodded and found that watching someone beat metal into shape was really interesting. Not at all because he was dreading this conversant and this gave him something to distract himself with. Tony brought it up occasionally to check it, James could see it had changed from that short, thick rectangle into a vaguely sword-like shape that he recognised. Surprisingly when it cooled, the metal wasn't black and now was starting to take a shape he knew well. Now he was closer, James could see the Blue sheen to the metal covered in a black web-like pattern as Tony returned it to the fire again. Casting the same magic to the Fire before turning to James.

"Nearly done with this stage. So, Fy Brawd woke up whilst I was in that annoying restorative sleep?"

James had no idea where to even start with the whole confusing conversation. Some of it he had put firmly in the 'deal with later' box. Some things… they needed to be brought up now, but James really did not want to. Not here. He didn't want to bring up Molaich's name when Tony was smiling, happy and working in one of his favourite places.

"Yeah, he was on top of the cabinet in the corner, I managed to lure him down with food, we spoke a bit, and I even got him to sleep."

"Fy Sidan, you truly have a way with Fae, even with the stubborn ones."

James was in no way relieved again when the Blue magic sparked and drew Tony back to the fire as he tried to organise his thoughts the repetitive beat on metal was oddly relaxing in a way. Especially after being faced with a genuinely stunned and happy Tony that had not been holding back. He really didn't want to ruin that; Tony deserved to be happy dammit.

When the metal was cooled, it was closer to Reaper Black this time, but he could still distinctly see the blue shimmering. Through. This time there was also white visible on the far end that Tony had beaten to a point, not the thinner end Tony held it by. After turning it and inspecting it again, Tony took a lid off of a box next to him, James glanced inside, and at a guess, the box contained Atronach. It was next to several similar looking boxes. James had started to recognise the feel of the stone by now, but this was different than a solid block. It still had that warm buzz, but it was more intense in this form, which surprised him. He would have assumed it would be stronger in solid pieces.

This Atronarch was practically pulverised, not entirely into dust, but very close. James felt a pulse of something as the newly shaped blade slipped into the stone. There were a number of other pieces of metal sticking out too. Several black but there were a few that were bright white. Tony followed that up by casting in that similar fashion to Stephen. Forming a circle out of that blue Fae magic, except this time his face set in deep concentration. As the circle expanded and changed as usual, but with the inky black strands instead, James understood why he was so focused on the magic as Tony was working two entirely different weaves together. Two opposing weaves at that. After a few minutes, Tony pressed the Ward into the pulverised stones. They shimmered before flickering in colour until they were completely black as Tony replaced the lid. Grabbing a cloth to wipe his hands and face, he looked a little tired but happy, and Gods did James not want to ruin that.

"So I found out more about the doughnut aliens, and you aren't going to like it."

Tony tilted his head, frowning and James wondered if he picked up on just how much James didn't want to have to tell him this. Even so, Tony held his hand out to pull them back to his rooms. When he collapsed back onto the sofa, Tony wasn't entirely cleaned up but better than he had been in the forge. When James sat down, Tony quickly removed the black disc which had been good as he was suddenly getting quite cold before he removed it and slipped it back into his pocket.

"Alright, what happened. Fy Brawd, he is… not the best at reporting information after a battle. If he has a goal, he is single-minded. When something passes outside of that scope, it almost drops from his mind. Especially if I have dropped back. It's why he didn't consider the damage at the compound. Not because he didn't care about the compound or its inhabitants, but because after he ported away, it was unimportant to his mission. He has an intense hyperfocus that I can usually help him level out."

"Yeah, I figured as much. He was talking about how your power increase means Thanos might have had the same turns out he knows quite a bit about the infinity stones."

Tony froze before closing his eyes and leaning back on the sofa, and he was pretty sure he had guessed everything or at least close. He sighed before pinching his nose, and everything around him was suddenly burning with weariness and pain. Dammit, why did he have to do this!? 

"There is only one place he could get more information than me about something outside of Underhill. He spoke about _ him?" _

Or not. So he got to actually say it.

"Uh, yeah. Because he was _ there. _He thinks it was Molaich who cloaked the ship from you, in an attempt to recruit him? He fought him and then he fled somewhere your brother couldn't follow. It looks like no one else saw him. He is tearing himself up for not telling you. I told him that he shouldn't worry about that, I think I managed to get that through to him."

"No, no, of course not. I don't blame him. Never that. The moment he left the battlefield to somewhere he could not follow with a primary mission in action, he disregarded his involvement. This… this is impossible. He _ can't _be free."

Tony pulled up his shirt and ran his fingers over a Ward on the side of his ribs. James had never noticed it before, it seemed as if it was worked into the Wards around it, but following Tony's hands, he can make it out. It's several links of a chain, connected and hidden. Before now James had though those parts were of different Wards, but he guesses that's the point. Not obviously identifiable.

"He didn't tell him anything about how he was free, he just.."

"He tried to steal my brother from me. _ Again." _

That was when James realised he hadn't seen Tony truly angry before. Oh, he had been close, but he had run that fine line of constant control, or he switched with his brother. Tony was a master at controlling his anger because of what happened when he fell into it. Tony had told him it wasn't just DubhMáel in the battles in captivity, it was not only his brothers' rage, but James hadn't really _ understood. _

Right now, DubhMáel was too tired to come forward. James had assumed Tony controlled his rage purely because it brought his brother out. Now he is quickly reassessing, because whilst that was much of it, it was not all. 

DubhMáel burned when he was angry. Fire and anger, passion and destruction.

Tony was ice-cold rage. This was the cold, hard, intelligence that when combined with his brother, he was only starting to understand what Tony had told them when he had been drunk.

"This time, he will not have the chance to hide in the dark. I will need to speak to Mab and visit the edge, and contact the others with the links. This time I will not merely destroy everything his twisted heart holds dear. This time I will erase him from existence."

James was then pretty much chasing after Tony then because him running off _ that _ angry didn't seem a good idea. The fact Tony sounded so calm didn't reassure him whatsoever. He sounded calm, but somehow as if each word was practically snarled out, it was a confusing mix that had severe alarm bells ringing in his head.

"I am ok, James. I am just going to attempt to locate the vile creature."

Tony glanced towards the weird room with all the mirrors.

"Right, so you're going into the terrifying mirror room?"

"Mirrors are many things, and they do more than just reflect our reality."

"This is the moment I get a phobia of mirrors, isn't it?"

James grinned, and it had the desired effect, Tony stalled, almost tripping over himself and he laughed. Quick and fast but it edged Tony back towards him, warmth filtering back in. James breathed a little easier just from that because from the moment Tony's face had shut down. His magic had _ not. _ The black velvet magic that he knew as Bane magic had been _ extremely _ active and Tony didn't seem to realise it had sparked around him like a light destroying Fire that was spreading. It also was loud to his senses with rage and vengeance, with Autumn wrapped around it with an almost vicious glee.

Tony followed James eyes, seemingly realising just what was going on and closed his eyes. James just stayed silent as he watched Tony pull it all back inside of him. He wasn't stupid enough to think that anger was gone. Tony had been controlling his anger to a degree that Banner would envy for most of his life, he knew how to control it, and he knew how to wield it like a sword. It was one of the things that made Tony and his brother so dangerous. Just because he wasn't obviously angry didn't mean it had gone. Many became irrational when angry, easier to beat. Tony and his brother were ruthless in their anger.

"You don't have to walk this path."

"You know, your brother called you an idiot, and I have to agree. As if I'm letting you do this alone. Idiot."

James had no idea why calling Tony an idiot made him smile, but then he had known Tony was a bit weird for a while, and he would take any smile he could right now.

Tony went into his office first, grabbing another box. After the stone and iron box got him to carry it around, he was a little wary of Underhill boxes. So he was surprised when Tony unlocked the obscenely complicated lock to remove a single feather.

It was nothing like the ones his Mother left behind as calling cards. This wasn't sleek and long. It was short, ratty, blunted in places, damaged in others and it looked worse than those ratty pigeon feathers you find in awful parks. It didn't take a genius to work out where it came from. How Tony had several feathers from Molaich's swarming murder of crows? James had no idea, and he wasn't sure that asking was a good idea right now. If the Fomóirian was stupid enough to leave his feathers where Tony could collect them, then that's on him.

"The amount of magic from their battle meant the CCTV in the area went down when Fy Brawd was attacking Maw. That is likely why no one knew of his presence."

"When I was in space, someone shouted No and the link snapped between us. I thought it was you at first, but now I think it was him. Maw returned to the ship, and then we left. I didn't know what was happening, from what he told me, that was when they fought. Molaich was the only reason Maw escaped."

"_ That _ is where the chaos magic came from, I should have looked into it, but I thought Fy Brawd was _ safe. _ That is on me, my failure. _ " _

James frowned at that as Tony returned the box to his office before heading towards the creepiest room out of the six. He followed Tony in and yeah. Immediately creeped out.

"So, is it normal that I can't see us in any of these mirrors?"

He had known this room would be creepy; he had not known just how scary it was to walk into a mirror filled room and not see yourself reflected in any of the mirrors.

"Of course, when I gave you that arm I Warded you against mirrors like these. I know how to use them far too well to allow such a risk. All my lands are Warded against them too, _ except _for this room. It's why the Warding is so intricate in here. I don't want anything coming through."

"Right, you will have to explain that at some point. Tony, are you sure _ now _is the best time for this?"

"Hmm?"

James frowned and gave Tong his best glare. He hadn't mastered Rhodes' eyebrows, but he was developing his own version.

"Tony, did you forget the 'becoming a _ King' _ thing that is happening sometime when the sun decides to rise?"

Tony laid the feather down on the black table and stepped towards James and leaned against him. James knew his instincts were all over the place. He could feel it buzzing under his skin, what with _ Molaich _ being out in the world. Not only that, being near his brother. And for Gods know how long. That he was partially responsible for James' trip to space with Stephen… really all Molaich had to do was make a move against Rhodes and James was sure Tony's control would snap.

"I know, if I do not do this now, or at least _ begin _ this path, then it will hang over me like a cloud of poison at a time when I need to focus."

"Okay, I get it. So, what are we doing?"

James doesn't move away and leans closer to Tony as he stands over the table. Somehow managing to not trip over each other.

Tony holds the feather in his hand, and James watches as Blue Fire bursts out until all that is left in the palm of his hand is black dust.

"Duck down for a moment Fy Siden."

James does, because he has no idea what Tony is going to do with the creepy mirror room. Tony speaks, but James doesn't recognise any of the words, what he does understand is that they're powerful words and it is building up to something. James isn't sure how he knows, but it's definitely building up to something. Like Tony's iterations when building up powerful Wards, instead it was a building cadence that becomes heavier and stronger with each pass until it's pressing against him.

Unlike every time people cast magic near him lately, no magic builds up in him for James ground. He has a feeling the network of intricate circles around them are redirecting any excess environmental magic. The steady build jumps suddenly from a trickle to an intense pressure that feels like pins and needles, as Tony practically yells the end, dashing the dust around the room to each mirror, a dam breaking and magic practically smashed around the room, leaving him swaying on the spot with his ears ringing and muscles twitching. He'll never get used to this.

James glances around and as Tony held his hand out for him, figuring it was safe to stand without getting dusted by icky crow feather dust. Tony looks like he just ran a few miles, sweating and breathing hard. Whatever he just did had exerted him, and James easily slid an arm around his waist to keep him on his feet. He can't help wondering if this was undoing the whole restoration sleep thing. Still, he recognises Tony's determined face, and he was bouncing back quick enough to alleviate most of his concerns.

The thirteen mirrors that had just reflected the room suddenly turned completely black, which is extraordinarily creepy, on top of the not seeing himself in said mirrors, and Tony's explanation that they are Warded against mirrors certainly didn't help. He can see himself getting something paranoid of the reflective surfaces already. The already damned creepy mirrors started to flicker, and the surfaces changed.

"You are safe from those who use surfaces like this Cariad. Even I cannot find you in this manner unless you wish me too. Use of mirrors has existed since reflective surfaces existed, but you know me, I can never leave well enough alone. Few have rooms with this many mirrors. There are a few on Earth that I know off though."

With all the mirrors changing, his eyes try to track all thirteen. Some are still mostly black, but it wasn't just a flat black, there was something _ more _ to it. Tony held his hand out, turning from each mirror to the next, and the surfaces changed further, the first remained mostly black, the next turned to a foggy grey with sparks of black lightning occasionally arcing across the clouds.

"The first is searching the void, second the Aether. I know a few other places he is known to lurk in too."

Tony shifted through the others until he noticed that the last mirror just reflected the room again. Without them being in it of course. That was the one Tony focused on and walked up to. 

James really was not sure how he could put enough emphasis on how creepy it was to walk up to a mirror reflecting the room you were standing in, but did not reflect you.

Which was probably why he spotted it, he was staring at the mirror so intently that he realised that it was _ not _ reflecting the room. Oh, it was close. Very close, but it was formed entirely of a shimmering silver stone. Similar to the stone in the Silver Wing. It was not stripped through with iron, and the Warding on the floor was different. The room they stood in had a lot more, far more complex Wards compared to the reflected room. The table at the centre of their room was pitch black, compared to the silvery grey in the mirrored room.

Blue Fire suddenly flickered on the mirror in a short pattern that Tony repeated by tapping on the mirror with Fire curled around his fingers.

"Want to stay hidden?"

"Who from?"

"This mirror is set only ever to find one person. Me."

"Sure, let's talk to an alternate dimension version of you. This isn't weird at all. Nope, perfectly normal."

He shook his head, but he couldn't help smiling, every single time he thought he had reached peak weird, something new cropped up. Two Tony's, well, it would be interesting to see how they interacted. He wondered if _ he _ would be there.

Tony shrugged his shoulders as his glamour shimmered slightly, making himself more presentable. James knew that he did his hair with his hands occasionally, but it was always amusing when he couldn't be bothered and simply threw a glamour on instead. He looked similar to how his Mother fancied him up for one of the more official sit down dinners with the delegates and their parties. James had already dressed well before leaving for Tony's forge.

"There are odds that the other versions of myself are often dealing with similar problems when that happens. This happens. We're all bound by the Fire, so we built a network of a sort."

Tony ran his fingers down his metal arm to the third Ward, shimmering blue for a second but he didn't feel much of anything. Two figures appeared in the mirror at the same time in a similar stance. At first, James thought it was them, but like everything through the mirror, it was them, but it _wasn't. _

The first thing James noticed was that other-Tony wasn't decked out in the dark silver-grey Iron clothing he had returned from the mountain with, or anything similar in fact. His dress was entirely black with only bright, silver Warding, and most importantly, James recognised _ that _ Crown. It was not the one Tony was wearing.

That was the Crown for The Court of Blackened Fate, Tony's _M_ _ other's _ Court. James would recognise The black feathers anywhere, and it looked nothing like Tony's Iron Crown. 

Also, he might have gotten so caught up on the other-Tony, it took a few seconds even to notice that the other version of himself was decked out like one of Tony's Mothers' guards. The head of said guard actually. He was also distinctly _ Fae, _ with long black hair done up just as complex in silver as Other-Tony and of a similar length. Practically to his belt. With what looked like a pure _ silver _ blade was attached to his hip, rather than a black Reaper blade.

They mostly stared at each other for a few seconds in shock, James tracked the other versions and saw they were focusing on the obvious Iron wrapped around them both in several permutations. James was wearing his Silver Bane pin, and as he had dressed light for the Forge, both his bracer and torc were on show with his short-sleeved shirt that also showed of his metal arm, that the other did not share, at least he assumed from the gaping, as Fae-James' arms were covered and he wore black gloves. Both his-Tony and the Other-Tony made a gesture at the same time with Blue Fire flickering across their fingers, and sound flooded the room. 

"I don't want to ask why you are wearing a black Crown that looks to be made of Iron do I?"

That reminded him of what DubhMáel said, that Tony was always going to take a Crown. That all his paths led that way eventually. Which one, he did not know as there were many that had named him so. That the Crown he was heading for _was_ that of the Lower Courts. It seemed that was true, that in alternate dimensions Tony had taken the Crown of a Lower Court. James wondered how this would play out, either Tony could be difficult when shocked.

"Do I wish to know why you are wearing Mother's Crown?"

Tony quipped back, and then they both mostly glared at each other, because apparently, Tony couldn't even be polite to himself. Although, he supposed the other him started it? He figured he earned something for calling that. 

This was going to be headache-inducing, James could tell. 

James did notice that after Tony had practically confirmed that his Crown _ was _Iron, that the other-Tony was slightly nervous. James was getting quite good at reading Tony's tells, and that apparently worked cross-verse. He has straightened slightly, Fae-James following suit.

At a guess, being faced with a Tony from a new, _ Iron _ Court had knocked this other-Tony off balance slightly.

"At least you don't seem to be a Fragile Creature."

The other him seemed to find the idea distasteful by the looks of it, and James noted that he must be entirely Fae, somehow. The most surprising aspect of this was that he didn't look that much different to how he did now. Sure, Fae-James skin was silver compared to his slightly darker skin, his double was more like Tony's Mother or that of Winter compared to his. There were the apparent Fae features that he lacked, facial structure was a little sharper, ears, he was less bulky too. His eyes were a bright, shining silver compared to his more Human ice blue, but otherwise? They were practically alike. Freakishly so in fact, he knew Fae genes could be strong, even over multiple generations, but come on, this was freaking him out a little. If he had Fae features, the only difference would be that he was bulkier, with shorter hair and his skin was closer to his Mother's Romanian heritage. 

James shrugged in response to his duplicate's rather impressive glare. He knew that his was better. He wondered if this James had been The Winter Soldier and assumed not. James was quite happy being a mix of Human, Reaper and maybe Fae too. A little bit of everything that he hoped to understand someday. Although now he was wondering if there was more Fae in him than he and Tony had presumed.

"Not entirely."

"You aren't just King of a new Lower Court that I have never heard of... are you?"

The others were now assessing them differently, and it was freaking weird reading your alternate versions body language. James guessed that they hadn't realised that even if Tony was of the Upper Courts at first. Even though Tony hadn't finished the process yet, and James was pretty sure that they were already looking at him as a _ Knight. _

"No. But that is not why I am here, and I doubt it is why you are here either."

"You are the 26th I've spoken to regarding Molaich's escape. It seems to be a constant. I seem to be running ahead of most. You… you are the first big difference between realms that I have encountered thus far. I have not met another King of an Upper Court, how did you even do that? You can't be of Summer or Winter? There is no true Iron Court. It is one of the Crownless. _No one_ can command Anǥau."

"I'm not. King of Iron-"

"Well, that's new…”

"And the King of Spring and Autumn."

"That's impossible, that magic is _lost._"

Tony didn't bother arguing, just raised his hand with red and gold sparking and twisting into shimmering threads from his palm with Bane wrapped around his fingers. Just to prove he could control Anǥau likely. That silenced the pair, both leaning towards the mirror as if they could touch it.

Maybe because all the Fae he was seeing were now getting used to having Spring and Autumn back, he hadn't realised just how much the loss affected the Fae, judging by the near painful longing on both of their faces, it was definitely more than he had presumed.

"If I found them in my Universe, if we earned them back, then I imagine the others have a chance to gain it back too. I will happily show my path when this matter has reached its conclusion so someone may follow it one day if they so wish. First, tell me about where Molaich came through in the other realms."

It was strange, but James noticed how the others shifted after they realised that Tony was of the Upper Courts and of Spring and Autumn. It was subtle. In the way they stood, standing straighter as if to attention. Their eyes sharp on Tony as if he were a commanding officer. It was in how they answered Tony's questions, much different to how they responded at the beginning of the conversation, 

They _ deferred _ to him. They answered his questions as if they were orders. James was getting a kick out of it because the longer it went on, he could see the twitch in his-Tony's jaw.

No one seemed to have a consensus on _ how _ Molaich was out yet, but he had only been sighted alone. With none of his people, which was good. Not willing to risk much in a battle which was aberrant behaviour, and he was all too often found hiding in Thanos' shadow in different permutations. Thanos was after the infinity stones in every Universe that had connected, other-Tony was a _ member _ of _ a _ task force to bring him down instead of _ leading _ said _campaign_ for several millennia, nothing like they were in their universe. When other-Tony and Fae-James worked out Tony was _ running _ the campaign against Thanos in their universe, Tony had assumed the same across the board and quickly discovered this not to be true. After that revelation, they were _ more _ than deferential, and James could see his-Tony was not enjoying it one bit. James was left biting his cheek, trying not to smile.

The others didn't mention Tony's brother. He wondered just how different his-Tony's life was compared to the other dimensions. But then his-Tony did not mention him either, he imagined All Tony's were overprotective of their brother. But there were significant differences, and from what James could tell, they had seemingly spawned from his-Tony's desire _not_ to take a Crown. His resistance. Which had led him down a path that mastered Bane magic, Anǥau. Then to forge and master his blade, becoming the executioner and enforcer of Underhill. Which gathered much power to Tony's hands and barred him from ever taking a Crown of the Lower Courts.

Which then left him a leader rather than a participant in the fight against Thanos. Such a small change with substantial cascading ramifications. He wondered how many other-Tony's had bound their fate to Thanos. How many had followed his path, carried that sword or formed that Crown.

James was just as curious about his own doppelganger. Fae-James kept scowling at him, then catching himself and trying to look more deferential. A Knight of a High Court ranks higher than the Guard of a Lower Court. By power and position. Even if he wasn't a Knight, _ they _ didn't know that. They assumed he carried Bane, Spring and Autumn and James wasn't about to correct their assumptions.

"The locks are still in place, this is good, but it is not good that he is out cross-universe. I was hoping this would be a fluke of a few 'verses, but it seems like something more. Events have been set in motion that cannot be ignored. Thanos is tied up with something he doesn't understand. The Balance is at risk. I am beginning to think he is but a Herald rather than the potential wound to the Balance that I feel on the horizon. Thanos does not understand the threat Molaich and his kin pose to that of the living, or even to the void, the known universes and to the Fire. He does not understand the Balance he claims to serve."

Really, Tony only had himself to blame when he came out with things like that. No wonder they were looking up at him. They seemed to be caught in a feedback loop. As they deffered to his-Tony, his-Tony's stance shifted and his presence definitely took on a new edge that wrapped around James too. 

"Times are changing."

The other-Tony apparently seemed to be stalked by those words as much as his-Tony. Having heard it enough recently, his-Tony merely nodded.

"Don't I know it, I'll activate the message service and open my realm to the network to pool data. When this is concluded, I will answer questions in deviations of our paths."

And then he got to see his-Tony scowl after the other version of himself and Fae-James _ bowed _ before their mirror went dark. Tony's hand flashed with Fire, and their reflections vanished from the now black mirror. 

Tony then flailed dramatically in his direction, pulling a face that lost the serious air and gravitas that he had carried during the conversation in under a second. James gave up on his battle to stop laughing, because it was as much Tony's fault that their duplicates acted in such a way. As soon as they looked up to him, Tony had also shifted slightly, and James got a _ real _ glimpse of Tony as a King. He could see what the others were responding to, he readily took control and commanded the entire encounter seemingly without realising.

The abrupt change from an impressive, powerful Faerie King to Tony's dramatic flailing, scowling, followed quickly by sulking, he was happy was just for _ him. _ He loved seeing Tony as a King, he was quite impressive, compelling and downright _ powerful, _ but James liked that he was let in enough to see _ this _ side of Tony a little more.

"Ew, did you see that?! He didn't even do that sarcastically!"

Tony ran his hand down his face as his eyes were drawn back to the mirror that only showed the room in which they stood once more.

"I didn't realise that most of my alters had accepted their place in the Lower Courts. That they accepted that we were always on the path for a Crown. Where I ran and became Dienyddiwr to avoid taking a Crown… they accepted it. I wonder how many even took up the blade like me. I wonder how many are bound in Fate's web to Thanos… If I am the odd one out, not even just from my kin, but even amongst alternate dimension versions of myself."

James shifted closer, wrapping his arm around him as he didn't like the direction that was heading. He knew Tony had issues seeing himself as apart, different and out of place amongst his own kin as it was.

"Does that mean all your alternate selves are going to bow and defer to you as above their station?"

Tony grimaced slightly at the idea before moving his attention to the other mirrors. All were still showing a different plane, but all were still blank, colours moving quickly enough to make James nauseous if he focused on them too much.

"Fuck, I hope not. There must be some closer to my timeline, surely? Plus, he will be running point, the first that brings the network online gets stuck dealing with everyone, that's the rule. None of us _ ever _ want that position. It's a Tony thing. Seeing myself and an entirely Seelie Fae Lord version of you bowing _ once _ was bad enough, but I gotta say, you clean up nice as a Fae."

"Hmmm, but you wouldn't be able to play with my hair as easily then."

"I don't know. It might occasionally be worth it when we are out. Come on, these will run without me, and I'll get an alert if anything is found. I don't think standing here and obsessing to find the guy would be good for me."

Well, James definitely agreed with that and the other thing was also very interesting. Tony mentioned it almost in passing whilst shrugging, which was Tony-Speak for it actually being something he was giving serious consideration too. The less importance Tony out on something usually meant it was high up enough he was nervous mentioning it.

Either way, now something was being done, the steel tension seemed to have bled out of Tony. James could still see he was nervous about having Molaich free, but in true Tony fashion of negative self-preservation, it was 100% regarding his brother.

  
  
  
  


After the dramatics and the start of his new mirror phobia, they crashed on the large sofas for a while, deciding to ignore everything outside of their rooms, at least for a little while. James figured Tony needed more than a few minutes to pack his anger down. He may be able to seem like he could switch tracks at a drop of a heart. Switch from blistering anger to cool calm, but James knew that as good as Tony was at repressing his own emotions, the transitions were not as seamless as he made them appear. That Tony needed to take the time to come down at a better pace. 

If James had to sit on Tony to make him rest for that time? That was precisely what he would do. Or rather this time he was seated lengthways on the sofa with Tony leaning back against his chest. James had one arm wrapped securely around him and the other in his hair, which was actually better at distracting Tony than sitting on him. He should have guessed really, with all the attention Tony paid to his hair that he would be putty at the same being done to him.

The problem was that he was off to meet up with Tony's Mother and Aunt later, but they had some time before that. It was nice just to have a few moments to lie back on the sofa, Tony leaning back and using him as a cushion and rest. With their positions flipped, he had amused himself playing with Tony's hair when he could return the favour.

Tony had sulked for a few moments before realising he was quite fine with how things hand turned out. Because Tony really was part cat and apparently playing with his hair was the equivalent of scratching behind his ears.

Even though Tony had been rendered sleepy and warm by his proximity and hands, he was still running him through some basics of foundational Warding. Something Tony could seemingly teach in his sleep.

"Are you sure you don't want me to cancel?"

Tony turned slightly to face him. His eyes were brighter than they had been after the conversation about Molaich. James didn't think that Tony's anger or fear for his brother were entirely gone, but having a path of action to follow had improved his mood significantly and the proximity had calmed his instincts from their original position of high alert. Now they had faded back to a level hum that was satisfied with teaching James something to increase his strength, and having him close.

Which brought him back to his plans.

"I'll be fine, James, go have fun with my Mother and Aunt, I'll keep myself occupied. I am much calmer now, and my instincts have settled down. Promise."

"Ahuh, that's what I'm worried about."

Because Tony was the most dangerous when he was clear-headed, that was when he _ planned. _

"You have fun, you will know if my instincts kick off or if something happens to me, you'll feel it."

"I know, I quite like that aspect of this, you know. When you first told me about this claiming business, I didn't think it would work like this."ł

Considering most claims were from a position of seeing a human as at best, a pet, or even as entertainment. At first, Tony could find him, knew where he was, and James thought that made sense. Since then, it had definitely evolved into more than that. For one, James could track Tony just as easily as Tony could track him. It worked both ways. It was also similar to the Reaper link, but different, as if he could hold it in his hand. Intense emotions, stress, fear and such could be felt so Tony could easily come to him if he needed help, handy when you run into Faerie Queens on your first day. It also worked that way for him. He knew if Tony was distressed and could follow that claim to him.

"Yeah, that was my fault."

Tony ducked his head, but not quick enough before James saw him turn pink, which always amused James.

"What is?"

"Well, you know how I told you I don't go around claiming humans often, or, you know, ever?"

James nodded, and Tony practically tucked himself under his chin to hide.

"Well, Mother only taught me one kind of claim millennia ago. I can't remember what she said, but the claim is instinctual. If you don't choose the type of claim, you have the option of allowing the claim to choose you instead."

"Huh, I get that, you've told me about instinctual magic a few times. So, most humans don't feel this?"

"No, usually it is simply a... tag of sorts. To tell others who the owner is. Lojacking their property. I… I didn't want to do that to you."

"I wouldn't have minded. I trust you. I knew the claim was to keep me safe from people like the Yearning Heart dicks. I quite like this though."

"You do? It isn't what I told you. I did not realise until after I amended it with my new titles and as it continued to shift. I did not intend to lie to you."

"Hey, Tony, you didn't lie. Claiming humans is pretty new to you, and like I said. I trust you. It's good, it feels less like a claim and more like… I don't know. Never really felt anything like this myself."

Tony chuckled, which was an improvement. Fae can't lie, but they can _ accidentally _ lie, if they don't know they are lying. If they believe what they're saying is the truth. What James didn't realise until now was that if a Fae discovered they _ had _ accidentally lied, it was a very uncomfortable and a weight on them. James could _ feel _ it shift as he managed to convince Tony that he didn't lie.

"You're going to be late."

"Hmm, well, I have this Faerie King lying on me, using me as a pillow. So it's hard to move."

He could practically feel Tony rolling his eyes even if he couldn't see it. He bit his shoulder, scratching him with his fangs before slowly moving to sit up. Pulling James with him. 

"We should get you to my Mother before they come after me. I'm sure you'll have fun."

James paused because he recognised that tone of voice and glint in Tony's eyes.

"What am I walking into exactly?"

The fact Tony tilted his head and shifted so that he looked utterly innocent confirmed it. James wasn't sure how Fae could make an innocent facial expression... look so thoroughly... _ Fae… _ Loki had the look perfected too, although he was more likely to be smug and very satisfied at the chaos he caused.

"Hmm, well. You know the Upper Courts have a different path to ascension to the Lower Courts?"

"You mean the thing you have been giving me only vague details about?"

Dry as the desert was an apt description for him at that point. Tony quickly dodged that topic with a small smile.

"Yes, that. Well, for the Lower Courts, it is a lot of ceremony and pomp on top of the actual requirements. My family has been quite vocal over the many, many years, regarding their plans for my manner of dress. Many, many plans. They even had plans to kidnap me and sit on me and everything. Mother and Flower have been plotting with others of The Family, for _ millennia _ to get me all gussied me up. Since I was barely 600 and my powers advanced and showed signs that I could bond with a Loci. It was an excuse for a time when I would have little choice but to actually dress _ appropriately _ for Court, whereas normally I would find a few angles to subvert any codes. Several angles. I did once turn up with a starlight crafted shirt. I was not sure if they were amused by how I got around the specifications for that ball or infuriated. Likely both."

"And they aren't doing that now? Somehow I doubt you ever found only a _ few _ ways to subvert that, your Aunt has been telling me stories of your time in the Courts before you took your sword. I bet there are many more stories to hear, also how do you craft a shirt from starlight?!"

"Very complex, took me nearly an entire season. And, nope, you see, the manner of dress for an _ Upper Court _ Ascension is clearly defined. It is a single article of clothing I have no choice in the matter but to wear it. Simple soft trousers are all that I am given. Although I imagine someone will appear to do all manner of fancy things with my hair when I am not looking."

"Alright, weird, but what does this have to do with me?"

Tony gave him that look again, that very Fae look.

"Well Fy Sidan, think. If they cannot do so to me…"

"Oh, no."

_ "Oh, yes, _ darling, I'm sure you will have plenty of fun. You are the new favourite of The Family remember."

"Well, I guess you'll get to see what your Mother does with my hair then."

James had no idea what he was walking into, and he didn't know whether to be scared or amused. Both? He did know that no matter how Tony shrugged it off as a joke, he was more than a little interested in the last part.

"Make sure they release you before the sun rises?"

"Is that when things start?"

"It is when I am to be collected. You'll have a few hours after the fact to prepare. If they wish to surprise me, tell them to hide their work beneath a glamour. I will not remove it. I would rather see you before everything starts over any curiosity."

He can't not step back into Tony's personal space after that. Fae were more curious than the proverbial cat. There was little above curiosity. James knows Tony is not nervous, well, he isn't nervous of what the _ trials _ entail. Tony _ is _ nervous about the whole idea of being a King. Which means he is nervous about the run-up and as open as Tony is around him, he doesn't often say things he needs so plainly.

"You'll be great, you have this whole thing in hand, and I'll be there if you ever need me."

"When."

"Hmm?"

"When I need you Cariad, that is something I know. I need my Guard."

James blinked and was happy that he was currently wrapped around Tony right now, his chin resting on his head as that left him very obviously startled and blinking. Because that was very, _ very _ close to Tony talking about him being a _ Knight, _just without saying the precise words. Without his Brothers little chat, he would have missed it entirely.

"Well, you have me. I am happy to be your guard, stand behind you, looming and terrifying the locals."

"I like this, but I think I would rather you stand next to me."

"I'll stand wherever you need me, as long as you realise you aren't getting rid of me."

"I'm starting to get the idea."

Miracles _ do _ happen it seemed, which meant he was heading off to see Tony's Aunt and Mother grinning like a complete idiot and they would know precisely why within seconds of him arriving. Mystical Faerie Queens. His life was turning into a Disney movie, he just needed a Faerie Godmother now, and a talking pet squirrel. For reasons.

"You remember the tracker?"

James nodded, more than a little nervous about this part. So far, everything he had done with magic had been mostly theoretical, including Tony's lessons in Wardcraft. Which at the moment was teaching him the base structure of drawn Wards, how to identify and decipher the different parts of each Ward. All Wards had a few things in common. The draw, the part of the Ward that drew energy from whichever source was designed to power it. It was usually two, but there could be more or less, they looked like tiny fangs to him, but were often worked into the Ward so perfectly that you never saw them unless you knew where to look. It was the easiest way to destroy a Ward, so it made sense it was hidden. The structure of the Ward usually showed its purpose, how it directed the energy and to what end. Defense was typically triangular in shape and tended to be circular, for example.

Then there were levels, a single level was a first-degree Ward, a second-degree Ward built upon the first, with a geometric shape around that first Ward and then other Wards were drawn around it. Often repeatedly and creating a form of their own. Sometimes even connected to the inner Ward. Sometimes James had to step back and allow his eyes to unfocus to see other shapes. Apparently Warding and deciphering Warding was something humans were uniquely adept in. Human nature of pattern recognition gave humans an edge few species could match. The levels can continue out as far and as complicated as you wish. The more significant and more complex, the more energy and chances to fuck up obviously.

Wards were fascinating, and he loved deciphering them. It was like learning a language and code-breaking all at the same time, whilst being beautiful. The rest of his lessons that weren't about grounding, or that damned demon rope, were entirely theoretical. Tracking was his first practical task and Tony had decided he had learned enough to put it into practice. That he had already mastered how to Track Tony using the claim apparently was impressive and meant Tony was upping his workload.

If he didn't enjoy it, he was sure this was a complicated punishment for being good. Upping the complexity of his work with extra homework. Luckily, he _ did _ enjoy it. 

Not the rope, no one enjoyed that demon string. 

Tony's Mother had given him one of her feathers, and instead of cutting the connection as she normally did, she left it open for him. The Morrigan often used the long, sleek black feathers as a calling card of a sort. As such, she had learned long ago to cut oneself off from that which she left behind. This time, she didn't, meaning James could use it to track her to her room.

"Have fun. I hope I still recognise you by the time they release you."

James stuck his tongue out before following the tracker in his mind, not at all nervous about a bunch of Faerie Queens wanting to fancy him up. What's to be nervous of? What is his life? Honestly, just _ when _ did he become a Disney princess?

The focus for the tracker was tricky to maintain. He was still learning to align his intentions. He only got lost some of the time now when he was wandering around the castle. To keep all your focus on a single thing is tricky on its own. Tricky to do when you aren't walking around a Fae castle brimming with magic and very, very interesting distractions practically around each corner. Tony's staff also were happy to chat with him, which meant he got so distracted that he lost focus and got lost.

Concentrating on your path and then suddenly seeing something wild or beautiful out of nowhere, and the whole lot shatters like very fragile glass. It seemed to be instinctive to Fae, probably because their world required it of them. He knew humans could be taught how to maintain the focus to that level and do other things at the same time. Maybe not to the same proficiency as the Fae, but still he knew many human-_ ish _people in the castle who obviously didn't get lost in their home. He also knew now he wasn't just human anymore. Or rather, maybe that he hadn't ever been pure human. The degree of which he was now not so sure about. It was shockingly easy to accept that he may never have been human; it felt like relief strangely. This also helped his confidence when it came to training his focus, that if he were not pure human that he might not have such a significant barrier to navigate.

Turns out it's much easier to hold your intentions in place if you wrap them around something, like a tracker! He had never moved through the castle so quickly, the dark stone lightened to a bright silver, and in no time at all, there were no black lines of Iron running through the walls. Weirdly, he _ felt _ their absence. It was like something was missing from the Pannex. It was _ colder. _ James wasn't entirely sure how to describe the lack of something he hadn't realised he had begun to feel.

Either way, it was a number of things; his concentration on the casting, his concentration on aligning his intentions and this odd feeling of losing something he had not realised he had. The very distracting day he had had so far… All of that meant that him, the sodding _ Winter Soldier, _ didn't realise he was being followed, right up until magic hit and splashed across the back of his shoulders.

It was a grasping, scalding, slimy thing that picked and slashed at his defences and tried to worm its way under his skin. The feel of it touching him made him nauseous, even through his defences. Before he managed to formulate a plan or even much of a feeling other than _ 'yuck', _the grasping magic began to spread, it slipped down his right arm, making a beeline for his bracer. To attack and damage his claim and protection from Tony. James didn't even have a chance to panic; everything happened very fast.

The vile magic didn't even make it to his wrist. It couldn't even reach his _ elbow. _

The Court torc around his bicep suddenly flared brightly with Blue and Black Fire as the Iron flickered to life with the same light eating darkness he had seen Tony wield. From there it was a chain reaction, the Fire remained wrapped around his arm, but that darker magic was not so happy to wait, not so happy to simply defend. The Iron in the Brace flickered the same as his torc, but it was the pin he was wearing that stole the show.

The bright silver light that lit his path in the dark? That was a comforting glow that had already led him from many dark hallways. The Bane magic that was loosed in his defence? Well, that was _ angry. _

James calmly turned, no need to panic and have Tony freak out and come running. Not when Tony had given him the means to protect himself. The Bane magic wasn't a small thing, the pin may fit in his palm, but magic runs by different rules. The Silver light of a sunset could light a hall for hundreds of metres in front of him, as brightly as if he were outside and the sun was shining. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that the light eating dark velvet boiled, snapped out and _ spread. _ It snarled in his mind as the glamour someone had hurled his way was torn to pieces. It was shredded and scorched as if it had never been. Anywhere it had touched, was now covered by a thick light destroying cape that continued to spread until wrapped around him as skillfully as Levi. 

That wasn't all it did. It followed the thread back of the leash that someone had tried to attach to him and James watched dispassionately, as a loud shout was quickly followed by two men crashing out into the hallway in front of him, the other was grimacing with his teeth grit.

James quickly assessed the pair, he noted the two were not irreparably harmed, but if he did not intervene soon... that might be so. One had black lines from his fingers to his elbows, his skin red and painfully blistered, the other had taken a hit square to the face. They could walk away from this, James suspected that though they would heal, they would likely carry scars from wherever the Bane magic had touched him.

He could do nothing... He could stand there and watch as the angry magic made its point, but then he would have two dead Fae on his hands. The Bane magic whispered through his mind that it did not understand why that was a bad thing, as they had attacked one who belonged to it, and that it could easily do away with anything left behind.

He held his arm out and said 'watch' in his mind. The Bane magic was intrigued, so it immediately left the pair and curled around his fingers and up to his elbow. When it realised the fear increased, he heard laughter. A Fae commanding Anǥau was enough to make others nervous, but now a human can do so? Without words or binding, just with a simple hand gesture.

Apparently, Anǥau _ really _ shares Tony's gift for dramatic flair after it realised James' plan. The magic that had curled around him to protect him from the Glamour flared out. He had to introduce it to Levi. He had a feeling they would get along.

James' smile was sharp and all teeth as he let two Seelie Fae know that he might be human, but he could wield a magic that easily marked their death if he so wished.

'We leave them alive, so others see how you marked them. Then Tony doesn't have to deal with their leaders whining.'

A heavy hum slipped around him, amusement and hints of warmth spread at the feeling as he turned to finish his journey. The magic slowly pulled back as he walked, retreating into the pin, a little remained with him, curled around his arm but never still, it shifted around as if were looking at things as they passed. Just as he reached the suite he had been aiming for. It had been sitting on his shoulder. It slipped safely inside the pin as he was ushered in. He knew right away that Tony's Mother had seen everything that had happened on his trip over. Could see it in the sharp amusement on her face.

"The Family certainly will be pleased, now, tell me, dear. How long have you been talking to my son's magic?"

He sat down and accepted a drink passed to him as Tony's Mother arched her eyebrow. He hid any blushes behind the said drink. He had gotten so used to talking to Tony's magic he kept forgetting it was a strange thing. Especially for someone who didn't even know magic was an option for him not long ago.

"I'm not sure. It started with Blue Fire back on Earth. Autumn and Bane are new, and very chatty but in different ways. They have different personalities and seem to grow steadier the more we talk."

"Most interesting, we'll make a knight out of you yet dear. Rhodey will be ever so pleased. "

He'd be lying if he said he didn't like the sound of that, even if they were about to make him try on a few hundred outfits and do God's know what with his hair. He catches the pair up on what was going on. Both were very interested to discover in the alternate dimension he at least appeared to be a full Seelie Fae. From his description, he was told it seemed he was not just Seelie, but High born too. They both promised to help him look into his Fae ancestor. Then he discovered the pair were worse than FRIDAY when it came to dressing him up, and unlike FRIDAY, they had physical bodies he couldn't outrun. And magic.

He also wondered if everyone and their dog knew about his potential future as a knight, Tony still had not said anything. Although... he had come close today, and just that tiny step had stressed him out whilst making him happy. Tony was the one person James knew who could think himself in knots bad enough to give himself an actual migraine and end up utterly confused about what had even started the whole thing. It was an odd superpower, but he had to admit, Tony was _ very _ skilled at it

"I thought you got a mirror at the hairdresser's?"

James mused as the two Faerie Queens were talking in a different language behind him about his hair. Well, it sounded like English, he just had no idea what they were talking about.

"What is a hairdresser? Do humans dress their hair?"

Blodeuwedd seemed baffled as Tony's Mother practically giggled, and James wondered how many humans had sat where he was now and heard that. Listening to The Morrigan trying to explain the human job of Hairdressers to Blodeuwedd was something he was going to remember. 

"Are you terribly attached to the length of your hair dear, we could do so much more if it were a touch longer. It will be quite amusing to see my Son's face if we add a little length."

"You know what, carte blanche. Have fun ladies, do your worst."

He still didn't get a mirror.

  
  
  
  


**Nat POV**

So, maybe she was lost.

She had decided to go for a walk when her Queen was busy, only to run into some weirdly dressed creeps who were very interested in the bracelet her Queen had given her. Which immediately had her hackles up. Her intention had been to get away, to the point she hadn't been paying attention to how many turns she made. 

At least, she thought she had been keeping track, but when she tried to retrace her steps, she just got more lost. Tony's castle was _ huge. _ This area was so different from where their rooms were, the gleaming silver walls had darkened and were shot through with thick branches of black. Where she was now, there was more black than stone.

"Natka? I was wondering why I was out here."

She spun around, surprised and relieved to find Tony, looking startled to find her. 

"Hi Tony."

"What has brought you so deep into the castle… dammit. He's got me calling my own damned house a castle. Do not tell James."

She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face at how smug Yasha would be if he found out.

"I think I am lost. There were these creeps that kept asking about my bracelet, and I wanted to get away. I then tried retracing my steps, but then I just got more lost."

She was frustrated that she had allowed herself to get turned around so much, but Tony's presence calmed her nerves. There was a comforting vibe around him now, when she closed her eyes, she swore a Blue Fire surrounded him. It crackled and warmed her, loosening her tense muscles.

Yasha had told her that the feeling others get around Tony and other Fae, the feel of a predator watching you through the grass. Ready to pounce at any moment. That alien feeling that was far from humanity that could see you as food as equally as you could be utterly uninteresting… it comforted him. It made him feel at home and _ safe. _ She had not understood, but now, spending time with her Queen and now with Tony in his true form, she understood, it _ was _ comforting. It was safety, for two people that had thought such a thing was only found in fairy tales. Instead, it was simply found with their Fae.

"Ahh, that makes sense. When you were getting away from what I assume was Yearning Heart, your intentions were very clear. The castle… dammit. The damned _ castle _ responded to that. Brought you to an area they literally could not follow where you would be safe and put you into my path after I was nudged to wander. Keeping intentions solid takes practice for humans, however."

"So, the castle led me here? And the corridors don't always lead to the same places?"

"Nope, that's not how Underhill works. It's all about thought and intention. It governs much of the landscape. Especially in areas that have high concentrations of magic."

She glanced around. She hadn't _ seen _ anything change. But then she hadn't recognised a single corridor for what felt like half an hour now.

"Why is this area so safe? Apart from the fact you are here."

"You see this?"

She nodded as Tony ran his fingers along one of the thick black lines along the walls. They reminded her of tree roots actually, or vines in how they covered the walls, floor and ceiling.

"This is pure iron, Seelie Fae are exceptionally vulnerable to it, most Fae, in general, would be severely harmed just standing here."

Huh, well, the name 'Iron Lands' suddenly made a lot more sense.

"But not you."

"Nope, I work very well with iron, it is part of the reason I was offered the Crown."

Her eyes were immediately drawn to the Crown. It was so different from her Queens. A delicate, complicated weave of silver with a myriad of white carved stones worked into it. It seemed as if she found something new each time she looked. Tony's was darker, and she was not referring to the black metal it was mostly formed off. There was a dense aura of magic that burned from it and shined off the polished and sharpened edges that looked as sharp as any blade she had ever owned. It was shot through with thin silver, twisted and shaped into a complicated-looking pattern reminiscent of Celtic knotwork. 

There was something different about Tony's Crown, but she couldn't put her finger on what. Yet at least, her Queen had told her that intuition and reading of magic was something that was strong in her line, that she was beginning to access this. Currently, Nat was picking up on things, but she did not know how to interpret what she was picking up on yet.

"Few others could survive taking this Crown. Want me to lead you back to the silver wing? I'm just about to have some food if you'd like to join me instead?"

She practically jumped at the option, especially _ here. _Away from the complications back home, she wanted to find her friend again. One she thought she had lost. Now he was offering an olive branch, and she was going to grab hold of it. No chance was she wasting this chance. This was something she had honestly not thought possible, that she had squandered her opportunities. Tony, as he is want to do, turned her expectation on their head with a smirk. The flash of fang was new though.

"That would be great, I was trying to kill time whilst Clíodhna was busy."

Tony turned and she quickly fell in step, keeping her eyes out for moving corridors or stairs, even though she hadn't seen anything of the sort so far. She had not known that the corridors _ could _ change and she wanted to catch them in the act. With Tony leading her, she imagined the path was firmly held with his intentions, so she could let her eyes wander and take in everything they passed.

"Ah yes, she has a meeting with a few other delegates if I remember correctly. I hope she is having as much fun as James is. I overheard my Aunt and Mother discussing their battle plans. They do so enjoy having someone new to dress up for my Ascension. James is likely more agreeable than I would be too."

"I would have thought they would be dressing you up all fancy."

"Oh, they would, if this were a Lower Court. Things are a bit different for the Upper Courts. More power, more proving your worth to rule. Proving you are worthy of the power itself, of the land and its people. That you can not only wield it but protect it, and that you will not harm the delicate balance of the Upper Courts. There is some degree of a trial for the Lower Court, but almost the entirety of the Upper Court ascension is a series of trials."

Her eyes were a little wide hearing Tony so calmly describe something that sounded more than a little nerve-racking. Although she imagined Tony knew about these trials, they were not a hidden matter. He knew what he was facing. Tony was not one to fly blind.

"My Wards will be covered, and I'll just have comfortable trousers, easy to fight in. Not much place for The Family to have their fun, it is a shame, they have been plotting for thousands of seasons. Ah, here are my rooms."

The black in the walls had been steadily getting thicker. Nat was pretty confident saying there was far more iron here than stone. There were extremely complicated Wards around the door that hummed with magic to her enhanced senses. As they passed each Circle, the different elements crackled against her skin.

"You are closer to becoming a Sgàil Gheal than I suspected, I always offer to my sister guard, should you wish for a weapon I could craft something for a gift on your appointment. As you are one of mine, I could stretch that until you have a white blade in each hand. You are also free to train with me and my Reapers."

She nearly stumbled at that. True that Tony the human was a construct, but he was a construct of Tony the Fae. It was not merely a face. Tony still acted much as he did before Siberia. There were some significant differences. Tony had been confident in some places, in others that confidence had been brittle and easily shattered. He could be hard. He could be dangerous. All of this was still here. It's just that there was simply _ more _ now. Nat assumed age was a difference. So much was the same, that she suspected this was the same too. Tony makes things. Tony makes wonderful things that he poured his heart and soul into, that he tailored and offered up with no requirement or expectations because that was what Tony did for people he loved.

Nat had seen the little things Yasha wore on his person, and whilst they looked different to the tech that was Tony's signature, they felt like Tony's magic. So, she was sure this was the same. That he made things for those he let in. If he had offered her a single blade, she would have been overjoyed. It was the second blade that had her giddy, because it wasn't because she belonged to his sister. The second blade was because she was his too. She did not know how yet, but she would repay this gift somehow. 

"Oh I definitely want to hear more about this, I'll happily use anything you want to make me, and you will let me thank you. First, I would like to hear more about your ascension? I did not know there would be trials, but then I know very little about what will happen tomorrow."

The room was huge as they entered, with three doors on each side they did not go near. Sitting in front of the largest fireplace she had ever seen. A strange, huge dog immediately trotted over to Tony. Leaving flashes of shimmering blue where it stepped. Tony sent a flicker of Black Fire before turning his attention to her whilst petting the giant dog. Nat honestly was not sure where to look, there was so much in this space, the walls were dotted with items she could get lost looking through, and that didn't include the Wards she could see weaved amongst everything. 

"Promise you will not tell James."

"He does want to know about what is going to happen?"

"I know, he has a… rough overview, but I don't want him stressing out too much before the day comes."

Nat raised an eyebrow, because whilst she understood… she did not imagine Yasha would not repay this in some way.

"You think him finding out on the day would be better?"

"For parts, yeah. I am stronger than I lead people to believe, the challenges are within my range. James will hear certain... aspects of the challenges, and they will weigh heavily on him. Least of all would be the covering of all of my Wardings, and that will concern him enough on its own."

"Covering them removes their power?"

"Not normally, chuck some mud at me and they will burn through. My old Mentor and I have been working on a Woad paste to paint over everything. It will remove them and their magic from the trials."

Nat tilted her head, because Tony had... a _ lot _ of Warding. She doubted there was much clean skin on him. More than she had seen on any other Fae so far. Her Queen had quite a lot, but it was not blue and was hidden by her clothing. A bright, shimmering white instead of the deep blue Tony sported. She knew her Queens Warding was an armour of a kind, which meant that Tony's Warding was a mixture of offence and defence. Tony rarely made an armour that was simply defence after all.

Also, that they were removing his Warding made her consider the reason as to _ why. _

"This Woad, it will not be the only thing to diminish your power, will it? This is why you are nervous of telling Yasha."

If it took her a few seconds to come to this conclusion, Yasha who knew so much more of Underhill and its ways would likely understand immediately.

"Yeah, there are three main trials, and then I will be tested to see if I can stand against the Queens. People can challenge me if they so wish, but that is rare and a formality, tradition that is upheld. That is the same for the Lower Courts and does occasionally happen because the challenger can take the Crown for themselves. Taking a Seelie Crown is more complicated. If someone challenges me and wins, they simply start the process anew with a new High Born Seelie Fae chosen by the Loci. Unless they are the next in line, they shall gain little for such a substantial risk.

"It is all in stages, before I will have to do something very magically strenuous to tax my endurance. Whilst under the influence of a strength altering concoction of some kind, and the entire shebang is conducted in a Warded circle, which cuts me off from replenishing my magic."

Nat leaned back. She understood now why he did not wish to inform Yasha. He would _ definitely _ worry, Nat knew that he was _ already _ worrying. That was with less… harsh details as Tony had informed her, even if he was shrugging in a relaxed manner.

"I see why you do not wish to tell Yasha. Know that he will kick you after. Hard. And then tackle you. What are these tests?"

Tony nodded and grimaced slightly. It was clear that he did not wish to dump this on him and she doubted Tony would have him flying entirely blind. He would likely know the structure, just not that it was a constant gauntlet Tony would have to survive. She suspected there was more too, that he trusted her with this information was almost overwhelming.

"The usual kind that we do so love down Underhill. Might, Magic and Mind. A fight with a highly skilled physical foe, then a magical foe. After that and the previous steps, I will be suitably drained when I am to summon my Loci to physically manifest within the circle. Then I must remain standing in front of the Queens. One at a time at least."

Nat blinked and attempted to calm her mind, because that seemed like a lot for a person to go through all at once. Let alone after being drained of his magical reserves with his Wards removed and strength diminished. She knew Yasha would not approve because she wasn't overly fond of it herself. The slow smile that crossed Tony's face made her think he knew. Tony had always been scary good at picking up on her tells.

Two people entered with an assortment of food whilst she was running this through her mind. She barely noticed them despite thanking them, or noticed Tony having a friendly conversation. Chatting away as if he were not to be pushed severely to his limits and forced to fight come morning. After they left, she couldn't help herself asking the question she was unsure she wanted the answer too. Nat had started to get a sense of Underhill since she had begun talking to her Queen, an understanding of the Fae, and there was one thing that immediately stood out.

"These battles, they are to the death. Aren't they?"

Tony shrugged whilst nodding as if it were nothing! Picking up a plate and stacking a few things on before getting stuck in. Nat _ knew _ he was not putting on a mask, because Fae emotions were not a purely internal thing she was beginning to learn. Tony's felt much different than her Queens. She was the wind that could shift and change from a brisk summer breeze to a violent tornado. Tony was all kinds of Fire. She could feel the ease and comfort coming from Tony, like a comfortable Fireplace in a home or a camping ground with people huddled close around it. This was Tony facing her, more so than ever before.

"Two people will be offered pardons from the Underdark if they can best me."

"Underdark?"

"Crime is a… tricky concept Underhill. For most it is handled in Court, for those not of a Court that break a law of a Court, that is where they will serve. The Courts have territories in many lands that Fae rule paramount, but that is still handled in Court. Certain crimes, certain people can fall under The Dienyddiwr. Underhills Executioner and Enforcer. Certain crimes, the… worst of the worse one could say. There is a place in the bowels of Underhill, deep below any stone to sheer unadulterated magic. Very dangerous. This is the Underdark. To be sent there… it is not something that is done lightly, and there are only two ways to leave the Underdark. The only way to do so and live is to win a challenge."

Well, that light case of the nerves had manifested into a full-formed tick. Tony seemed to notice, and he immediately picked up something that smelled of honey from the plate and offered it to her as he continued...

"This is not my first Trial by Underhill. This blade here? It took many seasons to collect each piece, some are very dangerous and to gather them I stood before different Loci of many Courts. I had to prove my worth to garner each piece. Forging the blade, the magic involved. It was nearly as dangerous as bonding with a Loci of the Lower Courts. Completing the Trials after to become Dienyddiwr of Underhill, and then all connected realms that wished for my blade were challenging. Each Court that I operate under had its own unique Trial; there are only two I refused to work for Underhill. Outside? There are over 900 realms currently under Fae control that requested I be Dienyddiwr of their lands. 

"I usually add a few more each season I am out of the cycles as I catch up on missed work. Rarely, if a job is severe enough, they will pull me early from a cycle. Only happened a handful of times, like I said, most is handled in-Court. It's the worst of cases, or Fae travelling to unclaimed lands where I usually get involved. So, you see, I am not worried. It is not the first time I have fought those of the Underdark. Even those Underhill underestimate me, many do not understand that I don't just use my Fire, I _ am _ it. Strip me bare of every magic I hold, but I am made of Fire.

Nat just blinked, because she was pretty sure she had stopped underestimating Tony by now. 

"What is… De..enuthor?”

That sounded like what he had mentioned before, Nat was unfamiliar with the language however and didn't know if she was misconnecting the names. She knew Tony was once a Lord, soon to be King, but she also knew that powerful Fae collected titles and with titles cane power. This one felt like a power that was familiar to her in a way she was not clear on yet.

Tony chuckled at her attempt to pronounce the word, unclipping the blade at his hip and laying it across his lap. It was strange looking. The sheath was wrapped in wire that morphed from ice, to something similar that she had seen in the walls, so Iron, to flowering vines. He drew the blade, and she was rocked under the sheer amount of magic that smashed across her senses. Hunger. Blinking the spots out of her eyes, she realised that blade hungered for blood and death. It was also as powerful as some Fae she had met. That was not a normal blade.

"It is dormant right now, waiting to be called when I am to fulfil my primary duties under this blade. When I wield this, I am both Executioner and Enforcer of my Domain. Many that dwell in the Underdark are there because I put them there."

That… had not been what she was expecting. It did settle something in her, however. Like her Queen, he was powerful and strong. She made a point that she should stop underestimating Tony, any who carried a blade such as that… is not a child at the concept of fighting to the death. It meant her heart would not be as vulnerable as she opened it up to him.

"I see why you are less concerned; I promise to sit on Yasha if I must."

"The Family will circle him; I have never seen them accept another so quickly. He even gets along with my brother! Which I am thankful for, he… he needs more people in his corner. People who can understand him. Most Courts Underhill seem to like James too; I just need to keep two away from him."

Tony clicked his blade away, and a dark look flickered across his face. This kind that would send chills at one who had earned such a look. Tony was like his blade in a way, his people were Reapers, but he was Death. Not a Death God, her Queen had introduced her to the person that held that role Underhill. 

No, Tony was not who waited for you to crossover. 

He was someone whose attention you would do best not to earn, he who took you across that line with a blade that hungers for blood and death.

"Brother? Are these the two you do not wish to work with?"

"Hmm, you might meet him. James wants to bring him out over the compound. You… I believe… will be good with him. Few could understand him like you and James. Yearning Heart and Final Word, two Courts I despise."

Nat nodded at the comment about Tony's brother, her mind working a mile a minute because there are few good things she and Yasha share that others would not.

"Yearning Heart? They're the creeps that chased me, right?"

"Hmm, yes. Their Court is devoted to exploring everything from pleasure, pain, madness and obsession. A land where nothing is given freely, everything drags you down. If a drop of water so much as touched your tongue within their borders, you will be bound and at their mercy. Many of those in my lands were freed from their depravity. A land of rot and needless suffering simply because they can inflict it, so they do. They enjoy stealing Fragile Creatures from other Courts, but they do travel the ways to bring people to their land. There is more prestige and challenge to steal from a Court than Earth. If they try again, show them your other wrist and think that you wish my mark to be visible. It will offer you another measure of protection. If that is not enough, my sister and I will have words."

She had known they were bad news. Her Queen had told her to be wary of those too interested in the band her Queen gave her when she claimed her. Nat had not thought that they would _ steal _ her.

Tony had never really been one for threats. He was one who promised. Somehow he made such a simple promise of having words carry the edge of sharpened steel.

"Steal me?"

"Hmm, many Courts bring Fragile Creatures over from Earth, and they are part of the Court. Usually lower down, as they often cannot command magic or garner much debt. Many are altered, which can change this and alter their station. Not all alterations are done with consent, not all that cross the ways do so because they wish. Many who consent do not understand what they are truly consenting to. Some Courts take people as children and alter them. I'm sure you know stories of children vanishing and dolls being left in its place. Sadly these are not myths.

"My Family, that we ask for consent before altering a human is seen as strange. New fangled thinking. To many Fae, humans are… pets. A beloved dog, or, an animal test subject. Thinking on how humans treat creatures lower than them for food or entertainment. To some Fae, that is what a human is. My people are capable of things that are blinding, shining examples of good, but there is always balance."

Nat shuddered thinking of that. She knew what humans were capable of. She had seen more than most could glimpse and remain sane. Humans could be rather awful; she imagines if they discovered a race of sentient beings who lacked something humans were expected in, that made them easy to control? They would do it in a heartbeat.

Fae were a few steps ahead in many regards. She knew that a rigid concept of good and evil barely applied to humanity, let alone a race such as the Fae. This was not a safe, cheerful land. Underhill was as wonderful as it was immensely dangerous. Yet, she understood what Yasha had mentioned when they had talked not long after her arrival. He felt at home here. No one looked at them as lethal weapons. There was a certain comfort in Underhill that wrapped around her, held her tight but did not trap or tether her.

"Considering what I know of what humans do to _ each other, _ let alone what the worst can do to animals or those they deem beneath them. That is… horrifying. Yet, I understand balance. I thought the Final Word were healers? I have only recently begun learning which Court is which."

Tony froze for a fraction of a second. Nat wouldn't have noticed had she not been paying such close attention to him. Wouldn't have noticed if he were more human at this moment than Fae, as magic and his emotions... rippled around him, as of there had been a disturbance of a kind.

Nat had not expected the _ Healers _ to make Tony freeze, and his emotions were still flickering around, her unlike back in the compound. She suspected his power increase to be at fault. So she felt a flicker of dread, horror and pain. Maybe she had misremembered, mixed the Court up with another?

"They are Healers, of a kind, but there are no laws on ethics within those walls. If there is a person they wish to study, they simply do. It is extremely hard to contest them, even if the person they choose is Fae, for example. Let alone the Fragile Creatures."

Nat nodded in quiet horror for two reasons. What humans had done without laws on ethics is enough to keep most people up at night, and second? Nat did not believe Tony's 'for example' was at random in the slightest. No. That felt personal.

"I can't imagine how bad that could be."

"It is why I refuse to raise my blade for them. Many in my lands come from The Final Word, not just humans either. Humans are little more than lab rats, others… well, if a person is different, Dian wants to know why. Every aspect. We have systems in place to stop him from keeping people too long now, I shelter and hide those he may target. We have a system in place to locate and get people here before he noticed through The Family these days, he fell out of favour when I was a kid. New magic or a sudden access to old magic is his favourite avenue of study, anything he does not understand; he _ technically _ has the authorisation to assess they are not a danger to Underhill. In any way he sees fit. I can affect change, but he is older than me and has laid groundwork I have spent most my life chipping away at."

Nat was gripping her plate a little too hard because it wasn't hard to infer what Tony was _ actually _ saying. Oh, he was being careful. Keeping it vague, not personal, bland voice. All about the people he had saved. His tone was a perfect level of detached, yet angry. Nat, however, she knew how to read between the lines, she knew how to read Tony. Which she was surprised to find was actually quite similar to his human guise. More confidence, that quiet strength and the dangerous, waiting lethality Tony had always carried was certainly amplified, there was more she recognised than she didn't. More she resonated with.

There was also the pain and unease she was projecting which when added to her new senses… well, it wasn't hard to put 2 and 2 together. Although she had a feeling that Tony was trying to stop that, it meant the power of them fluctuated, turning almost numb and then bursting through here and there.

Even if she didn't have precise details, Nat _ had _ worked out that Tony was _ different, _ why else would he need to build a wing into his castle so others could stay? He had mastered a magic from a metal that could kill his kin by proximity. She made a note to speak to Yasha. He may already know everything of course, but maybe… maybe he did not, and she knew what it was to carry something with so much attached pain, that it was awful for a person. Hard to admit, some days she still baulked at the idea that she was anything other than completely fine.

She was learning that keeping these things inside and to yourself, just ate at you from the inside. Tony, like her, would keep painful things inside and pretend they do not exist. Even to their own detriment because talking about it meant _ facing _ it. Meant exposing others to it. She had even begun speaking of the Red Room. Baby steps, it was hard to undo so many decades and training that demanded she hide everything but the masks. That she be pretty cagey about that too, can't have people knowing her masks too thoroughly. That taught her how to detach herself from her emotions and even her sense of self. That taught her to use everything for the mission and the mission alone. 

To keep _ nothing _ for herself because there was no self. No Natalia, no Natalie, no Natasha. Only a Black Widow, with a series of masks to use in order to meet the objective. Only a blank canvas on which to paint that which is needed to fulfil mission parameters.

Tony certainly would not open up to her. If she were anyone else, she likely would not have even made these connections. It seemed as if he was purely speaking of his people. Of those he protected. Her senses? They told her it was _ personal. _ Nat could see that further back, the start of this crusade and his driving need to protect, it started with him within the walls of the Final Word. It was as if she could see it, but she knows many would not. Wonders how long ago that was, how many people even remember.

Many would likely think he refused to work with them because of what he had done to many of his people, because of his bond to Earth. Or because he is against their practices, these are all true of course, but there is _ more, _ and that is personal. There was more than just anger there. 

For now, though, she needed to guide the topic elsewhere, something that would brighten the gold in Tony's eyes back up, away from this cloying, painful darkness that was so different to the beautiful darkness that had coiled around him as he drew magic from the wall. 

"They sound terrible. I will avoid them as much as I avoid the other creeps. Soon they will be gone from your lands, and you won't have to think of them bothering your people. It is still so strange, adjusting to a new dimension. Tell me something nice about Underhill?"

Tony tilted his head, thinking, and she was relieved to feel the heavy feeling dragging him down begin to lighten.

"There is a lot; Underhill is beautiful. Before we return, I plan on taking James to the edge if you wish to join us? I've been considering after everything calms down, maybe bringing more Avengers here. Make a holiday out of it. There will be no delegations in my land, I will close my walls, and James wants to expose Sam to things like Unicorns…"

Nat couldn't help cackling at that, oh they would have so much fun. She had only seen such a small amount so far, and it was mind-blowing! 

She prompted Tony to tell her stories of her Queen, of his travels. Yasha had told her when she arrived over dinner that Fae are natural storytellers. Seeing Tony light up telling her different stories and feeling it wash over her, she couldn't look away at some points. It was amazing. It did not take much prompting.

"Yasha tells me you enjoy stories and poems? Tell me some?"

She was warm in front of the fire, full of good food that made her feel things and a little wine that made her just a little tipsy, about as much as a few bottles of vodka. She learned her lesson not to swipe Tony's drink again.

"Any preference?"

"Surprise me."

Nat grinned, leaning back and tucking her toes under Tony's leg. Reminiscent of many movie nights with warm blankets and tasty snacks. She closed her eyes, and Tony's voice took on a new cadence somehow, the magic picking up around her and skittering across her skin. Smiling as he spoke, Nat had never dreamed to hope that she might repair her friendship, being able to feel his magic wrap around her whilst safe in his castle as they waited on the dawn. The dawn where he was to fight for his life? Yet, she had faith in him. Let them come, she thought. Let them underestimate him. Let them see his kindness and miss the pure Iron beneath.

"Well, a friend of mine who will be around tomorrow, Taliesin, he is a Bard, but he had a very interesting start to life, and it all began with a mother doing everything she could to help her son. Unlike her daughter Creirwy, who was beautiful and intelligent, the fairest in the land, Morfran was everything she wasn't—cursed and blighted. She tried and tried, but no magic could cure her son.

"Ceridwen wasn't one to give up, so with each failure she returned to her cauldron to try, try and try again. She started on a very labour intensive potion; it would take a year and a day to come to fruition. It needed to be tended to constantly, and only the first three drops would be of use."

"That sounds like an awful lot of work for something so small."

"Hmm, which is why Ceridwen had a servant boy, Gwion Bach, to stir the brew for a year and a day. You might imagine that a year and a day is more than enough time to get _ bored _. To grow tired of the never-ending tedium. 

"One day, after tending the brew so well for many hundreds of days, Gwion's attention faltered. 

"The fire burned too high, he was careless with his duty, and three drops splashed onto his hand. He put his hand to his mouth to stop the burning, and instantly he became bright, good-looking and capable of changing his shape.

"Ceridwen was known for much, her magic, her good deeds, her tireless dedication to her family, and in most significantly for Gwion right now, her _ temper. _

"So he fled, terrified of Ceridwen’s temper, and turned himself into a hare. To flee across the land."

Nat raised an eyebrow, wondering just how smart this potion made him that his first thought was to become a prey animal. Tony just smirked as he carried on, she had a feeling she would like Ceridwen.

"Ceridwen could change her shape too, of course. So she transformed herself into a hound, swift and sharp-toothed to put him down and tear him from his skin.

"As the hound grew close, determined to tear the boy who betrayed her son from the hare. The hare was just as determined to flee and live, so he suddenly turned and lept across a fast-paced river. Ceridwen believed she had caught him. No way could the hare cross such a river with a single bound; the fast-paced river was strewn with rocks and danger, it plainly spelt Gwion's death, except the second he touched the water, he transformed again.

"As a fish, he slipped into the rapids with ease and swiftly swam away! Unfortunately, Ceridwen was too close with eyes too keen. So as the Hare became a fish, the hound became an otter. With sharp claws to dig and tear Gwion free."

Nat was almost nervous to ask _how_ this led to the birth of his friend at this point… 

"The fish continued to speed along the river, the water picking up speed as they approached a waterfall. With the otter so close to his fins he knew he had to keep going, so he swam at full speed to the waterfall, letting the fast pace currents draw him faster, faster, and off the edge, as he left the water he transformed once more.

"A graceful bird hit the sky, to twist and dive and fly upon open skies to freedom. Again he underestimated the experienced shifter with a powerful grudge that forged her path onwards. Determined to shred the skin the boy was hiding in, so, as the graceful bird took flight, the otter watched and launched herself off the same waterfall. Powerful wings struck out, and the hawk gave chase in open skies. The bird was swift, but the mighty hawk was quickly gaining on him, with claws and beak sharp and ready.

"Glancing around in desperation, he plummeted down and down, dropping into a vast field of golden wheat, where he became a single grain, hidden amongst a swaying golden sea—hoping that the hawk would continue to search the skies fruitlessly for his form.

"A hawk with the intelligent mind and sharp eyes was not something to hope to trick, and now the grain could not run. So as the hawk dropped from the skies just as swiftly, she became a hen, and there was nothing he could do as she swallowed him down. But that is not the end, but rather a beginning.

"Nine moons later, she gave birth to a son. Her hand was stayed as she could not kill a child who shone with such beauty and grace. So she placed him within a leather bag and threw him into the sea. Luckily he was caught in a net belonging to a fisherman on the Dovey River. 

"The bag was then presented to a previously unlucky prince, who discovered the beautiful baby boy inside. He was named Taliesin. Meaning 'how radiant his brow is!' He became the most famous bard in the land and even spoke prophecies and songs to bring victory against the Saxons.

"Their Lord they shall praise,

Their language they shall keep,

Their land they shall lose –

Except wild Wales." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi to all the new readers we have picked up! Especially those who spent days catching up with us! And then I drop 21k in your laps 😅.
> 
> Talisen's story has a few different variations, and this was the first one I remember as a child plus my favourite piece written by him.
> 
> If you want a more concise, sung and totally awesome version of Ceridwen and Taliesin, then Damh The Bard does a really awesome one. It is different in a few places.
> 
> [Ceridwen & Taliesin - Damh the Bard](https://youtu.be/SsVlbOajqnc)
> 
> Oral history and passing stories through families always brings little variations. Writing it down myself is slightly different from the spoken word version as it's such a different medium it morphed naturally.
> 
> Anyway! I hope you guys enjoyed it, and the next chapter comes the new morning. James is not nervous. Nope. Definitely not nervous.


	77. Absolution from The Fairy King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Intermission from Underhill - Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooof, my pain jumped, and it's left me a bit fuzzy. It's made writing and editing tricky, but the next two chapters are almost ready to drop, they just need polishing.
> 
> So, we have another little intermission whilst I'm finishing it up.
> 
> I am alive, just still having trouble with my phone letting me on Tumblr without crashing and been doing lots of this boring resting thing.

**Peter POV**

"What do you mean 'It's just sat there', why? Why is it just _ sat _ there?!"

"How am I meant to know?! I'm looking at the same screen as you!"

Rocket glared at Peter who pointedly ignored him. They were all a little uncomfortable about this.

First, they thought they had found an empty ship they could possibly help… well. Help themselves to whatever they fancied, but _ help _ nonetheless. 

Then Gamora had taken one look at the ship and gone into that creepy still assassin mode. Which really hadn't helped matters, Rocket still wanted to board and hunt for goodies, Gamora was convinced it was a trap. Nebula was of the opinion that they should destroy it and move on.

Rocket was torn after hearing this, because now he really wanted to blow it up but not until he actually checked it out to ensure nothing was worth stealing. Their conversation was derailed as a thump made most of them jump. Gamora and Nebula didn't jump obviously.

"Eurgh, we caught something."

Everyone turned to the window as Rock scowled, and were stunned for a few seconds until Nebula broke the shocked atmosphere and started laughing.

"Someone got the upper hand of Maw. I wonder where the rest of him is?"

"Does this mean I can go and raid the ship now?"

  
  
  


It didn't exactly take long to dock and hack their way into Maw's ship. The man was telekinetic and had a nasty habit of using his telekinesis for _ everything _ possible according to Gamora. Including any systems on his ship he could, the tech itself was quite minimal in places to allow this, because it doesn't matter how powerful a telekinetic person is, they can't control hundreds and hundreds of different, tiny protocols at once, all the time. So, things were relatively simplistic anywhere telekinesis was used—complex where it wasn't. 

That was also why the ship was dead in the water. Maw was a component of his ship in effect, an essential component at that, which was now missing.

Well, not missing _ exactly. _

But he was torn into many pieces and floating in space. There was no sign of anyone else, but they kept long-range scans as they started systematically tearing down what they could, as quickly and efficiently as possible. Someone else could come by any minutes now and see a salvaging opportunity.

"I found my way into the security, but it somehow makes even less sense now I've watched what happened."

Rocket sounded irritated which actually got them to congregate faster.

"Something beyond your abilities then? Replay for us, and we'll help you out."

He dodged the wrench that was aimed in his direction, grinning as he set everything to reply. Checking the logs to see where the ship had been, maybe it would give them an idea on who floated Maw. 

A cold pit hit him when he realised where the ship had been.

"It seems Thanos made another play for the infinity stones of Terra. That is twice now; twice that planet has repelled him."

Gamora looked grim, because whilst it was impressive that a planet had pushed him back twice, it did not bode well for its future. The idea his Earth had won against a force sent by Thanos was wild enough, that they had done it _ again? _

"He believed Terra was no longer protected, looks as if someone has taken up his role. Though, Thanos never truly believed Black Scythe had died."

Gamora nodded, agreeing with Nebula as they watched Maw return alone, with an unconscious man. Strange enough, two went down, and one of Thanos' strongest children didn't return.

"Wait, what do you mean no longer protected? Who was protecting Earth? Who isn't dead? What kind of name is 'Black Scythe'? Is it intentionally creepy?"

"Reapers, and their Patron. Executioner Black Scythe. They all come from Terra."

Peter gaped slightly at that, oh he knew about Reapers. They were rare these days, most stories were old, but every now and then he would hear that word. Even Ravagers avoided Reapers. Even rumours of Reapers. He had not known they came from Earth! He didn't know Reapers had a Patron, whatever that was, and he was impressed the name Black Scythe could get even creepier. Adding _ Executioner _ to it definitely worked.

They were drawn back to the feed when a man dropped down from the shadows. A strange red cape flared out dramatically around him. Then things got really weird. Not just dropped down from the shadows… the _ shadows _ dropped down with him?

"There are Reapers on Terra once more, but where did they go?"

He frowned at that. Gamora had a point. The pods were attached; they were far too many jumps from Earth. This Reaper (which was so cool) and the strange dude, where did they go? He needed to read up on what few stories they knew about Reapers, controlling shadows was new to him.

_ "You are certifiable. You and Tony are utterly perfect for each other." _

Gamora glanced at Nebula, who tilted her head as if in consideration. The sisters were doing that thing where they had half the conversation in small gestures and expressive glaring again—leaving the rest of them not having a clue what was going on.

"It could be a coincidence."

Peter frowned, as the two sisters switched entirely to their silent conversation amongst themselves, rushing them never worked. Half watching the pair on the screen, who were reacting very calmly. Back when he had been on Earth, he didn't think humans were the kind to respond to alien abductions by smirking at each other and chatting calmly. Portals? How far had Earth come since he left? What were they talking about?!

"The first foray after the Space Stone. Led by an Asgardian and an army of Chitauri. Thanos knew one name as his armies burned before they even crossed the portal to the planet- Tony Stark. The man who destroyed most of his Chitauri Fleet and set him back in his plans. Long enough that he swore to find and kill Stark, personally."

Peter was pulled back to the screen. He knew some of that previous foray, who didn't? He hadn't known a single human had fried to Chitauri. Before he could comment on any of that, he was too busy listening to the bizarre conversation the two men were having. He was the only one gaping at what they were talking about now. Of course, no one else would know why what they were saying is ridiculous.

"Fairies? So, these guys are insane, and have read too many children's books."

"They do not seem to be discussing fiction."

"What does their conversation have to do with children?"

He really had no idea how to explain Fairy Tales to Drax.

"Fairies, they're, uh… kids stories. Stuff you tell kids before bed to help them sleep. Happy, pretty sparkly people from a different world that cross over and grant wishes and shit. I don't know. It's been a while since I was a kid on Earth. They aren't real, though. It's fiction."

He was saying that mostly for himself, because it _ was _fiction.

_ "What the fuck is that? What did you do?!" _

_ "I have no idea! I didn't do anything!" _

_ "It's centred on you… " _

_ "What do you mean it's centred on me?! Why is it centred on me? What is it? Make it stop!" _

_ "How are you even alive right now?" _

"This is where it gets weird."

Peter glanced down at Rocket, who looked like he had eaten something unpleasant and he was wondering why _ this _was where it got weird. It was already weird! The cloak seemed to be alive; one of them could control shadows! That was before they started talking about kids stories!

_ "That's impossible. No way does he have enough power to reach you here. We're in space for Vishanti's sake! From the stars outside, we are nowhere near Earth! What is he even doing? Trying to send a message?" _

_ "No. He isn't sending a message. He's coming here. Right now!" _

_ "Don't be absurd, James. I know he has a habit of doing impossible things rather often, bu-" _

_ "If anyone can come here and bring us home, it's him! You know it, since when does Tony do anything by the rules?" _

_ "I'm not sure I want to know what he blew up to get that amount of sheer energy." _

"We should find this Tony. He could be an ally if what they say is true."

Peter was kind of torn. Going to Earth? Yeah, he wanted to see what had happened to his old stomping ground. Looking at these strange people, he wondered just how much Earth had changed since he was taken.

Nothing prepared them for what happened; next, all bar Rocket jumped at the sudden conflagration of Black, Blue and White Fire that just _ appeared _where the pair were looking. As if they expected it.

"Why can't you do that?"

Gamora answered Rocket, which was good because he had no idea that humans could control shadows, let alone explode out of strangely coloured Fire.

"Because Peter is human. The Patron of the Reapers is not, although Thanos never found out what his species was. One of his allies is of a species close to Black Scythe, but even he did not give much information away."

The man looked bizarre, and not what he expected for Fairy King. Although Peter didn't quite know what a Fairy king would look like. Covered in strange tattoos, with Blue Fire burning bright and got at the centre of his chest with odd, golden eyes apparently.

_ "No. I am DubhMáel. We must leave now and return to Earth. I cannot replenish our Fire until we return. You are not safe here, where is Ebony Maw?" _

_ "Creepy magic casting alien?" _

_ "That would be an apt description." _

_ "Dead." _

This time Gamora looked confused, and Nebula froze.

"He looks different from what I was told. He has changed much since gaining his freedom. I always preferred his stories."

So this wasn't the guy?

"I am so confused right now."

"The Patron of Reapers was once captured by an Ally of Thanos a very long time ago, long before our time. Thanos told me as a child of Molaich's pet Weapon. He was envious of the destruction DubhMáel and Scythe wrought in his hands. And the sheer carnage left when they freed themselves. I remember that he had Blue Fire in his chest. After finding freedom, however, Thanos tried to recruit the two souls in one form."

Right. So, we have a Fairy King, who is two people in one body and is also a weapon.

"I am guessing that didn't go well."

The withering glare he got from Gamora didn't hamper him. 

"Many Children of Thanos have died at the hands of Reapers. And the same could also be said in reverse. Whereas Thanos feigns a choice, many said if you chose to leave a field of battle, Scythe would not pursue you, only if you are truthful. DubhMáel however, would hunt until everyone was dead. Maw claimed to have killed 3 Reapers, but not in our time."

He was still confused about all of this. He definitely needed more information.

"None of us knew how old that creep was. I doubt he killed as many as he claimed. He even claimed to have met the Scythe."

Gamora snorted which showed how much she believed that and Nebula didn't seem convinced.

"Many of Thanos' children claimed to have felled many Reapers and to have met Scythe. Whilst the first may be true. The latter is less likely."

"Uh, why?"

"Because Scythe gives you a choice, he always gives you a choice. Thanos tells us of this choice when he first takes us and tells us over and over until we know what to answer with."

Peter was definitely starting to feel like he shouldn't have asked this question with the matching stillness the sisters had fallen into. Everyone knew life as Thanos' daughter was not a good time, heck, it wasn't even a lousy childhood. It was hell, competition and constant death. Threats of your own or the murder of countless innocents. But he missed the edge of what felt like brainwashing and once again found himself blown away with Gamora and Nebula's strength to come out of that wanting to kill Thanos.

"Scythe will always give us the chance to walk away. To abandon Thanos. It is his way."

"Wouldn't that be easy to trick, like, you could just say, sure! And then turn back around… go back to Thanos?"

Gamora shrugged, there was a healthy dose of respect written across her features and an edge of fear. Not something Peter was accustomed to seeing, especially for an individual she had never personally met.

"He _ knows. _ Thanos always told us that he _ knows. _ He knows where we'll walk, where we'll land, whether we lie about abandoning him. Scythe serves The Balance, the same balance Thanos claims to protect. It was these stories that first made me wonder, that seed of doubt. That if Thanos truly served This Balance, then shouldn't he have the same gifts?"

Watching the three men on the screen vanish into another conflagration of tricoloured fire, didn't help his general feeling of 'what the fuck?' Also, Thanos's version of bedtime stories was slightly terrifying, but then that wasn't really a shock.

"That's it. Not a thing till we boarded."

"Looks like we're going to Terra."

Rocket grumbled at Gamora's declaration, but he was clearly interested in the strange humans, no matter what he claimed. They split up to finish tearing down everything they wanted. 

"Are you sure about trying to track this guy down?"

"We no longer serve Thanos. If the stories are true, then he will not kill us."

"Well, that's comforting."

Peter took a copy of the surveillance and then wiped everything. Rocket was going to blow the joint when they left, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

His home planet seemed to have enough problems lately, letting people follow their trail would be stupid.

  
  
  


He was not nervous.

Why would he be nervous?

He had his feet up, music playing and he was going home. Which was... good?

No reason to be nervous.

Mantis was hovering around him, so he knew the mess in his brain was not limited to himself. For her sake, he tried to straighten out his thoughts. He just… never thought he would actually be _ heading _ home. 

Thanos had two stones, and??? from what he could tell _ Earth _ had two stones. They didn't know where the Space stone was, and Gamora at least thought the Soul stone was safe for now. His planet had two freaking infinity stones. The backwater everyone mocked had collected 2 of the most powerful objects in the universe, by accident, and had repelled Thanos. _ Twice. _

He talked about Earth all the time, but he had never thought about actually _ going _ there.

And since when had Earth been the place freaking _ Reapers _ came from? Why had no one mentioned this before? Also, he was wondering when guys who walked in Fire, lived for thousands of years and made Gamora nervous yet hopeful came from his planet.

The hope was painful to look at.

She didn't say it, and she didn't have to. She stayed up telling him stories of Black Scythe and his Reapers and Peter, well, he is smart at hearing the story that the person doesn't say. He watched the video several times, looking for… Something. To prove or disprove these stories of Black Scythe were connected with these men that spoke of Fairy Tales, had pet cloaks and controlled shadows. The only mention of a scythe was on the _ claiming band _ the Reaper wore. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make Peter start thinking this was real and not just bedtime stories for children.

Sure, Gamora wants to meet this… man? Or if the guys on the videos were right… Fairy? Which really made him wonder about the Fairy Tales he heard as a kid. He would have been way more interested if they were of Reapers and a man carrying a Black Scythe, laying waste to those who threaten the universe versus sodding clapping to keep Tinkerbell alive or something.

There was also the fact he was an adult being who lived on a spaceship, being asked to believe in _ Fairies _ , and _ no one _on the ship understood how ridiculous it was!

Anyway, he was getting off-topic in his own head. Gamora and her Fairy King, she wanted an ally, sure, they all did. But that wasn't why she wanted to go to _ him. _ At least it wasn't the only reason. The other reason was just too Disney for his brain to deal with right now.

If the Fairy King gave Thanos' Children a choice. Leave and walk free, stay and die. That meant that he _ knew _ if a person had turned their back on Thanos. He knew somehow, via his magical Fairy powers. (Seriously, what has his life become?)

Gamora knew she had, and she hated Thanos. She wanted him dead, heck, she wanted to kill him herself! Yet, her past weighed heavily on her, and that's what she was searching for. 

Absolution.

From a Fairy King.

She thought this guy could look into her somehow, and _ see _ she was trying to right the scales of her actions as Thanos' daughter. Peter honestly was wondering when his life had turned into a goddamned Fairy Tale or Disney movie.

It was meant to be a Space Opera dammit, and the genre mash-up was disconcerting on multiple levels.

The primary issue right now was that he was an _ adult _ human being asked to believe in _ Fairies. _

Tinkerbell would be so fucked right now and whilst he might be a Peter, he was not Pan.

Blinking, he focused on the little blue dot, far, far away, but closer than he had been since 1988. His planet. Something that was static in his mind, always there, a stalwart paradigm in his mind. Never changing. Utterly sane. No aliens. No weirdness, just _normal_ _humans_ doing their _normal human_ thing. No matter how weird life in space got, he could think to Earth and just know it was just _Earth_.

But now it wasn't.

Now there was magic. Now there were _ Fairies. _

Men who controlled shadows with a wave of his hand, men with metal arms and strange blue symbols inked into his skin. Who could be abducted by Aliens and act totally cool about it? Not just any aliens, Thanos' children. Who was possibly dating a Fairy King? (Well he supposed that apparently took a lot of balls that battling Aliens was less drastic?) Who talked about being claimed to be _ safe _in what he guessed was Fairyland. Like it was no big deal! The little he heard in that conversation… if these Fairies were real, how had humans fucked up their perception that badly?! 

Men called Black Silk. Apparently. Or maybe the translator wasn't working. He didn't recognise that language.

Men who could summon portals, had cloaks that were _ alive. _ Who went from being tortured to sarcastic quips in less than a second whilst dressed really breaking weird. Who were friends with Fairy Kings? Yeah, he might be caught up on that, so sue him, his thing was Space. Space was weird, but there weren't Fairies in space. The guy wore a damned infinity stone around his neck. Who _ does _ that!? Why are _ humans _ doing that? Why is the _ infinity stone _ allowing a _ human _ to turn it into _ jewellery? _

So much about that tiny conversation was crazy, and it wasn't just the people appearing and vanishing into strangely coloured Fire. Yet, only he saw it, because the others, they didn't really know Earth. They knew bits and pieces, but they didn't know Earth. They knew the backwater of Terra that no one visited because why would you?

Staring at that blue dot, thinking about everything he had learned in such a short little security video.

Peter wondered if _ he _knew anything about Earth,

He had always been the human in space, and it defined him in a way.

So why did he feel more like an alien visiting the isolated backwater Terra? 

Than a human going home?

  
  
  


His thoughts were derailed when a hail came through. He frowned as he moved it to a channel they could assess, he hadn't been expecting anyone. They were close to Earth, sure, he could see it on the long-range sensor. That's what started this whole _ introspective _ thing he had going on, which sounded better than freaking out. 

He was also thinking about Fairies and writing the plot of Gamora's Disney movie in his mind. 

Peter wasn't sure if he was happy for the interruption really. Sure, he wasn't exactly enjoying the sudden downturn his thoughts were taking there, but it was also interrupting his scriptwriting.

They were also nowhere near close to Earth for them to have spotted them. It was concerning if there were others coming to Earth, were they trying to beat them to it? Were they friendly? Were they friendly to Earth but not to them? Was this Thanos' third attack on Earth? 

He really needed to sleep, Peter rubbed his face, acknowledging he was nearing manic levels of tiredness as a young woman with an interesting accent suddenly spoke to him. Oh yeah, the hail. 

"Please identify yourself."

"Uh, hi, I'm Starlord."

"Your current trajectory shows you are heading in our direction. What is your business with Earth, Starlord?"

Peter's eyebrows shot up as he sent an alert to gather anyone who was awake. They hadn't expected this. Not so soon. No way could they know where they were; they were nowhere near Earth! Sure Earth might have Fairies, Reapers and dudes with sentient clocks, but their tech was not up to space travel. _ No way. _

"I'm actually from Earth! Thought I'd pop back home, sightsee, you know? Stomp the ol' stomping grounds. Kick the dirt. Dance in the streets."

The young woman didn't seem overly impressed, and Peter was slightly confused that the hail hadn't opened up a video. There were capabilities for it, and wow Earth was way more advanced technologically than he had even considered. The time capsule in his mind, the Earth that was the same as it had been in 1988 had grown up, and he did not know what to do with that information.

"Be that as it may, our scans have shown you are carrying several pieces of a previous hostile ship that entered our airspace, and we would like to know your allegiance."

Peter was unsure what to do about that. Rocket looked impressed. Peter hadn't known Rocket knew how to be impressed as Gamora sat down next to him. He didn't even know when or how they had been scanned. Rocket jumped into the conversation as Peter was slightly distracted by desperately scanning for what had scanned them and came up with zip. That wasn't disconcerting.

"That's because we hate those guys and took apart their ship."

"We are enemies with Thanos and have come to speak with Stark."

Gamora added on to Rocket, always quick and to the point. There was a heavy, silent pause; yet nothing halted them, so they continued heading towards Earth. Although with a little more caution than they had just moments ago. 

"Terra is meant to be a backwater."

Their screen flickered, and they were faced with a stern-looking young man. Who looked pissed off and Peter wondered what they'd done. The nice, yet unimpressed woman had been much more friendly. Well, he assumed she was, but then she didn't frown at him with that gaze that made him feel like he'd been dragged to the principal's office.

Possibly that he had heard Rocket call their planet a backwater. That wasn't a great start.

"I will give you coordinates for where you are to wait as we pass information about your arrival. Now that's sorted. What do you want with Tony?"

Ah, so, this person knew Stark. Well, that certainly streamlined things.

"Nothing bad! To help him? We're the Guardians of the Galaxy and oppose Thanos and all he stands for. We found Maw's ship, saw what happened."

Peter fought the urge to squirm. No one really made him feel like that. What was it with this guy?

"You saw what happened and… you just decided to come and visit?"

"Well, yeah, not often you see someone like Maw get royally trounced before three men explode into fire."

Gamora elbowed him, and he shrugged helplessly. He hadn't slept in 26 hours which officially meant his brain-mouth filter had been disengaged.

Somehow, and Peter was not going to look too closely, it worked?

The stern-looking man relaxed slightly and shot them a quick, sharp smile.

"I knew the next aliens were going to be friendlies. You guys have just earned me quite the debt. Tony is off-world at the moment, but he should be back soon. The coordinates will bring you to a place known as The Avengers Compound. We're just clearing the way for you. Just to warn you, if you are lying, we might be a _ backwater, _ but this team was put together by Tony, we've had quite the few hostile alien experiences lately, and every single one of them was repelled with extreme prejudice."

Peter just blinked as the video cut off and information came through about where they were heading when they approached Earth, including what to do if anyone else hailed them.

Not only had his home changed with Fairies and Reapers, but humans were apparently as effortlessly terrifying as Gamora now. Peter had no idea what to do with this information but thought that maybe he should sleep on it.

Sleep was good, and maybe things would be less crazy when he woke up? 


	78. Of Crowns and Tables Pt1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of Crowns and Tables  
Part 1 (of 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ever so late! Longer explanation below, but basically I have new neighbours who are causing huge problems. I wanted to finally get this up as I have been proofing it forever. I may come back and tweak if my head clears more, but I wanted to get this up for you guys. Thank you for bearing with me!

**Of Crowns and Tables**

**Part 1**

**James POV **

Tony opened the door to their rooms, and James grinned as he immediately started checking to see what his Mother and Aunt had done to him— which was of course, safely hidden beneath a glamour. They waved goodbye to Nat and Tony practically dragged him to the sofas, not that he put up much of a fight. Whilst Tony might not be nervous about what was going to happen after the sun came up, James  _ was,  _ so he was happy that neither of them had anywhere to be for a while. No one to speak to, no interruptions.

"Never give Faerie Queens carte blanche when it comes to getting all fancied up."

It was kind of worth it to see Tony practically giggling at the idea before he curled up against his side. James was really trying not to be nervous. He knew that Tony wasn't worried about the whole process itself, that it was what came  _ after _ that had him pressing close and tucking himself beneath his chin. Tony's hair was only in a simple, single braid and James knew that someone in his family would be changing that, so he felt perfectly fine undoing it and running his fingers through Tony's curls to settle his nerves. To calm his own nerves too, it was relaxing.

Plus, it had become a whole  _ thing _ that they did now, anytime they returned to their rooms to spend some time alone, the first thing he did was unwind his and Tony's hair from their wild arrays of intricate designs. Both of which had gotten progressively more complex the longer they had been Underhill. Tony's Aunt had joked that the first time in several millennia Tony was actually agreeable to whatever they planned instead of fleeing and they put it all down to him. They didn't even need to chase him down anymore; he sought them out.

James hadn't known there was such a huge change, sure there were hundreds of jokes about Tony dodging The Family when it came to dressing for Court, but he had seemed quite willing for them to fancy up his hair in his experience. Turned out this was entirely new behaviour. No bribe had ever worked half as well as having James undo their hard work after they had returned to their rooms apparently. He had quickly found himself in a similar position after Tony's Aunt had realised he was tying his hair back and that disastrous first attempt at braiding his own hair, that will never, ever be discussed again. She appeared at random times now to make his hair look ridiculously fancy. He was getting better at braids too, all that practice undoing them maybe.

"Well, I could have told you that, darling. What compelled you to say such a ridiculous thing? To  _ two _ Faerie Queens no less? Surprised I got you back at all."

James had utterly underestimated how bonkers Fae were when it came to their hair, and clothes. He had thought he had a good idea, and once again, he was very  _ wrong. _ It was going to be weird when they returned to Earth. He was actually considering keeping the new length and even the styles he could kind of replicate. Already, just the idea of wandering around the compound with his hair loose felt odd, in such a short period of time. 

"Well, they just… they seemed so  _ happy, _ and they were enjoying themselves. So, I thought, what's the worst that could happen?"

"This is why you're the new Family favourite. You made them very happy. I can tell. Which makes me very happy. So, what happened? And you do realise the chances of them appearing at your door back on Earth have now increased, by at least tenfold. The rest of the Family might begin turning up too, whilst they might not all be Queens and Kings of Underhill, they are a varied bunch. Hela still insists she adopted me, but she's always been interesting. Part of my job means my main experiences with other Realms is via their Death Gods and Goddesses. I call them my work Family."

James blinked a few times. Intellectually he knew Tony's work took him to other Realms. Death's Merchant was a title that carried over many realms, and that meant he knew a lot of Death deities. Sure, he knew that in theory, in practice, yeah, James had no idea what to do with the prospect of Death deities from other pantheons giving him a shovel talk. 

A shovel talk from a powerful being of Death was much scarier than what most people had to deal with—he decided to put a pin in that terrifying revelation.

"I think I have tried on more clothes in the last few hours than I have in my entire life.  _ Entire _ shops worth of clothes. Warehouses worth. Where did they get so many clothes that fit me?! If magic hadn't been involved along the way, I'd be passed out from exhaustion. At least for the hair, I didn't have to move."

Tony was shaking slightly as he was chuckling; he had also succeeded in practically wrapping himself around James. It had been fun in places, although he really did wonder where all the clothes came from. They weren't all glamours, and a lot had felt similar to the stuff that had been appearing in his section of the wardrobe since they first arrived. Just much, much fancier and not Warded by Tony. Not even only Warded by Tony's mother or Aunt. He had recognised at least eight distinct Warding styles.

"Do I get to see the fruits of their labour?"

"Of course, they said you could see under one condition."

Tony leant back so he could see his face and then tilted his head in question. Slightly suspicious and yet curious, which was a very Fae look just as the facial expression that James saw as the definition of mischief. No one should be legally allowed to be a thousands of years old, very powerful Faerie King, and look so adorable.

"Dare I ask?"

"I don't think it's so terrible. And I do think that I look pretty awesome."

"I imagine the pay-off is worth it too, you always look stunning Cariad, go on. What do the Family want of me?"

"As long as you allow Mab and your Mother to do your hair, you can remove the glamour."

"Well, I figured they were just going to kidnap me, tie me down and do my hair anyway. I suppose, for you, I can sit and behave. That is rather tame for them. I would have expected an inclusion for fancying me up after."

The idea of Tony sitting and behaving during what he just experienced was rather hilarious. However, he had much less to sit through, which was for the best. Tony just had too much energy to be able to sit still for protracted lengths of time, unless he was constantly distracted.

Tony tilted his head, eyes moving quickly as he was looking for things James suspected were not visible with human eyesight. It was barely a few seconds before running his fingers across James' forehead. The glamour rippled slightly at Tony's touch as he followed something down to his neck, lightly skimming his fingers across his skin. James had no idea how to remove someone's glamour, but he knew Tony had quite the knack for it according to his Aunt. 

Glamours, even from Tony's Aunt, generally, were Fae magic. She may be resistant to Iron, but most glamours were not. There were glamours in several magical paths of course. Still, Fae glamours were the most powerful in the magical community. It was something that came naturally to most Fae and was practically associated with them.

That the glamour placed on him currently sat over the amount of Iron that she had added to his hair alone, which was honestly quite impressive, it also meant the glamour was more vulnerable. Tony, being so tied to Bane, had a knack for removing glamour's from people, especially now he literally was becoming Bane, that ability had likely strengthened. His Mother had told him Tony would do this rather than ask his Aunt to remove it for him. 

Removing a person's glamour was pretty complex in Fae society. On a base level, it was rude. Unless you had permission, then it was a challenge. Or it could be a gift, and the glamour was like wrapping paper. It was a sign of strength to tear a person's glamour away, a weakness for your glamour to be so weak, a puzzle to be solved and picked apart, a sign of trust or even a punishment… it was as ridiculously complicated as the Fae themselves. Hundreds of different circumstances led to varying meanings of glamours themselves or their removal.

"There it is."

"There what is?"

"A full glamour, like what you are wearing wraps around you, but it always starts and ends somewhere. I can see the joints of most glamours, especially my Families. It's bright… here. Some people hide their joints under other glamour's, but the thicker the glamour, the easier I can see it. Something I've had a knack with after I bonded with the Fire, before that I couldn't see anything."

He tapped his forehead gently, which was precisely where Tony's Aunt had tapped him to set the Glamour in place just before he left.

"Which is likely where she placed it. Then, I can follow this joint until I find a weak point, which is… here. I assume they added iron to your hair? The glamour is denser in this area and where it wraps around the thinner glamour is a perfect location for unravelling a glamour. Then it's like a loose string on a wool jumper. Where I can pull, I like this method. I have a few... less pleasant variants. Back when I used to attend Court functions some idiot would usually pester me, if they annoyed me enough I would either shatter their glamour or I would tear it from them. Very flashy, quite the show to put on."

Tony followed the joint to his neck again as James wondered what that would look like. Then his skin tingled slightly, leaving him breaking out in goosebumps as the glamour slowly fell apart around him, shimmering and leaving a pile of red and yellow rose petals at his feet that caught his attention. He picked a few up to have a look before he realised Tony was actually speechless. Maybe giving them carte blanche wasn't such a bad idea, he might have to give them a gift in thanks actually from the look on Tony's face. He couldn't help grinning. It wasn't often he saw Tony like this.

They had lengthened his hair somewhat, not as long as Tony's but it easily passed the middle of his back now. Just a few inches shorter than Tony's. A good few years of growth in a few seconds. His Aunt had demonstrated on her own hair which was practically to her knees now, she had also done the bulk of work on his hair, as Tony's Mother couldn't handle iron, at all. She couldn't even put her hand within a few inches of his hair now.

James had no idea what exactly they did to his hair, he had been watching it happen, and he saw the finished product, but he had no clue. If he hadn't seen them do it by hand, he would swear it was magic. There were several loose braids on each side that seemed pretty reasonable, he had followed those quite easily, then there was the one in the middle, which was insanely complicated and James couldn't even guess at how many strands were involved. He thought braids had three parts, he was sure that had more than ten, and it started at the top of his head. It was kind of terrifying.

They hadn't gone as overboard as he had expected, given the carte blanche, sure there was more metal in his hair than he had ever experienced, but he had seen far more in Tony's. He had expected to end up with metal in his hair at some point before they returned home, that and a number of other things. It was mostly the dark, black iron Tony wore now, with occasional bright flashes of Underhill silver. He actually found himself liking how it looked, even if he had no chance of replicating it.  _ Ever.  _

"So, what do you think? Or do I need to go back?"

"Definitely not letting you go back."

Tony very gently ran his fingers over the braid, the iron warmed as he passed and it took a few minutes for Tony actually to pull his attention to anything else. His Mother had painted some woad on him, not permanent like the Wards they used, but it was also painted on for decoration, here and there as a similar match for Tony's. Just the stripe across his eyes and the septagram. When he had eventually got a mirror, he noticed the woad made his eyes look closer to silver then the grey/ice blue he was used to. It was startling how much of a difference it made. Both of his arms had some Woad designs worked into it, the Woad on his left arm was much lighter to that on his right, letting it show up on the black Reaper metal. He didn't understand some of it, but he recognised symbols of Iron, Autumn and Spring in more than a few locations.

"I might have to give my Mother and Aunt a gift. I had not expected this. Rydych chi'n hyfryd, gwyched.." <You're beautiful, gorgeous..

"Good surprise?"

He was pretty sure it was a good surprise, Tony was pretty blown away, and James was feeling quite happy and smug over his reaction, plus, Tony rarely switched languages like that unless he was so wholly and utterly stunned that he forgot to use English. 

It certainly made his foray into becoming a Disney princess and getting gussied up by his fairy Godmothers worth it. Rhodes was going to have a field day if he found out.

His clothing wasn't that different to what he had seen Tony and his mother wearing, although it was a similar dark grey to Tony's newer clothing than the previous black and sported black and silver Warding. James guessed the iron Warding was from Tony's Aunt. The silver was from his Mother. It was a different style to anything he was familiar with on earth, short-sleeved, soft and very comfortable. His cloak was the one Tony had Warded for him and was currently tossed back over his left shoulder. He also had on pretty much everything Tony had made. He'd like to see those jackassess from Yearning Heart come after him now. He was practically wrapped in Bane.

"Very, very good surprise. Do I need to go to this thing, because now I just want to stay here."

"Yes Tony, you have to go, you're pretty integral to the whole event. But we do have some time before we have to leave and as much time as you want after."

"Hmm, I suppose I can be encouraged to behave, I have something you can add to your outfit too."

Tony had barely moved away and was still pressed close to him, so when he summoned whatever he was after, Black Fire jumped and rippled around him.

"That will never not be awesome."

Tony grinned and then handed a sword to him. He hadn't expected that and then he had assumed it was one of Tony's, until it was in his hands and it floored him. The scabbard was black leather and looked very simple until you saw the layers and layers of complex back iron Warding wrapping around it in twisting, weaving patterns. The hilt was a length to be held one-handed by the looks of it, with no guard and it was very similar to a shashka overall, just with a few changes here and there. The scabbard actually went past the hilt, leaving only the pommel visible at first. It was slightly hooked in shape, a bright silver on one side, that James suspected was Underhill silver, and black iron on the other, a thin stripe of white and black Atronarch separated the two. 

"This… this is mine, isn't it?"

"Of course, I finished up sharpening and the last bit of Warding on the scabbard before Natka turned up."

He couldn't not draw it really. The hilt was Iron Wood; he felt it immediately as he drew the blade. The stripes of Atronach continued through the wood and were carved with Wards so small it was tricky to make them out when he was holding it in front of him.

The blade didn't look simple. No Black Reaper blade looked  _ simple, _ but there was a lot of magic hiding in this blade. He could feel the potential of many of the Wards already. He suspected there would be more too. The blade was single-edged, on the other side from the pure white tip until it faded to black, about a third of the blade was also sharpened as a false edge. He recognised his own personal Ward on the blade just beneath the hilt. The one Tony carved into any of his practise blades. Rhodes was filled with Underhill silver on his Reaper Blade, James' looked like silver, but he had a feeling that it was brightly polished iron to an almost mirror finish. He was starting to get a feel for Iron and Silver and could mostly tell them apart now.

James understood what Rhodes had been going on about now. It was so different from any blade that he had held before, even the loaned Reaper blade from Tony. That blade had been happy to work with him. This blade  _ was _ him. He could feel his Black Fire inside of it, as well as Tony's three different Fires, burning brightly at its core. It didn't matter how much like metal a Reaper blade was, it was Fire. No wonder Magneto or Cull Obsidian had such problems with it. James had thought that the swords were actually metal, just with an odd source. Holding his blade, he now knew that it had been Fire, it was Fire, and it would always be Fire, and that was why they were so dangerous in a Reapers hand. As all Reapers were beloved, bound and blessed by Fire.

It was a part of him, and it felt like something had been missing until this moment, he knew no one could take this from him lest they be burned and that it came from Tony, made it even better. He knew the only way he could thank Tony was to snag his arms in advance with a hug, so he was mostly pinned. Otherwise, he would immediately cover his mouth.

"This is amazing.  _ Thank you, _ Tony, This is beautiful, and you put so much into it, even though things have been insanely busy."

Tony spotted what he was doing when he realised James had pretty much caught him in place. Sure Tony was stronger than him, but that didn't mean he would use that strength against him, so he ineffectually tried to move and get out of his grip whilst James was pretty sure he wasn't trying to go very far at all. Which was very amusing to watch.

"Well, I wanted you to have your Reaper Blade, of course I was going to make time for it. It's important for you to have."

James grinned and wondered if the real reason Tony was so adamant about people not thanking him was that he went bright pink and started stammering before promptly hiding his face against James' neck after he gave up attempting to wriggle free.

"I think I need to thank you more often, that was adorable."

He chuckled, and Tony grumbled slightly, but he could feel him smiling still.

"I am not adorable."

"Well, you obviously haven't seen yourself after being thanked."

Tony huffed, and James got barely a second of warning as Tony stilled and shifted before pouncing, a warning he missed because he was too busy laughing, which left him getting flattened and Tony practically lying on top of him. Not that he was complaining.

"If this is punishment for thanking you, I have to say. I approve of your methods."

"You are terrible."

"Hmm, oh so terrible that you're using me as a pillow?"

James shifted slightly to get more comfortable lying down on the sofa and Tony grumbled yet easily moved with him and was pretty firmly wrapped around him. His grumbles didn't even last long after James slipped his hand into his hair again, if Tony were a cat, he'd be purring.

"I know you're limited on what you can wear later, but are you limited to just the trousers or anything else?"

Tony glanced up, tilting his head as he thought about it. James knew that Tony was still keeping certain details for what was going to happen later quiet, and while he will probably be dying for that information later, right now he was fine just getting to be. He had Tony curled up against him that was all that was important right now.

"I can wear some jewellery, as long as it does not add to my strength, magic or abilities in any way and it is from someone close to me. Mother made me this. It is Warded, but they're family binding Wards, not combat orientated. Anything that will not directly help me during the trials is accepted."

He had an extremely complicated thick bracelet of a sort, made of Warded links around a black stone, not too different to what James had in mind. His Aunt and Mother told him that it was fine, but he didn't want to get Tony in trouble with something so important. The main reason he had been willing to sit as they did the insane braid was because he had been finishing Warding the Serch Bythol piece that he had had help from Tony's Mother in its construction. It had been tricky to Ward it, and the Wards were definitely tiny. There were freaking 12 pieces in his discard pile, no matter how impressed Tony's mother was or how much she claimed he was a natural when it came to Ward etching, it had been a laborious process. He had a small amount of Fire on each side too. He had asked some of the Blue Fire from the castle and his own Black Fire on the other side. 

The Wards were a mixture of the claiming Wards they had on their swords and some that he had designed to tie them together. Tony's Mother had actually been impressed with the design too, so he figured he did good even though it was his first go at creating Wards. First time Etching Wards too, James was always the jump in the deep end kind of person.

"Think you can wear this?"

Tony extracted himself from his neck, and James pooled the necklace in his hand. The chain was a good side, and he had made it with a mixture of silver and iron that he had gotten from Hetaris sneakily on one of their trips, he was so lucky that he had some help because he definitely could not have made this himself, a few people had helped him work with the metal, so it was still him creating it, but with lots of help. He was quite impressed with himself too. It was worth it because Tony sounded all soft and shocked.

"Yeah, I can definitely wear this."

"It isn't as detailed as the one you made for me b-"

James didn't get much further before Tony practically hurled at him and was cut off by a kiss. Not that he was complaining, of course, grinning like an idiot maybe, now he understood why Tony liked making people things so much, plus it meant that Tony was going into this wearing something of his. So he would be alone, as he was required, but just like the gift from his Family, it was so that Tony knew that he was not  _ truly _ alone.

  
  
  
  


So, James was a little anxious. 

Just a  _ tiny _ bit. (Okay, a lot.)

This whole not being anxious about the Ascension thing had been much easier when he had had Tony in his arms. When he was close, and he could touch him. When he could feel him through the claim and through the Fire. Now? All he had was cold static that made him dizzy anytime he nudged it in his mind. James didn't like it. His Fire felt colder. It mixed with the cold, bitter pit of worry that sat heavy in his gut and combined with the tension that had been slowly building. It didn't help that he couldn't even feel where Tony was anymore. It had him on edge and, well, he just felt damned lonely. He hated that he couldn't help, that he couldn't do  _ anything. _

Mab had collected Tony what had to be a few hours ago now, not that long before sunrise and he had grudgingly gone. So James had been reading some of the books that Blodeuwedd had left for him. Anything to stop himself from thinking or paying too much attention to what was no longer there. He knew this was normal, of course. He knew the vague outline of this whole deal. He just didn't have the fine  _ details.  _ He knew Math was officiating, which made it sound like a wedding, Tony had nearly walked into a wall laughing when he had mentioned that. 

A Seelie Ascension followed a pretty strict formula. As the Fae tended to do many essential things in threes, the Ascension was no different. Threes were strength. They were birth, life and death. The past, present and future. Mind, body and soul. Earth, sea and sky. Triangles were one of the strongest shapes. So many stories Tony told him had threes hidden in there, or sometimes were loud enough that you couldn't miss them. So James found himself unsurprised that there were three parts to an Ascension. The Bond, The Choice and The Worth. They were in that third stage now, to prove his worth to his Court and to Underhill. The first stage was to Proof of Strength. Followed by the Proof of Balance and Proof of Control. Each stage consisted of three parts.

In the first stage, Proof of Strength: There would be two forms of combat. Might and Magic, it didn't go into detail about what exactly it entailed. Just that the new Foci would be expected to battle to prove they are worthy of their bond by battling alone. James thought that was pretty odd terminology because, of course, Tony would be fighting on his own, surely it would be strange if he was fighting with people for his title. After the bonds in his mind cut off at sunrise, he was starting to think alone didn't just mean  _ physically. _ Tony had warned him that it would happen before he left, he had thought he was prepared for it, seeing that it was actually a pretty new thing to be so tied with someone through magic, claims and Fire. It was like someone turned off the feeling and control to his arm. It had him feeling off-kilter, that he kept reaching for something that was no longer there. So far, it was the thing he hated most about this Ascension.

After the Might and Magic, there was a challenge of Mind. 

To see if the Foci could manifest the Loci away from its source with their will alone. Something that he initially would have thought simple, but he had been starting on his reading work from Tony for his apprenticeship, and now he knew that was huge and seriously difficult. It was like an extreme version of what he was doing manifesting his magic into the rope. It would be especially difficult after what he assumed would be two difficult battles and cut off from his reserves, Underhill and his people.

After that, without a chance for rest or even to replenish his depleted strength, there was the Proof of Balance. When Summer chose a new Queen, the Queen of Winter would then see if they could stand in their presence or be forced to their knees. To ensure their magic was balanced under their Season, Element and Power. Same for the new Winter Queen. As there had never been a Queen or King of Bane, James had no idea how that would proceed, but he also knew that it was extremely rare for an imbalance to occur, Loci were very good at choosing their new Foci. 

Then for the last stage was Proof of Control. It began with a Call for Contest to prove to people he could rule the land and quash any concerns. Which, like most things, was utterly different from the other Courts. There wasn't such an emphasis on fighting or tests of will for the lower Courts, there was some fighting, but it held less importance. Being chosen by a Loci was the way to prove your worth in the Lower Courts. In the Seelie Courts it was simply required. 

There was simply too much power in a Seelie Court and Underhill had already bled once because the leaders were not worthy in the eyes of their people.

The will of the people and bond of the Loci was key during a Lower Court Ascension, these were vital during a Seelie Ascension too, but that was the beginning. A Foci  _ must _ prove worthy of holding so much raw magic and political power over all Fae lands. There was much more at stake, so more was needed to determine that worth, it was a common theme for the Fae in more than Royal Ascensions. Holding Power was not something anyone was owed or obtained without proving they would not misuse it in the eyes of their Court.

For the Lower Courts, there was certainly no test of balance, and if someone contested the bond, a vote would be put forward to the Council of Courts. The Lower Courts were rulers in their own rights, but all the Foci also came together as a council of sorts, so they could vote against someone they particularly did not want joining them. A 2 thirds majority was required to take down a potential ruling monarch, but just having a vote called was generally a  _ very _ bad way to start one's journey as a Royal of a Lower Court.

The Call for Contest was particularly rare for Upper Court Ascensions. Still, it was actually seen as a  _ favourable _ way to start their new journey, another show of strength after going through so much already? If they prospered, it generally added to their power. If they lost, the person calling the contest gained little, bar the prestige of winning. If the Loci called them, they could be in a position to take the Crown, but just winning the fight would not count to their own Ascension. 

A Loci was also unlikely to look favourably on a person that hurt their previous Foci. Loci bound their soul to their Foci. They were family. They were  _ loved. _ Fae were a brutal race that did kill for prestige, but they were also a race of fierce bonds, that took bonds, family and love very seriously. So whilst other races may see killing a prospective royal as a standard way to take their position… it seemed never to work that way in Seelie Lands. The last person who tried was torn apart by the Loci after an offer of bonding. It had not been pretty according to Tony. Heck, when the sisters fought over the Seelie land, the Foci tore itself in two, birthing a new Loci out of desperation and survival, just so their Foci would not die.

When James looked at the Ascension, he saw a series of steps to deplete, exhaust and test the endurance of the Foci. Each step of the process of a Seelie or Unseelie Ascension looked as if it were designed to wear down the new monarch. He had found one vague mention of the potential Foci taking something  _ within _ themselves to sap their strength, will and magic, and then taking on a strenuous task inherent to their new season whilst bound within a circle. More threes. James  _ really _ didn't like the sound of that. Then there were the stages themselves. Might, Magic and Will. Testing endurance by doing these one after the other. The new Foci was not allowed rest of any form, not to sit or even lean against a wall. They must remain stood, not eat nor drink, not do anything to replenish the magic they built up after entering the circle. Which sounded to James as if Tony's magic was going to be drained before he entered the circle or when he was inside. James also suspected that the circle would be more than a physical barrier; the static in his mind proved that.

Tony would only have what he garnered after entering the circle, which would then be restricted by the circle itself. At least James felt a little more confident there, because of how Tony's Fire worked, building up power was second nature to him. They might strip him back to only Blue Fire, but that was a potent magic that amazed people who could barely get close to it, let alone create your own as Tony could.

James concluded that the path to be a ruler of the Higher Courts was gruelling, bloody and brutal, designed to push and push the Fae to their very limits and then push some more to see if they would fall. To see if they could stand firm when most would fall to their knees, and even the Call of Contest was a fight. Even though none of the Lower courts could become a leader of the Seelie Courts.

James had a feeling there were no second chances, if Tony lost any fight or trial along the way, that was it, he would have to hand everything over to someone else he assumed, which James did not think Tony would be able to do. 

To say goodbye to Hetaris would be hell for him. To hand over his land and his people?

James hadn't thought it would be easy, but the more he read, the more nervous he became. Especially as he knew people were still keeping some details from him because they didn't want him to worry. He refused to think about Tony failing at any point, he had  _ faith _ in that man, and it had been tested in worse circumstances than this. 

The next part of the Proof of Control was actually optional. Still, it was seen as a bad omen if the Foci did not manage to walk from the Circle under their own power, something that had become more difficult since Math had taken to officiating Seelie Ascensions. Finally for the Upper Courts, the third stage was to see if the Table accepted you. Which made sense he supposed. Seelie Queen's channelled power through the table for many things, it wasn't optional and if the table rejected the person, then they could not hold the position.

Tony's Aunt and Mother pulled him out of his mind, and his books to say it was time. He had been hiding out at his favourite spot outside of the castle after he had been pacing their rooms like a caged wolf. James had hoped to bump into Clíodhna and Nat before they headed over, but they seemed to be running a little behind.

He had been hiding out at the patch of greenery for a while now. He came here when he needed to relax, it kind of worked this time, which was better than pacing in the bedroom he had to admit. It was the most densely packed area too. It was practically  _ overflowing _ with spring flowers under a single tree that was a bizarre mixture of Spring and Autumn at once. Not half and half, thoroughly mixed, it was packed with beautiful, vibrant red and gold leaves and elegant, delicate white and pink blossoms right next to each other. A raspberry bush had wrapped itself around the trunk, and no matter how much he picked, it was always heavy with perfectly ripe berries. So he was eating and trying not to stress. It was  _ not _ working, but it was delicious, and he had a full bowl to offer to Nat if he didn't eat them before she arrived.

This was the bench he and Tony had been sat on before he put the Crown on, and the bench itself was barely visible these days, as climbing plants had practically overtaken it. There were more fruit-bearing bushes wrapped around the bench too. Somehow, they always made room for him. He assumed that it was Tony's doing, or maybe it was Autumn and Spring themselves.

No one else could even walk where the path had once lain to the bench, not without crushing the beautiful flowers that seemed  _ more _ alive than usual, even for Underhill. The fact that the Puschkinia always made a path for him added to that feeling. Even Tony's Mother had to wait for him at the border as she couldn't cross to the bench. Few Fae were willing to damage flowers of the lost seasons. But he couldn't hide out here forever. No way would he force Tony to go through this alone.

They headed for the opposite side of the castle as the stables, on the side that was once Autumn, but like everything within the castle walls, it was now a blending of both Spring and Autumn. It was also majorly different from what he had seen just yesterday. The area had been cleared a few days ago now, and James had seen the setup. A large circle that Math personally had drawn but had not been complete last time he had checked. The fact it was  _ Math _ drawing said circle was why James was convinced it would cut Tony off from everything outside of its range, leaving him without Underhill's vast supply of raw, high-quality magic. That  _ alone  _ kept coming to his mind, every time he poked at the static in his mind.

Back to the setup, there had been a large semi-circle of seating set out around the circle on one side. It actually looked like a crescent moon next to a sun from higher up in the castle. The curve was huge, and there was seating for all of the arrivals. Every Court delegation plus ten members, The Wild Hunt and those who were not affiliated with the Courts, including several that had arrived from beyond the edges of Underhill had to be seated. So there was quite a lot, and when he saw all of the chairs together, it had startled him. Sure he had seen most of these people arrive, Tony had spoken to more than just the Courts since arrival, and he had stood as a guard for each meeting, there was a reason he and Tony had been catching a few minutes or if they were lucky, hours to themselves. So he knew theoretically it was a lot, but he hadn't seen them all together at once, and it was impressive.

It was pretty fancy when it all came together, it looked beautiful even before it was complete, but then James knew Tony's Mother had been in charge, and it was Fae. _Of course_ it was going to be perfectly designed, beautiful and go off without a hitch. Because what idiot is going to lay about on the job when _The_ _Morrigan_ is overseeing her son's Ascension?

Now though? James couldn't see any of it. It was completely and utterly covered with a  _ huge _ dome that looked as if it had been  _ grown. _ Vines and brambles were laced together with flowers sprouting here and there. The thick vines were laced together in beautiful knotwork patterns with different flowers, making intricate patterns that he noticed the more he looked. There was a rainbow of colours but with a heavy focus on Red and Gold with bright, seven petaled blue flowers on vines of black leaves. 

It was stunning, and he noticed as they made their way to the heavily decorated entrance that it was perfectly Spring on one side, Autumn on the other. There were even shimmers of black Bane magic, safely encased in glittering crystals, all down the centre of the dome hanging from the black branches, with the black velvet leaves and blue flowers. They were also hanging above the door that was entirely formed of the black vines and blue flowers, in such a way that made several Fae nervous as they were only just out of reach. Others seemed delighted at the chance to safely see a magic they usually would not be able to withstand.

James had a feeling he was looking at the strenuous task that also showed mastery of the season. 

Designed not only to exhaust Tony, but to test his command over his season and of course, they were Fae. It couldn't be dull or boring, it  _ had to be _ stunning, and it was. That Tony had even worked  _ Bane _ into it was quite the statement, and considering how many guests are deathly allergic to Iron was quite amusing from his point of view. People had mocked Tony as the Lord of Iron for many, many seasons, and now they were faced with a very visceral display of Bane magic that they must walk and then sit beneath, or, give up their seat to the Ascension and show fear to those most likely to use it against them. 

It was powerful, beautiful, and a direct challenge against those who had derided him, it was so, so very  _ Fae. _

People slowly entered with them looking around, complimenting Tony's craftsmanship. Or in the case of a few obnoxious twits from Yearning Heart, sneering. James kind of figured that was their base personality setting by now. He noticed they were missing one of their delegation, the one who had taken Tony's Bane to his face by the looks of it. James wondered if it had been too difficult to hide the damage beneath a glamour? Or maybe he simply was recovering. James quickly spotted the other and noticed he was dressed in such a way to hide his new scars which suggested that hiding wounds from Bane was not a simple matter.

Just outside of the huge circle, Mab was sitting on a throne of ice to the left of where they would sit, beneath the side of Autumn, Titania on a throne that was similar to the construction of the building they were in now. Except it was very obviously Summer flowers than the fresh spring or fruiting autumnal look. It was apparent that the Thrones were made by each Queen, so all Seelie monarchs had constructed  _ something _ this day. People settled around them, and James recognised different delegations favouring the side of which they were more closely allied to whether that be Summer or Winter. Except for the leaders of the delegations of The Family, they were clustered in the front few rows, around the middle where he was sitting. Virtually everything the Fae did, had a meaning of some kind, somewhere. Sometimes it was obvious, other times it was subtle, this was not subtle. Whilst their Courts were aligned to either Summer or Winter, they were seated directly beneath strips of  _ Bane. _ James noticed that Mab had even pinned one of the blue flowers and a single black leaf to her dress.

Math was standing at the midpoint between the two Queens also outside of the circle, opposite to where everyone else was sitting. Shadows coiled behind him, blocking the other side of the dome from sight. James was surprised to see Tony already stood at the centre, facing Math. Sure, he knew that he must have been cut off, but he had thought that maybe it wasn't just the circle doing that. Which meant Tony had been standing within the circle since sunrise.

The other shock was that James couldn't make out  _ any _ of his Wards, at all. Oh, they were still there, he didn't doubt that, but he had been entirely painted in woad to obscure all of them. James knew that getting mud on the Wards or obscuring them with clothing would not stop them from functioning. Tony was more careful than that. This was much different. He now guessed that obscuring them with Woad  _ would _ prevent them from functioning. So not only was he cut off from replenishing his magic, cut off from any magical devices, no armour, and now he was cut off from all of his Warding.  _ Alone. _

Apart from the plain black trousers riding low on his hips, all Tony was wearing was the necklace from himself and the bracelet from his family. His hair was done differently than he had seen before, and he assumed that was Mabs influence. There was a similar main braid like he had, there were two forward from what he could tell, like Mab wore, except she had a single braid forward wrapped in ice. There were others bound in silver but very little Iron, likely so it could not be used as a weapon against any opponents should they be Fae.

James was sitting between Tony's mother and an empty seat saved for Nat, Dagda was behind him next to Blodeuwedd, Dagda was occasionally patting him on the shoulder, probably assuming they would have to sit on him in case he went and tried to help Tony. Other members of The Family were also clustered around him. Evident in their support that he was thankful for the more he picked up what was going to happen in front of him, where he could do nothing.

Looking at the  _ extensive _ use of magic that had already gone into the dome alone, that Tony's Woad was  _ entirely _ obscured, well, Tony was wearing trousers, but James bet that  _ all _ of his Wards were obscured as it looked like the Woad carried on beneath the trousers. Bound in an extremely complex circle drawn by Math. Also, there was that vague reference to taking something within himself to sap his strength, will and magic. 

James was definitely starting to understand the emphasis that the Foci was to fight  _ alone. _ It didn't mean that Tony couldn't bring a person into the circle to fight with. It was that they were to be alone in terms of their power, cut off from replenishing their magic. Alone in that their physical strength is reduced whilst their endurance is tested. Alone for will in that they're cut off from their people and those they have bonds with. Even his Black Fire was agitated that Tony was cut off from his Reapers. Tony was alone in so many ways, weakened, exhausted and drained before things even  _ started _ in earnest. So... maybe having the Fae ready to sit on him was a good idea he thought. He also got why Tony had been light on the details, if James had known this even just before sunrise, he would have driven himself mad with concern instead of what they had done.

"Why is Tony a smurf?"

James jumped, he had been so hyper-focused on Tony he hadn't even heard Nat sit down next to him. Clíodhna to her right. The seats were almost filled up too. She then started when James turned to face her, immediately cataloguing the differences and looking at his hair with an impressed raised eyebrow. James matched the look because it seemed Clíodhna had been playing the Fae makeover game herself. James wondered if it was a Fae hobby to get people all fancied up. Is this where all those human stories of being fancied up by a fairy godmother came from?

"Woad has been applied by Math that he enchanted in order to both obscure and drain the power from Brother mines Wards. He uses Woad to draw his Wards, as do many of The Family. Normal Woad would not work to do this, of course, but he apprenticed under Math for many centuries on and off. Math is one of the few that could combat my brother's Wards because of this. One of the few that knows Brother Mines unique recipes, and only because he allowed it. He is not only the foremost expert Underhill on Battle Wards, but is one of Underhill's experts in Warding too. To counteract Brother mines Wards is quite the task, even for one such as Math."

James took everything in, but he had returned to watching Tony. Hopefully, his sister did not think him rude. He knew that Tony was very good at Warding, he could tell by how he talked about it. How he taught him, it was obviously his passion. But Tony had told him several times that Math is Underhill's expert in all Magic.

"He always says Math is much stronger than him?"

"In certain ways of magic, yes, but in others, no. You see, Math is unrivalled with Magic as a  _ whole, _ but he is still a ruler of The Lower Court. Brother mine is soon to take an Upper Court, that requires strength that vastly outshines that of the Lower Courts. The suns to our moons. Math knows far more weaves than anyone Underhill. His core burns blindingly bright due to the sheer  _ volume _ of it, so bright in fact that you cannot even discern a colour. There are tales that an apprentice was blinded at a mere glimpse of his core as he looked upon it unprepared.

"The Upper Courts operate differently in many ways. Mab, Titania and now, my Brother, they not only know their weaves, but they also became _experts_ in them_._ _The_ Experts. They become them. Math cannot command ₳eaf anywhere close to Mab; for example, the gulf is that of a babe to a Grandmaster. She is also highly renowned for her skill for enchanting is far above that which Math could boast. The best Underhill. Brother mine is renowned for his Wards in general but unrivalled on the field of battle. You see the black ribbons Brother mine draws from Iron, those that hang above us right now, that is also known as Anǥau. It is _death._ The Bane of our kin and he is _The Expert _in that weave. He will become it as Mab is Winter and ₳eaf is the magic of Winter. As Titania is Summer and Ađwymont.

"Math likely commands more weaves than  _ All _ Seelie Monarchs combined, likely more than the leader of each Lower Courts put together too. He can learn a new weave frighteningly fast. Doing what should be hundreds of seasons work in a season. However, when a ruler of an Upper Court specialises in a weave, especially that of their Court, they truly become that magic, they breathe it, they live it, it binds to their heart and soul, and that magic  _ loves _ them for it. They do not merely command the weave. Mab  _ is _ Winter. Math can call ₳eaf. That is the difference. If Math called ₳eaf against Mab? The weave would abandon him, and not kindly.

"Brother Mine has always been highly skilled at Warding. It is as natural to him as breathing. Even as a child, it was a natural talent. Morgan would tell me that before he could even walk, he was drawing rudimentary Wardings on any surface he could. He was quite the terror with it even before his magic came to him, always looking for and designing new Wards even before he felt the power behind them. He is also continually improving himself. Never accepting of his skill, convinced that he could do more for people. He and Mab are well matched and their abilities work well together.

"It is why  _ I _ was not surprised Seelie Land chose my brother. To see him wield his magic upon a battlefield, it is ridiculous to see him as anything less than a King! Alas, few alive have seen his magic as much as I, so I suppose I can forgive them for doubting him. You should see when he and Mab work upon a project together, now that is something to behold. They are the architects of some of the largest, complex and most intricate structures Underhill. The Grand Oak at the Heart of Underhill was constructed by them and Titania many seasons ago as trade. It is breathtaking. You should both visit it before we return to the Firelands, we may accompany you if you do not mind the intrusion. I wish to show it to my Leannan."

James just blinked at the  _ huge _ amount of information there, and when he was less worried, oh, he would be bugging Clíodhna for more details. Maybe they could see the place she was speaking off, and it also sounded like Nat was not returning from Underhill alone. The smile Clíodhna shot him made him think she knew what he was thinking, and he hoped she would be amenable to telling him, she seemed the kind of sister happy to talk up her brother. For now, he turned his attention back to Tony. Nat squeezed his hand and leaned against his arm in support. Clíodhna was clearly having a fantastic effect on her, he knew she had been opening up, but to see her now, she seemed so free, unburdened and simply being herself. He recognised her smile as he had found himself wearing it often. James hoped she would carry it back to Earth.

Clíodhna was wrapped around Nat, practically sharing a chair, which just made him wish Tony was curled up around him rather than stood alone in that circle. 

He and Nat, two people who could be described as severely touch averse. Funny how things turned out, that both of them were more Fae in that regard that they had considered. Touch averse… right until there was a person you  _ trusted, _ then all bets were off. Then a person that was theirs? Well, it wasn't just Tony that did a good impersonation of a limpet, or an octopus. James didn't know how well he would sleep now if he didn't have Tony curled up on his chest.

Tony's back was still to them, and he was standing in the centre of the circle without moving an inch as everyone had sat down. It was likely that he had fallen into that state Fae occasionally dropped into, that near-perfect, eerie stillness, the hunter waiting perfectly motionless for prey. As if they could stand for  _ years. _ James had no idea how long Tony had been standing in that circle, but if he had to hazard a guess, James would say it was likely Tony had been there since sunrise. That was when he had gotten dizzy and static filled his mind.

Whether it was simply to grow the dome, or some other secret things to reduce his strength and tax his endurance, James had no idea. Growing that some would not only exhaust Tony but would likely have depleted most, if not all of the energy bound inside the Circle when Math closed it. Usually, he would say Tony could easily stand for hours on end, but he had already endured a lot before they had truly begun. 

"How long has he been standing there?"

Nat asked, her head tilted slightly to the side and James knew she was assessing everything she could see, he did not think she knew much of circles or Warding yet, but her focus was on Tony himself at the moment. Open concern briefly flitting across her features. That was where Nat was truly dangerous in how she profiles people, how she could learn so much about you in such a short period. It was one of the reasons the incident in the meeting room had shaken her so visibly. As Nat was a master of controlling her tells, but although Tony only did a few things, Nat extrapolated a lot from that data. Seeing how fast and strong he was even after a larger expenditure of magic had shocked most of them, Nat read much more into it and realised she had zero idea of the scope of his strength, speed or endurance. Let alone things like magic. Nat didn't do well not having that data, even when it came to her friends.

Well, he couldn't cast stones, he had been the same once but he was getting better, being surrounded by Fae, knowing that many were a Power unto themselves, but not knowing how much? It was like immersion therapy. He hoped Nat would fare the same in time. Clíodhna was good for her.

"Not long before sunrise, Math would have drained and closed the circle as some of The Family prepared brother mine. It can take a while to cover the amount of Warding he carried. Just before he entered Math would have administered the required mixes explicitly designed for Brother mine. He would step into the circle just as the sun began to rise in the presence of only Math, Mab and Titania. The specifics of that precise time are not for us to know. I will tell you what I  _ do _ know. Just at the in-between of the darkness and the light is when Brother mine entered the circle. In-between's are powerful and auspicious times and places you see, and it means he leaves the darkness a Lord and will only greet the light and the fresh magic of Underhill as a King. As soon as he set foot into the circle, he would begin construction of the dome immediately, if the rays of his silver sun reached him? There would be forfeit. He must be quick without compromising the integrity of the dome 

"Summoning Autumn and Spring at such extreme levels to prove his mastery over both whilst bound, drained and cut off from Underhill is a serious task. Caught in an in-between of a night passed without being able to call energy from the new day. As this is Brother mine, of course he also spun Bane above our heads, to remind us he is Baneseelie at his core. The intention of this is multileveled of course, but at its core, it is to sap his strength, exhaust his magic, tire his endurance, slow his mind and drain him of everything we possibly can and leave him standing. He is likely under the effects of a toxin or two, maybe more. With Brother mine it is... complex to reduce his power you see, he is Fire in a way few Fae understand. It has proved difficult in previous challenges, but they were not witnessed by so many, some here are in for quite the surprise! Few Monarchs have held the highest form of mantle  _ before _ they became that Monarch. A minor or middling mantle maybe, but to  _ become _ a magic is the highest form of mantle, it is exceptional and wondrous to behold. Like you are Black Fire."

James had no idea what to say when she gestured to him. Sure he had known to become magic was big. Huge. To have a Faerie Queen say you hold the highest form of a mantle was surreal at best. Luckily for him, she went back to explaining. Nat's eyebrows shot up at the mention of his mantle, and he could tell that the second she was able, she would be chasing him down for information. 

"Brother mine is old, and he is powerful in his own right. Stripped bare, he still shines. It has been quite the challenge for Math to render him to our most basic state and hinder him further. He is not allowed food, drink, nor rest. Not until he breaks and walks out of the circle as the final trial as the new Baneseelie Monarch. He could request Math give him leave to exit, but that is not Brother mines style."

Clearly, Clíodhna had  _ a lot _ more information than him, and he was thankful she was amenable to sharing. Nat was looking around her, assessing the building they were in a new light at a guess. James had felt himself nodding, he had guessed some of that correctly, and he had still undershot it. Massively. Even his worst estimates for what was going to happen apparently didn't even come close to what Tony was about to endure or what he had already done. He held onto the fact Tony was confident. Tony knew what he was walking into after all. This information wasn't a surprise to him.

"Tony made this entire building? It is beautiful."

He had a feeling Nat was going to be taking a few pictures later, after she had seen him doing the same, he had seen her sneakily taking her own pictures of things she liked. It was adorable, but he wouldn't say that to her, they had plans to spar when she came into her powers, and calling her cute would not be wise. Nat had a steel trap of a memory. Watching the infamous Black Widow surreptitiously take pictures of unicorns  _ was _ cute though. He would take that information (and that picture) to his grave, but he would definitely show Tony.

"Yes, it is quite beautiful. I heard a few say it is as impressive as what Titania grew during her Ascension. Many are very impressed. That he has wound two seasons and a Power together with such grace, it is quite the feat."

"My legs hurt just looking at him."

He squeezed Nat's hand and agreed with that. He couldn't feel how Tony was feeling now, but he bet he was aching a little. James was surprised by how much he missed that information that had become a part of him so quickly. Usually, he wouldn't need to look for physical tells that Tony was tired or aching. He would already know. He just about stopped himself from nudging the static in his mind for the hundredth time. He wondered if the bond Nat had was similar to his and Tony. Her bracer was just as detailed, decorated and fused with magic as his was, so he had a hunch it was similar. He would have to ask her when he got the chance, if so, then she would understand the discomfort and anxiety that he was dealing with.

James at least had had more time to prepare for this thing, and for it being Tony, a friend she had only just gotten back barely a year after he nearly died, and Nat saw Siberia as directly stemming for her actions, so this was hard for her. James had also seen Fae do the 'creepy standing stock still to attention for a really long time' thing a few times now. He knew it wasn't that hard for them. It didn't mean he wasn't nervous, he  _ was,  _ but Nat hadn't been here long. Found out Tony owned land, then that he was going to be King and now he was in a rather terrifying series of tests in a very short period of time. They both knew what it was like to be pushed past their limit and then be hurled into brutal tests over and over. She had lived it more than him in a way. He was the only Winter Soldier, the others were failures. 

At the beginning of the Black Widow program, there had been nearly a hundred four-year-olds. Barely thirty had survived to graduation. Not all of them survived graduation, and even those who lived, some broke mentally after. Nat had been the best; the best didn't just have to watch, they didn't get anaesthetic. So, Nat understood terrifying tests in a way no one should, he was happy Clíodhna was wrapped tightly around her should this feel too familiar to her in some way. PTSD was iffy like that, just a single tiny aspect, even if everything else was wrong and boom, your back in your past, treading water As you desperately try to keep your head above water.

"He'll blow them all out of the water. Tony told me faith has more power than anyone thinks, especially Underhill, our faith in him, it has power. It helps him overcome what they throw at him, and it's one thing they can't remove. Even cut off from his people, I still think our faith counts."

Nat nodded with a look of determination and refocused on Tony with laser precision. He was surprised he still had the knack for reading her facial expressions. Whilst being Underhill and with Clíodhna had opened her up, she still masked most of her facial expressions as a basic instinct. But she was fighting decades of training and programming. At least he had had a life before he became the Soldier. Sure, he didn't have all of his memories, and there was a degree of detachment to when he did, but he had been a person once, so he figured he could become a person again—a new person, with a new life. Nat was starting from scratch, but at least she seemed to be genuinely trying to be a person this time. To be herself and find out who that is, rather than attaching herself to someone people told her was good and then moulding herself on their expectations.

It had been the only way she could think to live when she first joined Shield, and Clint had been good for her. A good start. But no one pushed her to go further, or maybe they did not notice. Nat was a master at constructing a persona after all. She genuinely loved Clint, James knew that, he could see it in how she had mourned their friendship, but she hadn't developed herself much beyond what Clint expected of her, and Clint had his own issues. Shield agents generally were not well-rounded individuals. After she lost Clint to retirement, she switched that attachment to Steve because Clint had told her he was good.

Somewhere since the Civil War, Nat had stopped being what people wanted her to be, and was slowly testing out what  _ she _ wanted to be. James saw it when she started going out for coffee with Carol. When she looked to others, compared to the beginning of Wakanda where she only looked to Steve.

Clíodhna was frankly amazing, but then Fae knew more about being different people than any human would. He wondered if when he was talking to Tony on his phone, if she was talking to Clíodhna somehow. Because it had started before they returned to America. Slowly, but it was there. Tony had helped him out so much in that year or so in Wakanda. Everytime he had been considering just giving in, just being what people, namely Steve, wanted him to be… Tony had been there to encourage him to be who he wanted. He didn't tell him what path he should choose, he just reminded him time and time again that there were many paths. That it was his, and only his, choice of which path he took. 

That if people were upset at his choice of path, that it wasn't his responsibility to change for them, and that they should take ownership of their emotions and not force them onto James. If he wanted to sit and reminisce of a time he barely remembered, and what he did felt flat, 2d and in sepia tone. He could. If he wanted to call himself Bucky, he could. He even pranked Tony at one point by saying he was going by Bucky, just to see him attempt to smile and say Bucky, he ended up cracking up after five days and Tony was torn between being impressed and wanting to dump him in the lake. 

It showed him that Tony would accept his choice, even if he wasn't fond of it. A huge contrast to the first time James asked Steve only to stop calling him Bucky whilst he got his head on straight. He hadn't even picked a name yet. He just knew he didn't want that one. Steve acted as if he was attacking him, as if his choice personally wounded him and that he was being unreasonably cruel to ask Steve not to call him Bucky. He lasted 13 minutes before he went back to Bucky, and it had been the first time James had taken a step back and compared how Steve and his pals treated him to Tony. At first, he thought Tony was a fluke. A man too nice for his own good. Then Shuri said yes, T'Challa said yes, Okoye said yes. He heard Yes everywhere and then came home to no, no, no. Bucky, Bucky, Bucky.

James didn't want to remember starving just so his sisters could eat. He didn't want to remember how it felt to be drafted just as he was getting somewhere with boxing. He didn't want to remember the pain of telling his best friend he didn't want to go, that he didn't want to die, didn't want to leave his family, didn't want to lose the life he hard carved out inch by inch with blood, sweat and tears of constant, non-stop work from the second he was forced to leave school. He went to that friend for comfort and was faced with jealousy. That people who didn't want to go and fight were cowards and traitors. He was just fucking scared. He didn't want to remember the war. Who would? Sure, there were fun times with the Howlies, fun times with the guys before Steve came along, but there was also blood, death, rot, misery and mud. Friends screaming and dying and you had to just listen from the trench because if you got up, you'd be joining them. Who would choose to hoard those memories when he had the future at his fingertips?

James wanted to see hoverbikes and fancy wakandan tech. He wanted to talk to anyone in Wakanda that would listen because their lives were so  _ different _ . He wanted to watch new, sci-fi films and listen to new music. He wanted to make  _ new _ memories. He wanted to watch Shuri take over the planet with her genius. He wanted so fucking much. He had wanted to find out who he was, not study for a test of being who he had been in the past and it was Tony who consistently supported that. Shuri helped too, but it was Tony he talked to when he woke up, when he went to bed, who he messaged anytime he found something new he just had to share. Tony recommended things, but didn't push, didn't act hurt if he didn't like it, just moved on to something else he thought James would like.

It had been so easy to discover what he liked, and he suspected Nat was going through something similar now with Clíodhna. He had noticed it in subtle ways, when they had eaten together the first day she arrived Underhill, she tried things for herself, rather than eating what people thought she should eat. She didn't check their plates before constructing her own like she had when they arrived in Wakanda. 

It was a small step to some. To people like them who had been unmade to the very core of their being and rebuilt to have no sense of self, no personality, no wants, no likes, no dislikes. To them, discovering you like strawberries and hate kiwi is a big deal. James shook his head, aware his thoughts were utterly getting away from him but found himself smiling at Nat anyway. The smile he got back made him think she had an idea of where he went, she always was better at reading him than he was at reading her.

He glanced around and noticed some were  _ still _ milling about, he kind of wished everyone would just hurry up and  _ sit the fuck down, _ knowing Tony couldn't even  _ sit  _ until this was finished had him irritated that people were dragging their heals. Also, he was on edge for another reason, because Rhodes had requested that his phone was set up to let the other Reaper see Tony's Ascension ceremony. James had thought it a good idea… back when he had thought it was a ceremony or something, and some not very taxing trials, now? James was unsure about the intelligence of that move and was imagining Rhodes flying Warmachine to Wales to attempt to blast through the mists when he realised just what was happening. Not that he could do anything about it now, he didn't even know where Tony's mother set it up for Rhodes and turning it off would be seriously suspicious. Hopefully, Carol would sit on him. Tony likely hadn't considered just how this was going to look through a video to people unable even to come here and see Tony after.

Tony had known all of this was coming and hadn't seemed concerned. Which James was clutching at and repeating in his mind because if Tony was confident, then he could at least fake it for Nat. He concentrated on reading the Wards laid into the circle and seeing if he could work out its function. Which was some of his 'homework' Tony had set him, anytime he sees a Ward, he has to stop and see if he can decipher it. Yeah, he was doing anything to distract his mind from thinking too heavily on what was to come.

So far he is convinced he is doing that better than Stephen on this front, others not so much, but Wards just made sense to him. In other areas he was utterly lost and at the baby basic level, but when it came to Warding, he was confident in himself, he still had tons to learn, but the shape and construction of Wards seemed to flow together easily for him. He had had fun creating the Wards for Tony's necklace, and Tony had been very impressed with his designs. He even started a diary on his phone, with pictures and highlighted sections for what he thinks does what of any Ward he comes across. Tony had informed him that he could tell James was going to be a magic-nerd the first time he saw it. Considering how many books alone, let alone digitised files Tony has on Wards, there is a serious case of pot calling the kettle black there.

James could already tell that within the circles, as they were three-layered on top of each other to form the barrier. Anyone in the circle was cut off from the magic saturated atmosphere of Underhill. He had expected that, though. The Ward's weren't the same, but they were somewhat familiar to what Tony was designing to allow him to cast more magic back on Earth without worrying about damaging Earth. Tony had plenty of reasons to do it, for the upcoming fight, for preparing the compound, for training his two apprentices alone it would be handy. However, the main reason was that it was the top of the list James had poked Tony into making. 

Of all the things Tony had denied himself on the basis of the debt that never was, one was magic for the pure joy of casting rather than purely work or study. By spending more time on Earth, it restricted him from crafting how he loved. He had never slacked off, he still worked and studied, but he had restricted himself on doing magic purely because he wanted to. Which since coming Underhill, seeing how free the Fae were with magic? James now knew it was a red flag that Tony was ignoring that part of himself. Well, Tony had helped him, soon he could return the favour.

His eyes scanned over the Wards. First, you search for any you already know. Then you look for structures you recognise and for the third pass you look for the base of each Ward. It was one of James favourite things, it was like a puzzle, problem-solving, pattern recognition all rolled into a ball, and it was magic too, why wouldn't James love it? He bet that there were Wards to slow any replenishing of magic too, he recognised a few that would slow down building up reserves and at a guess, would cap said reserves, that was a guess, however, and if he was right, James needed to learn that Ward!

James had used some Wards similar to a few he saw repeated here and there when he accidentally hoarded magic too fast for him to drain. The circle slowed things down and let him get on top of it without accidentally blowing things up because Tony was not joking when he said he had to clean up any explosions. He found it hilarious how effective that threat was because James hated cleaning.

Most Fae carried large reserves of magic with them, allowing them to do large castings without much preparation. This circle was obviously designed with Tony in mind, which was probably why it was extremely complex. It matched some of Tony's, which was saying something as Tony tended to go overboard. It was definitely designed to cut the Fae off from the reserves and the ability to cultivate them. Tony had higher reserves than many Fae simply because of his position when it came to wars. To cast battle-wide magic and battle Wards at the level Tony did, it meant he had had to adapt. Tony wasn't hitting one person or even five people. His Wards could encompass the entire field of battle. 

James glanced up and concentrated, seeing an ever so slight shimmer in the air which he guessed was the barrier locking those in the circle in place. There were so many more Wards that he didn't even remotely recognise; the style was different from anything he had seen so far. There was also the fact that bd couldn't see everything from his seat. He would like to take pictures of the lot and pick through it. Wards were a puzzle, to decipher, take part and put together. Right now, he needed that to distract himself as people sat down,  _ painfully slowly. _

Considering getting up and wandering around wouldn't be smart; instead, he switched gears. He showed Nat how to pick up the shimmer of the circle. Sgàil Gheal were very different from Reapers, but then Clíodhna was very different from Tony, but Reapers and Sgàil Gheal often worked together, and some skills worked for both. Plus, Tony told him time and time again that the best way to  _ learn _ is to  _ teach, _ and despite years and years of pain and bad memories, Nat falls back into being his student with ease and more comfort than he would have suspected. 

Nat's skill at pattern recognition was formidable, even as a child she had outclassed adults who spent their lives dedicated to it. James bet that she'd be a natural at Wardcraft and her sensitivity to magic was already impressive, James had seen her reacting to the feel of it and seeing things that he was sure she was still too human to see. Then, it made sense that Nat was a Power just waiting to be discovered. She rarely met a subject she didn't hurl herself into with the kind of dedication people could only dream of.

Math dragged them out of their impromptu lesson on identifying circles and traps. James glanced around, having gotten quite absorbed and both he and Nat were less tense. Clíodhna had been smiling at them as James went over the basics, obviously pleased with his choice and Nat's quick progress. He didn't know Clíodhna's process, or much about Sgàil Gheal's abilities. Already he knew that Nat was not entirely human anymore. She had passed that bridge a while ago he thought, she was far too comfortable in her skin and with her senses for it to be brand new, but she wasn't like him yet. Somewhere in between human and not.

Math's voice easily carried across the crowds, despite no sound system that he could see, but that didn't mean there wasn't  _ something _ set up. Math used the full Fae-effect that made you  _ want _ to listen to his voice; there was serious power in his words and took the large crowd from chatting to a perfect attentive silence in two seconds. 

Magic laced through Tony's words occasionally without him realising, especially since he put the Crown on, James was very fond of it when it happened, he enjoyed how his voice would have a weight to it as it had a shiver shooting down his spine, Math's was very different, so it was just Tony's voice he had a  _ thing _ for it seemed. 

Math's deep, rasping voice was accompanied by an occasional sound of metal on metal that James assumed came from his strange mask. It didn't screech, and it didn't have you covering your ears like nails on a chalkboard. It was like a low, ominous, dangerous sound to carry on the magic of his words.

Either way, when Math spoke, everyone shut up and  _ listened  _ intently, and he spoke with a controlled, pure, heavy magic that buzzed across his skin. It was different to when Tony slipped and his magic coloured his words, it was uncontrolled, heavy and warm, it wrapped around him and left him floating, and if he did it for too long? James was happy to admit he was a useless pile of mush or far too amped up to do anything but drag Tony to their rooms. Tony hadn't actually realised yet; his power was still fluctuating often, so it was a drop in the sea. He had a feeling Tony was going to enjoy using it when he had perfected it.

"The Courts of Underhill have Gathered in this fledgeling land of a young, yet powerful Loci, to witness the bond of the first Seelie birthed Loci since the end of the Great War. A Loci of Bane born on powerful magic of which we recklessly spilt over the many seasons of war. It is Bane that has brought something back to us that we dared not dream of feeling again. Magic that has been brought back to us by a power that for many of us, is our death. 

"Fae lost the Seasons. It is fitting that Bane has brought them back.

"The War that in our haste, in our hubristic arrogance, in our overconfidence, we shed blood, death and magic for generations, and it rightfully cost us the magic of Spring, Autumn and a blight upon our name, pain and debt to follow us for generations to come. That we poured magic stained with anger, needless death and blood that was not fated to be split into this land. We gave power to Death, to Bane, to Anǥau. 

"A blight that we rightfully took as debt, that we pass down to each and every generation, that we will always pass down, even with this offer of forgiveness, it is a sign the debt was the right path. So we  _ never _ forget the price of uncontrolled war, the price of magic we lost and the pain we carry, the price of each Fae who needlessly died and that we  _ remember,  _ we  _ see _ and we  _ feel _ what those Fae did back then _ . _ So we never wage war for the sake of war again, so we never forget what we are capable of, never forget our responsibility, so that magic is respected, that deaths are never pointless and that we never make Underhill bleed for as long as she did. All bound in our debt, in our hearts and carved into our magic ."

Nat was puzzled as Math spoke, obviously taken aback by his words. He suspects Clíodhna will fill her in later. It is strange for humans when you first learn about this quirk of the Fae he must admit. When Tony had told him about the concept that every single Fae, no matter how far away from the great war, was not even taught about the war, but  _ born _ with the terrible knowledge. Born with images and play by plays of horrifying battles that raged for nearly a solid Fae generation. The higher their station in Fae society, the more of the war they carry. Tony had described it being carved in their bones, heavy in the hearts and written on their souls. 

At first, James had thought it had been a bit much, especially after he found out how long ago the Great War was, even to Fae who were exceptionally long-lived, the Great War was  _ ancient history.  _ But he had since learned more about the capabilities of Fae. The capabilities they had for war was frankly terrifying when he really looked into it. When he had seen glimpses of the Great War. Tony's power alone was a lot, and he was a single Fae born of War and certainly not the only one. Not the hundreds of thousands that had been torn apart by the Great War on Seelie land alone, and Mab had been right, war in Seelie land spreads. Seelie lands were a template.

There was also the fact that it  _ worked.  _ Humans seemed doomed to repeat their history, tine and time again. Barely two generations, and there were people who doubted what happened to the point some believed the horrors of WW2 were all lies. No Fae questioned the Great War over a period of time that probably predated humanity, James wasn't exactly, Underhill was bad at gaging time, but The Great War was in the first Room of Underhill and the Fae's history… of which that Court looked roughly half the size of Russia. Whilst the Fae had had many, many wars since. The knowledge of what they're capable of clearly didn't turn them into pacifists, Winter and Summer occasionally clashed and only recently had begun to edge towards a real piece rather than hopeful words on paper.

There had been  _ nothing _ to the scale of the Great War. Even thousands of generations on, with a practically immortal species that was built for war in a way humans would never be, could never understand nor conceive of. They never came close to repeating their history, and that was more than impressive to James. There were so many laws, codes, checks and balances on top of their memory, that they chose not to ignore the memories, chose to keep them because they could let go of that debt. Fae were  _ active _ in their desire not to repeat their past. 

So whilst the Fae's tactics to never again fall to such depths and depravity of war  _ seemed _ odd and excessively brutal to a human, even to him and Nat, he believed Nat would come to understand. Tony had shared a few things with him that had helped him understand the almost unimaginable scale of war the Fae without boundaries could actually wage. James had respected the race before. He had understood their power. Well, he  _ thought _ he had. 

Seeing  _ that,  _ well, now he knew why Fae always seemed to be holding something of themselves back now. Why they tempered their power. Why they toned down the natural effects of a Fae. Because he had seen what they're capable of when they  _ don't.  _ The destruction they reap when they go all out.

"An impossible debt that we thought could never be balanced. Yet we all chose to carry it each and every day. For generations, it looked as if it never would be balanced. We carry the pain in our hearts, the knowledge in our minds and debt is woven through our magic, so we would always remember the price of unrestrained power. We changed much of our society, including this.

"We changed the path of Ascension, to ensure a ruler of Seelie lands would never trigger such an event out of selfish desire again. That those who look to take a Seelie Throne and Crown are worthy, even stripped of the trappings of our race, can still walk when pushed to the limits of endurance and stand where others would kneel. That even in that state, we will choose restraint over reckless power."

James' first instinct, a knee jerk reaction when Tony had first told him about the debt had been 'That's hardly fair'. As there wasn't  _ anyone _ alive now that fought in, let alone instigated it. Even Ogma, who was as old as dust was born thousands of generations after the Great War. So it seemed unfair to carry such a burden, but then, because they carried it, the Fae have  _ never _ repeated their history. Even as their power grew and grew, as they strengthened along with Underhill. As their magic became more complex as they recoded their base cores of magic to accept  _ more _ magic, to become even stronger, they still never forgot. Never gave in to the temptation to use it. Fae never lost their history, and he had seen pictures of Ogmas' Court. Knew everything was recorded by multiple people to ensure an accurate picture of events from all sides was stored, charmed and would outlast the damned Earth. Fae had lost much since they lost their home, but they retained their history with an almost rabid zeal.

Instead of jumping to prove their innocence, they  _ willingly _ remember the worst their species is capable of and carry the knowledge to ensure such atrocities are never repeated—even Yearning Heart. 

It isn't just a simple memory. It's something they feel, mind, body and soul. It's in their mind, in their actions, big and small and it's in their magic. No one seeks to hide it; they accept it was terrible, and they accept a debt many believed they would never balance. They chose it, they talked about it, and they worked to never repeat it.

The memories of the Great War are as intrinsic to their species as Debt itself. As the First Deal and Debt of Underhill, and James finds it admirable and so intimidating and overwhelming. 

Compared to humans? Who rewrite their own history, often, to cover up that which they don't want to admit, and then it repeats. That people are more likely to defend that admit their ancestors were the bad guys. James understands their happiness. He can feel it swell and flush through the gathered Fae, so many Fae gathered, focused intently on one person and feeling similar emotions? The dome is flooded with it, it wraps around him and Nat and pulls them along with it. They can feel the emotions are not their own; when a Fae lets others feel what they feel, intentionally or accidentally, it doesn't change how you feel. It isn't like an empath. There is a degree of detachment that allows you to see it in your mind and know the happiness belongs to the gathered Fae. It still makes James smile, because how could he not at such pure, unfiltered  _ joy.  _

Rhodey calls it the Tinkerbell effect, that the Fae feel things so much  _ more _ than humans it can't help but flood out. Loki described humans at a 2 or 3 out of 10 on his emotional radar, Fae clock in at 11 on an average day. This was not an average day.

That joy is a thing to behold, that they're balancing that debt but James has started to really get to know the Fae. So he knows they will still carry that war with them. Even if the debt was totally balanced tomorrow, James is confident in his assessment that almost every Fae will always carry it with them, they'll still know every death, they'll still see it and will feel it. Maybe a few would drop it, but they would be a minority and looked down upon. Math gives everyone a few moments to bask in that joy before continuing, everyone falls into that waiting silence, their intent was heavy and focused on Math, but James can feel the light hum of joy that flits around the room excitedly and free as.it jumps from person to person.

"Somehow, we have begun to balance our impossible debt. A Fae has brought Autumn and Spring back into our world on a tide of Bane. 

"Our Cloriannau and Dienyddiwr of Underhill. Our Balance and Executioner. Bound by Fire and Bane, of Life and Death born of War, stands today to see if he is worthy to hold Spring and Autumn in his heart for all that reside Underhill and beyond. To continue to hold Bane in service of Underhill as he has done as diligently as he cared for her Balance."

James had to admit, for a really tall, red-robed man talking through a bronze mask of a hawk, he held the crowd well. The magic helped, but it wasn't just that, Math had a way with words. Everyone was watching intently, in silence too. James could still  _ feel _ their attention and having so many very powerful Fae and other very powerful Denizens of Underhill so attentive to a single person had a power of its own to it. 

It was in times like this where James understands how Underhill can be governed by thought. This just being a handful of people, in comparison to all of Underhill at least, and he is already slightly dizzy just from the pressure of their intent to  _ listen.  _ It wasn't as bad at first, but it's like a constant feedback loop between Math and the others. James knew it was not intentional. It was a quirk of how their species work that could easily overwhelm nearby humans, speaking of which, one of the humans that Yearning Heart had brought along was out cold in his chair by the looks of it.

James noticed as Math stopped speaking, the intent to 'Listen!' faded, and that was when James noticed the amount of people in the room had vastly changed. The large spaces along the edges of the dome that  _ had _ been oddly empty between the seated semi-circle area and the Queens, was no longer empty. 

On Mab's side, it was now utterly  _ packed _ with Wyldfae of Autumn with Spring opposite them; he couldn't even count how many. They filled the area, many were standing, but there were several lounging comfortably on the floor, and one even had a very large chair that he had reclined on, several Fae around him were leaning or had sat on the armrests, one reminded him of Peter as they were precariously perched on the top of the backrest.

He even recognised a few faces here and there. What surprised James was that he hadn't actually seen or heard  _ any  _ of them arrive. Even the bloke with the large chair. There were certainly a lot of Fae, James felt a quiet hum of connection to the newly gathered Fae that he guessed was the bonds of the newly formed Court as it began to bring these groups closer together, he could feel that the way they had gathered had given this a boost somehow. 

It was as if they had just appeared around them. Sure, there were a lot of Fae in the room, and magical signatures were just a huge fuzzy  _ blob _ in his mind, James would have felt that many Fae using Magic to enter and organise.

Unlike the other Courts, there were not ten on each side. There seemed to be as many people packed in as possible. It wasn't just the strongest or an official delegation either, from a guess James would say that any who wanted to support Tony had turned up and they happily clustered together to show their support.

He glanced behind the seating area and wasn't surprised to find that utterly packed too. He noticed that those at the back were wearing a black septagram, that would be Tony's people under the banner of Iron then.

He had wondered where Tony's Court stood on the Ascension. It had seemed odd that he was the only member of the Baneseelie Court present bar for Tony.

Every other Court had a leader or envoy, up to four in that party, and then ten people of the Court, more for the hunt as they seemed to work differently. Then there were the unbound Fae and other races, those who had a vested interest in Tony but were not Fae and hailed from entirely different worlds and dimensions.

Yet, since he sat down within the dome, he had seen none of Tony's Court except himself. Even though he knew there were many staying at the castle. Just before the gates had closed, a large contingent of Fae had arrived and promptly settled themselves into a different, low iron corner of the castle. All without being noticed by the bulk of the visiting Fae, James hadn't really thought much of it until now.

It seemed that the large, open spaces Tony's Mother had left around the seating area was for them, Spring, Autumn and Iron. The members of the Baneseelie Court had arrived, and the travelling Fae were now  _ completely surrounded _ , and there really were a lot of them. Several layers of Iron Court Fae also blocked the exit. He had to give it to The Morrigan; she certainly knew how to set a scene. It was brilliant.

There was a long second of oppressive silence as Math stopped speaking, then Tony's Court made their opinion  _ known, _ loudly cheering, clapping and stomping as a wide array of magic lit up the dome. Colours of different weaves mixing and merging into a living, shimmering rainbow then mixed and wove into with the happiness that still filled the space. 

Many of the travelling dignitaries joined in after the shock of suddenly being  _ surrounded _ passed. Having what looked like several hundred Fae just  _ appear _ around you was disconcerting, especially when they were heavily wrapped in the magic of Tony's Court. Stood together like they were, James couldn't read individual powers or styles of magic, just a solid, almost incandescent wall of Autumn, Spring and Iron. They were not separate, either. Iron was at the centre with Spring to one side and Autumn to the other, but it was a single block, rather than three separate groups.

James was just as swept up in it, feeling a little bit of a head rush now from everything that had filled the dome. The intense nature of Math's speech, a feeling in his core that there had been magic in those words, and they went right to that place in him where his magic settled. Considering it was Math, James would be surprised if there  _ wasn't _ magic in his words. Add to that the joy of the gathered Fae, the overflow feeling of a united group of Fae intent upon one thing. Bringing not only the magic of the Baneseelie Court but also their happiness and intent, it was extraordinary and certainly not something he would be forgetting anytime soon. This was a memory to be hoarded. Somehow all of that energy, power and sheer magic mixed together above them, leaving the flowered ceiling crackling and sparking with hundreds of colours above their heads. Harmless sparks of coloured magic occasionally raining down like bizarre confetti. 

James was watching the magic coalesce when he realised the magic wasn't just hovering in place; it was following through pathways that had been hidden within the living ceiling of the dome. Tony must have known something like this would happen, gather a lot of excitable Fae in a relatively small, closed-off location? Magic was bound to converge around them, so Tony had built pathways into his dome to channel that magic into a harmless display. It almost resembled a circuit board.

James blinked as he suddenly realised that Nat was swaying a little at his side, he cursed internally, Nat was still quite new to the wild abandon magic was used Underhill. Especially at these intense levels, he moved his arm over her shoulders with the intention to shield her with his Black Fire. It had been one of Tony's first lessons with the Black Fire, and with all the energy crackling around him, he needed to do something with it, or he was going to pass out from overload as he realised Nat wasn't the only one who was swaying slightly. Damn, that had snuck up on him again. Luckily Tony was occupied and facing in the other direction.

So, James absolutely flooded his Black Fire shield with all of the power at his fingers. Nat jumped, obviously seeing and feeling his Fire, because of all the extra energy he just dumped into it it was much, much brighter than usual and it was fully visible as it spread into a light circle around not only them but also around The Family at his side and his back. Nat smiled, and she also seemed less dizzy and pale now, he received smiles, and a Dagda grinned, patting his back.

"You are quite the prodigy young Reaper."

"I feel less like I'm going to pass out now."

Nat blinked not having been introduced to Dagda yet. He hoped they had a chance to give that before Earth called them home. He had a feeling they would get along,

"Good, me too."

James shot her a fast grin before all of their attention snapped back to the circle as Tony moved. He calmly walked towards Math, relaxed and with ease as if he had not been standing still for hours on end whilst effectively poisoned and exhausted. Yeah. He might be grumpy about that. The intense focus of the watching Fae was back in an instant as Tony took a step, all of them watching Tony's every move, but there was less pressure on them now that he and Nat were wrapped in Black Fire. He could still feel their focus, so many Fae focused upon one thing, without them using magic, that intention and force of will was clearly a magic unto itself.

They didn't speak this time, but Math handed him a strange sword instead. James knew right away that it was not one of Tony's. James was pretty sure Tony didn't know how to make a blade that wasn't brimming with magic and possibilities. It also was not black, but it was a perfect replica of his Dienyddiwr blade in shape and style at least, the hilt was also identical but without a single Ward and the hilt was also crafted of the same silver as the blade. As if it were a single solid piece, even though he doubted it was. 

Tony had been about to turn when Math reached out and held him in place. Then he handed over a second sword, that was almost identical to the sword he was already carrying that Tony then hesitated over. James was confused; sure Tony could dual wield, very well in fact. But there was only one Dienyddiwr blade, and they went to the trouble to craft a blade identical but without the power to Tony's sword. Making a second seemed odd in a way and the sudden tension that Tony was coiled with had James wondering quite what was happening. Tony didn't look that different to others he suspected, he had merely frozen, but even as disconnected as they were now James knew how to read tension in Tony.

His eyes immediately snapped to the side, looking beyond where Math stood and then back to him. James could only really see Tony's back and the damned circle had cut him off from Tony, which was so disconcerting and he had been distracting himself from really feeling it until now. Now Tony was wound tight with tension and James didn't know why. He had gotten surprisingly used to being able to reach for Tony and knowing he'd reach back had become as much a part of him as his arm. Now there was this white noise and static, like pins and needles and a fizzy feeling where Tony  _ should _ be—giving him a headache whenever he left forgetting and reaching for him. Telling himself not too was all well and good, but it had become instinctual, and as such he was usually feeling the pain of the deadened connection by the time he realised that he was even doing.

James was pretty good at reading body language, especially Tony's. Having that inside track had just sped up the process, even though he was now cut off from it. So he knew enough to see that Tony was shocked, stunned and more than a little alarmed. The kind of shock that practically went beyond finding doughnut aliens above their heads.

The room was silent, yet if the pair were speaking, nothing reached them. At least nothing he could hear. They went back and forth a few seconds before Tony tentatively raised his hand to take the second blade. Carefully, as if it might bite him, shooting occasional glances behind Math. The circle was big, and James didn't want to accidentally force his eyesight to go wonky again, not without Tony to potentially help reel him back. Still, he wanted to know what it was about that second blade that had spooked Tony so severely. Tony didn't spook easily.

James followed where Tony was looking and noticed that his Dienyddiwr blade was free, next to its sheath, propped up against an enormous white stone. Next to it was another sword that James had never seen before that looked  _ very _ similar to Tony's blade, practically identical in everything but colour. Which was odd, Tony  _ made _ his blade. Tony wasn't acting like someone had just made him a blade that was the twin to his Dienyddiwr's blade. That would shock him, but not to this degree.

There was no Reaper Black on this second blade. It was the exact same twisted pattern that the Reaper Black and polished Iron made, but instead, the Iron was replaced with what he recognised as likely being high-grade pure Fae silver. Which was brighter than standard silver and it would shimmer blue mostly, but he knew that it tended to change in accordance with people's emotions. It could take on many colours, he had Tony's pendant made from it, and it had shimmered so many different colours as he had been laying his Wards upon it. It took in Fire as if it had been made to absorb magic. It was nothing like silver found on Earth. Just like the pure, high-grade iron from Bane Mountain was not like Iron from Earth. Blue was its base shimmer; however and James could see the different blues, bright to deep navy shimmering across the blade and highlighting the twisted pattern. The Reaper Black was replaced with a lustrous white metal James had  _ never _ seen before. Depending on where the light hit it, it took on an iridescent shine and seemed to glow. It was  _ bright _ and  _ burning _ Silver and White whereas Tony's blade was  _ dark _ and  _ simmered _ in deep Black and Bane.

Even the hilt was a pure, shining white with tiny shimmering Wards that mirrored James would bet Tony's Dienyddiwr blade perfectly, with it's Black and Woad wrapped hilt. He was too far away to be sure of the details like how the hilt was wrapped or what the Wards were drawn in, but he was sure there was a bird in place of the wolf in the same white metal. The blades seemed like a matched set, even the sheaths mirrored each other in different ways, as this new blade was primarily white whereas the other was black. The wrapping on Tony's blade was still of Summer, Iron and Winter. The white sheath was similar, but it was Spring, Bane and Autumn. The blades were a well-matched set, as different as they were the same, and an odd balance was struck between them.

Yet, Tony had never mentioned that his sword had a white twin. Or any twin. But then the shock and  _ awe _ clear on his face now he had turned around, how Tony kept looking at the Silver replica in his hand made James wonder if  _ Tony _ had known. Even his fingers itched to get a look at both blades and their sheaths and compare them that he imagined Tony felt the same.

The replicas Tony was holding were blank to his sight. Not even a smidge of residual magic. It was impressive actually that they didn't hold even a tiny amount of magic, they were null voids. Not an easy task to accomplish in a place such as Underhill. They were practically stewing in magic here.

A quick glance at the actual swords verified that this second sword was perfectly matched with Tony's sword in magic as well as style. Power so bright that he couldn't even make out the shape of the sword with his sight like this, just a bright shining black aura now mixing with a bright white one. The swords didn't just rest next to each other, the energy combined and passed between them. Creating a bright, shining silver where they met and mixed. James wondered if Math had a blade made to match his Dienyddiwr? But that didn't sound right as he knew that Tony made the other over many years with its own trial. 

He put the information back in his head and focused on the swords in Tony's hands. They looked like Fae Silver, just drained, so it didn't even shimmer, but it would at least hold an edge and be stronger than silver found in Earth.

"First, we bear witness to the Challenge of Might. Who answered the challenge of Might from the Underdark?"

A strange-looking person walked towards the circle from behind Math and stopped beside him, definitely not Seelie Fae by the looks of him. James was unsure if they were Wyldfae too as they didn't share any seasonal colours as the Wyldfae tended to do, even when they joined other Courts. But then they were restricted to the same gear as Tony he thought as he noted he was wearing identical black trousers.

There were far, far more species and people to Underhill and realms which the Fae ruled paramount, governed or merely had adopted. Much more than those of Seelie lands, he had to keep reminding himself. James had mostly been surrounded by Fae of the Seelie lands, and then Seelie Fae tended to be rulers too. Whether it was Unseelie or not. Some races were even considered Fae, as in the people like the Elves, but they were Elves. It was confusing, so James had no idea about this person.

The newcomer was dressed identically to Tony, with matching, thin black trousers and nothing else. Simple lightweight fabric, no armour, no Wards or magic in any way. He had a quick glimpse of cat-like, vivid, green eyes that seemed different to Tony's and the Fae he had met, which matched the cat ears… and the tail. He was pale, but his skin was tinted grey in certain areas. He didn't so much walk, rather he stalked, or prowled, and he was also painted James realised, but not with Woad. A shining silver paint was in strategic locations that matched areas Tony had been discussing Warding first for James. 

James hadn't actually seen anyone else with as much Woad, or other equivalent Warding, as Tony. The leader of the Hunt was close, but even he didn't quite compare to Tony, who barely had a scrap of skin unWarded. Tony had spent many years as a weapon, even after he was free, James knew that Tony still occasionally saw himself that way. So he had Warded himself in that way, James also knew the Wards comforted him.

Strangely, even though it was done to  _ remove _ power from Tony, the effect was actually quite intimidating now that he was now  _ entirely _ covered in Woad.

"Vina'ixvar, previously of Clan Maen before banishment of the Tau'ri. Do you accept this challenge."

"I do."

The man's accent was bizarre, and even across the circle he caught a flash of four long, sharp fangs. Rather than the fangs similar to Tony, his teeth were much sharper, and fangs more pronounced. Banished? Why was he banished?

"If you are successful, your previous sentence of death will be commuted. You will be released from Underdark, but we cannot promise protection from Clan Justice."

James turned to face Tony's mother, who seemed perfectly calm. He had known there was to be a fight. He hadn't known that fight would be against a person who had been sentenced to  _ death _ for his crimes? He hadn't known the Underdark was a prison. That if he bested Tony, he would get to go free? He looked at the cat-man again, and the way he held himself was familiar to what he had seen in some of the brutal prisons in countries that packed them in and then didn't care if they killed each other. James also knew that the Laws for the Fae were not as stringent as on earth, so James had to wonder what he had done that got him both banished by his clan and sentenced to death by the Fae.

The cat-man went to a rack of weapons that matched Tony's. All silver, and none with magic. This battle was meant to be entirely magic free which explained the shining straps on Tony's upper left arm that James had only just noticed, it stood out with his sight and James presumed that it was another lock to keep Tony from his magic.

The man returned with two swords, but James could tell from where he was that he wasn't used to dual wielding. He had picked two weapons because Tony had two by the looks of it. He might not have been in training long, but Tony's training methods were intense, and James could see that the blade in his left hand was drooping slightly, it overbalanced his gait. Tony had moved now, so he was off to the side, with his back to Mab. Now he wasn't standing perfectly still, he seemed more alive, moving and keeping his wrists loose. He even flashed a wide smile at James, which calmed the pit of nerves that had formed in James' gut. 

Math raised his hand, and the circle shimmered in front of him for cat-man to enter. He strode in confidently and took up his space against Tony. With the potential of release from prison and a death sentence he certainly had motivation to fight, James would probably feel better if it hadn't been for all of the work to exhaust and hinder Tony, but that was the point he supposed.

"You have until the sand runs dry to complete the challenge or both of you will face forfeit."

Tony managed to do an actual non-sarcastic bow to Math before facing his opponent without speaking. James switched back to his sight, which was when he noticed a similar shimmer to his arm, covering the bottom of Tony's face. He should have predicted that really. To cut Tony off from his magic was never going to be simple, there were likely a few locks in place to stop any instinctive magic outside of Tony's control.

Math flicked his hand, and something slightly similar to a sand timer appeared. It was huge, and the shimmering black sand turned dull and grey as it hit the bottom.

It started in a similar fashion to one of their training sessions oddly enough. Tony seemed relaxed and calm as they tried to work each other out. Despite the time limit and threat of  _ forfeits… _ another thing James had not read about and had no idea what they entailed, Tony seemed in no rush. His relaxed stance also seemed to be pissing off his opponent. 

Knowing Tony, that was likely the intention.

That was where any familiarity to their training sessions with him and Rhodes ended. Tony was much faster when they clashed, matched by the speed and ferocity of his strange, agile opponent. Attacks came in blindingly fast that sometimes James wasn't even sure he saw them, just that he heard them and occasionally saw blood hit the ground. It wasn't only faster either; it was easily more brutal as each clash was lasting longer now before one of them backed off. 

There was also a degree of pageantry involved, Tony could move fast, James knew that, but there was a different edge to his movements, more fluid. Softer edges as he twisted away rather than the fast and brutal attacks James had seen him use against the redcaps for example. Then, even in something like this, they were Fae, and there were always more levels to things than he first assumed. More so in a Fae trial, a fight was hardly just a fight. Nat was watching intently, literally on the edge of her seat.

"This is not a battle to a standstill."

He would have turned to her, but that meant taking his eyes from the fight, which was not happening. At the speed they were clashing he could miss much in seconds. These blades obviously didn't bruise like the training swords as blood splashed on the floor from a particularly deep cut on the Cat-man's leg in the last clash, he considered Nat's words. Tony seemed to be wearing down his opponent. Moving fast, but he was adding deep cuts in different areas. Some deeper than others. Whilst grinning and dancing back after every clash, which really was pissing off the other guy, making him rush into the next with more anger and less planning. Tony had not left every encounter free, he had several cuts, but they seemed shallow compared to a few Cat-man was now sporting.

A deep slash to the cat-man's inner thigh forced him down as he collapsed on one knee for a few seconds before he staggered back to his feet. The wound was bleeding enough to be concerning. Which was when James noted something very important, that Nat had already seen and he had been trying to ignore. That he had seen early on and pretended he wasn't seeing. That attack, however, was not to wound and defeat. James couldn't work a single way in his mind that it could be unlike the others. That was a wound to kill. 

There were no two ways about it, that kind of wound would eventually bleed out without medical attention, and Tony simply wouldn't  _ accidentally _ hit someone like that during a fight. A little to the left and in a human that would be the femoral artery. Despite the fact Tony was drained, magicless and effectively poisoned, Tony was clear-headed and still moving fast as one of the man's swords went flying from a deep cut on the man's arm. 

Down a sword, even injured, the guy was now fighting better after he switched to his claws in his empty hand. Dual-wielding had been a pretty stupid move James' thought, but he was happy for any advantage to Tony. What followed was several fast attacks where they didn't pull apart, James felt the start of a headache as he tried to track their movements, but he sucked in a breath as he slashed four deep furrows right across Tony's stomach with his claws. James had been so focused on the man's claws that he almost missed Tony's sword slicing deep into his neck at the same moment, right to the hilt and down into the man's chest, whatever Tony hit, the man didn't last long after that.

Tony easily pulled the sword free before walking calmly back to where he stood at the beginning of the fight, as the other thumped heavily down on the floor, dead. Tony was back to standing in the same spot before the fight started, just now with four deep gashes on his stomach which were bleeding quite freely, and it made James twitch, but he knew nothing could be done about it. Even if Tony looked utterly unconcerned, that wasn't a damned papercut. Apart from the deep furloughs, there were two quite serious wounds that James focused on, and several smaller wounds that concerned him but for a different reason. The kind of wound Tony would usually heal from in under a minute, yet they were _still_ _bleeding._ Tony seemed to be healing as slow as a damned human which made those four deep gashes across his stomach look so much worse now. James had been concerned about them when he had assumed Tony's healing factor had been left alone.

The point of the fights was that Tony would become more exhausted and injured as they continued. He should have known that Tony's healing factor would be inhibited. Really, he should be happy that was all the damage he took, especially as he now knew these fights were apparently to the damned death. If Tony had enough magic to spare, he assumed he would stop the bleeding when the locks were removed.

Math waved one of his scarred hands and the cat-man and the swords vanished in a bright white flash, the blood was the only thing that remained. Tony's silver blades disappeared too from his hands, as did the binds on his magic. Tony didn't waste a second to gather any magic to him, as soon as the binds vanished, Blue Fire lit up his aura like a roaring furnace, which caused shock from some in the seated audience, and cheers from the sides and the back. James knew that it usually would take a person time to get their power back, especially in  _ that _ circle to heal wounds  _ that _ deep, but Clíodhna was right earlier. Many forget or just refuse to understand that Tony doesn't command Fire. He  _ is _ Fire. He  _ is  _ magic because of that. Tony can create his own Blue Fire. Tony had told him he couldn't create as much as a fabulous beast, but could summon enough that he impressed them. Which meant he could create enough Fire to  _ impress freaking dragons.  _

James hadn't seen Tony use his Blue Fire like this though, usually he used Black Fire, or wrapped his Blue Fire in other weaves. Cut off from other sources, this was pure Blue Fire and his eyes burned with it as it wrapped around his arms like vines of Fire. The four slashes on his stomach burned brightly before healing, followed quickly by other would from the most severe to scratches here and there. Four thick golden lines remained with hints of the Wards hidden beneath the woad. He had to wonder if Tony allowed that injury, knowing that this would definitely unnerve his next opponent. Math eyed the cleared section, noting that the Wards were still inaccessible and no single Ward was completely revealed before getting ready to continue. Whilst that was one fight to the death concluded, he knew Tony was about to go straight into a second. 

James was pretty sure this damned Ascension was going to age him 50 years at this rate. Nat was crushing his knee, which belied her calm. The Fae around them seemed pretty relaxed, so he figured it was a human thing to be freaked out by fights to the death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right. So, new neighbours... Who we have dubbed The Fire Nation.
> 
> Because they keep burning everything they can in their garden, including an old, mouldy mattress that has been sat outside for months. That isn't even the worst of it, as many of their fires were burning from a plastic box!
> 
> As such, sometimes several times a day (8 was the most we counted), we are getting hit by horrid, acrid black smoke that smells toxic. It has triggered so many migraines I have lost days, on top of that my lungs are not great. My partner is asthmatic. After two solid weeks of fires, neither of us are doing great, and of course, my and immune system is taking this weakness to land me with a fever. 
> 
> Mostly, it's the migraines and plastic fumes that are bothering me because it is extremely hard to concentrate and proofread. Or write at all. It's like operating under severe insomnia and some of the horrible meds I have had in the past. So, I probably rambled a bit, and I wanted to comb through and chops bits out if need but it was taking forever to finish this proof, let alone another go over.
> 
> Everything has slowed to a snail's pace (but at the same time under five days of not sleeping, I had some great ideas for future chapters in this fic, after Underhill where chapters won't be 20k anymore 🤣)
> 
> So, I am very sorry for how slow things are going. Hopefully, my neighbours run out of things to burn or learn burning plastic is terrible (and very much not allowed in Nottingham!) I will not let this stop me, even if I am writing slow, I love this story. I love writing Underhill! (If that was not obvious by the spiralling word count of this arc)


	79. Of Crowns and Tables Pt2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of Crowns and Tables  
Part 2 (of 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am alive, and a large chapter along with my apologies! I'll add more explanation at the bottom so you can get to the reading!

**Of Crowns and Tables**

**Part 2**

**James POV**

Nat squeezed his hand and James wasn't entirely sure if he wanted a break. Unsure if he wanted time to process what he actually just saw or for things to get a damned move on. As he tracked Tony, casually waiting for the next fight, he decided quick. Quick was best, because as far as James was concerned, he had already spent enough time cut off from his magic, his Wards and his people. Himself included. Not even including the exhaustion that he had to be feeling right now. Also, if he had enough time to really think about what just happened, then he was going to stress about what was obviously going to happen next.

So when Math spoke up again, he tensed with anticipation but oddly felt somewhat relieved.

"Second the Challenge of Magic, who answered the challenge of Magic from the Underdark?"

Oh great. Another person from Fae death row for a fight to the death. That was the bit he was not relieved for. With _ magic _ this time, when Tony's had already been seriously depleted, and it looked like there was no offer of a staff or anything similar as a focus. After this, he was so kicking Tony in the shin for not telling him about this part. He could probably get Rhodes involved too. 

At the same time, if he had known this yesterday, he would have stayed up freaking out. More nerves than cuddling. Still, it didn't mean he _ liked _ it. James found himself adapting to how Fae did things quite easily, but when he ran into something he clashed with, it was a serious clash. Challenges were weaved into so many stories James had found. One rarely gained a name of power without a challenge mentioned somewhere, the nature of those challenges probably should have been evident to him in retrospect, given the Fae.

The next person certainly wasn't Seelie either by the look of them. Dressed similar to Tony and cat-man except this person had a black sleeveless tight top on which made James think they were possibly a woman. Although this was Underhill, James really tried not to just assume gender Underhill. 

They were barely 5 foot tall, slim, but they walked in a manner that left James assuming that their legs were articulated differently to a human. Oh, and they had no nose, or mouth, just upping that creepy factor even more with huge, round eyes that were bright and glowing slightly with a yellow hue. The eyes took up most of their face; their hair was the exact same colour and was in a short, pixie cut. They stopped next to Math so James couldn't see much yet, but they raised their hands in a greeting of some form and even from that distance he saw they were much different, much longer fingers that seemed to have three joints. Now James had seen quite a variation of people Underhill, he loved it, but this creature was almost… alien in appearance with grey-white skin that was paper white, not pink. Their ears were much larger than the Fae he had met so far and were sharply pointed.

They were also painted like Tony and the Cat-man, he noticed. With a white-based but shimmering paint this time, which made it hard to differentiate from their skin. Only when the light caught it did the painted sections glimmer slightly. Their hands and arms were coated, but there was none on their face. On seeing Tony, he noticed their hands twitched near their waist that James interpreted as that they usually kept a weapon of some kind there.

James wondered if it had been hard to find people to face Tony. He was Underhill's enforcer and executioner after all. When crimes were committed, he was often called, it was likely his name would be known to them. James expected there was some kind of force that also went after criminals? Tony seemed to be the last stop. They'd clearly done something bad enough to warrant death, that might have been by Tony's hand anyway. This way, they got to fight their executioner when he had been drained, attacked and debilitated. 

At the same time, Tony had a reputation which he suspected would definitely scare the shit out of people. James had seen enough visitors now and how some acted around Tony to give him a good idea. So even debilitated, how many would want to walk into a circle they could not leave, and a fight to the death, with Underhill's Executioner? Well, obviously this person did, but he wondered how many responded to the call to face Tony.

Especially when he was still burning with ethereal Blue Fire, painted entirely with Woad, and waiting on his next opponent wholly relaxed. James admitted that he looked pretty scary, but then that ability to be scary had been one of his favourite parts of Tony even at the beginning. Stripped back as he was now, _ still _ burning, yeah he definitely looked terrifying. 

If only he weren't in the _ second fight of the death _ of the day, James would be quite happy right now. 

"Entaurio of the Marunae. Do you accept this challenge?"

"I do."

James blinked as whispers fluttered around the room. Several different voices, some were masculine, others feminine, some he could barely understand. Also, he hadn't expected _ words, _ seeing as they had no mouth! Fuck that was creepy. Also, strangely, James got the idea that Math did not like this person. The other he hadn't felt much of anything about the man, but there was a low-level hum of hostility flitting across his senses that had not been there earlier.

"If you are successful, your previous sentence of death will be commuted. You will be released from Underdark, but we cannot promise protection from your Forest or your people."

They ducked their head before turning to the circle which Math opened with a much sharper gesture than any he had used before as they walked in with their attention entirely on Tony. 

Tony hadn't taken his eyes off of them for a second since they entered the area, as they stopped with a few feet between them Tony was watching with a degree of intensity he had not afforded the previous challenger. James knew that look on Tony's face; he _ knew _this person. That look was not far off when he spoke of those who threatened the balance. Tony smiled, but a smile wasn't the best description, as it was all sharp teeth, fangs and threat. It was something that looked more at home on Tony's wolf than his Fae form.

"You have until the sand runs dry to complete the challenge or both of you will face forfeit."

Math waved his hand towards the timer that reset. This time they didn't circle, but stood stock still and grey magic collected and sparked around her fingers, Tony's stance didn't change, leaving him relaxed but still burning with Blue Fire. Tony's mother leaned towards him, causing him to jump slightly, his attention so hyper-focused on the fight just waiting to break out that everything else had faded back slightly.

"My son has fought her several times before. Each time, she had evaded death."

That was worrying. Natalia looked over. She looked slightly nervous too. She likely didn't know quite enough about Tony yet to understand why that was very weird.

"How?"

"Distraction. The last time she was free, she blew up a school. Thirty-seven children returned to the light from her actions, but that time she did not escape. She is very… strange, Marunae are a peaceful, friendly race. They go out of their way to help _ anyone, _ but she has been poison for her entire life. Her people just didn't know how to deal with her. Eventually, they called my son in, out of desperation. Their land had little need for his position of Dienyddiwr, but he was known to them under different titles, and they requested his help. They required in her contract that she be taken alive, so they could attempt to rehabilitate her. He caught her, but not before she caused much pain to others. So many were killed in her _ distractions, _ and over the last 30 or so seasons, she has killed 14 more of her own people trying to help her, there are no prisons in their realm you see. Nothing even similar. From what I can see, only recently did they sign her over to Death's Path and to The Underdark. She must have jumped at this opportunity, not realising before that my son was bound to non-lethal force, whereas now, he has little choice in the matter."

Well, James was right about one thing, Tony definitely knew her, in a sudden flash, they went from opposite sides of the circle to both stood dead centre. So close there was barely an inch between them, but Tony barely touched her, the placement was meticulous. Her hands were on each side of Tony's face, and Tony's Fire bright fingers were resting against her temples. Their foreheads were also just barely touching.

James had expected the magic fight to be more... flashy. He didn't like the way things were currently going, because their positioning meant this was a battle within their minds. Just as he settled in for a nerve-racking fight, Natalia grumbled, and James noticed a few people setting in to wait. For what felt like several minutes no-one moved, no energy changed, just sand falling which sounded strangely loud in the silence that had fallen over everyone. 

James and several others jerked as a bright silver light flashed between them and pushed towards Tony like a strike. They stayed locked, but when the spots cleared from his eyes, James noticed that there was a deep slash across Tony's forehead. His eyes remained closed as the head wound bled profusely, yet Tony seemed unconcerned. The silver magic seemed to blaze out from the centre of her back before flaring brightly, coiling around her, before it fluctuated as if it were trying desperately to wrap around Tony but was struggling to do so. 

The silver flare stopped suddenly, as if it's path reaching for Tony had been blocked. It looked like silver water crashing against a glass wall. Nothing happened for another minute, everyone was just frozen in place, watching the silver energy splash against an unseen, yet formidable barrier. James held his breath, waiting to see if that barrier cracked when Tony slowly smiled. That was the first clue things were likely going to go wrong for her. Seconds later, the silver magic seemed to almost bend, crackling as it was _ forced _ backwards, pushing in on itself in jerky movements. No longer smashing against a barrier but jerking back with bright, intermittent flashes. In such a way that James read as... painful-looking somehow.

As it flashed and wavered, it was steadily pushed back towards her, away from Tony and to the middle of her back where it had initially been flared from. When it had about a foot left to go, instead of the slow, jerky movements, a large force slammed it back the entire way.

Another bright silver flash that again had him blinking spots as it lit up the room so brightly, this time James was sure that there had been blue amongst that silver, but the sheer brightness made it hard to tell. The light show was also throwing shadows around the round erratically that had his own abilities spiking across his senses, adding to the cluster effect of higher magics being hurled around them. As the last flash burned brighter, and James was definitely sure he saw blue that time, it came with a short scream over several different registers that felt like it rattled in his head. 

She was bleeding when he could see again, and the bright silver magic was entirely gone now, the room returned to its original lighting that seemed dim after that light show. She was sagging slightly, and there was much more damage to her than the superficial cut to Tony's head that had already slowed it's bleeding. 

At a guess, he would say she tried to force an advantage too early, and just paid for that risk and was bleeding from several locations. That was something Tony enjoyed pulling on himself and Rhodes during training. Luring them into thinking they had an advantage and then royally trouncing them with it. Seeing that tactic in a fight that was to the death was another reminder of the power Tony could call, and where James' new powers came from. What he could be doing one day, and the reprehensible people he would be up against.

Even though the fight was mostly them just standing there again, James was on the edge of his seat. A glance to his left showed that Nat was in a similar position. He had thought the first fight had been hard to watch, but at least he could see what was bloody happening. This fight was somehow more tense. Tony didn't rush ahead to push his advantage at the sight of blood like she had, which meant nothing seemed to happening again.

For what felt like another _ agonising _ eight minutes, there was nothing seemingly happening as Tony completely stopped bleeding, Blue Fire then began spreading over the cut. That was when James noticed Tony twitched into a smile. 

Barely a second later, the strange whispers burst across the room again, but this time it was a definite scream of rage or pain. He felt like covering his ears, but he could hear the different voices rattling through his mind so he didn't think that would help any, he decided he wasn't fond of this species method of communication, even when it was controlled it was unpleasant. When the control slipped like it was now? It was going to give him a sodding migraine.

James didn't know what-not had done to elicit such a reaction, but it was quickly followed up by a large burst of Blue Fire from the same point on Tony's back as the silver magic had stemmed from. The Blue Fire coiled around Tony for a second, before flaring out wide, a good 2 metres in both directions. Well, _ that _ was the flash he had expected from this fight. It hovered there for a second or two, before both sides speared towards the woman at once. She either didn't have a chance to block as Tony had, or she had exhausted herself in her initial attack. The Fire didn't slow for a second as a burst of crackling Fire was heard before it securely wrapped around them both. Blocking them from view entirely under a thick curtain of Blue Fire that lit up the room brightly. James blinked for a second because he swore that they had looked like wings. 

Well, he supposed Tony was Fire. Fire from Dragons… he had once compared Tony's aura to that of a sleeping dragon. Right now, that dragon was very _ awake. _ This was probably the closest James had been to seeing Tony without masking or toning down something about himself, and he found that it still made him feel comfortable. Even though there were some people sitting around him, shifting nervously in their seats. Not those of The Family, but the Yearning Heart delegation was a little pale, James found himself grinning sharply.

Out of everyone, Mab caught his eye at the same moment and returned that same smile. The one where a person you care about is strong, competent and to some? Downright terrifying. He felt something shift in his chest, a chill that made him shiver but not with discomfort. A cool breeze when the heat is oppressive. Cool water when you are burning up.

Not wanting to look into that right now, he turns his attention back to the conflagration of Blue Fire at the centre of the room. Bright silver flashes were flaring intermittently, but the Blue Fire was constant and bright enough that it utterly drowned it out. They couldn't see either person, the fire was a good six or seven feet high, and he could feel the sheer heat from it where he sat. The some above then unsurprisingly was unaffected, but then Tony had become quite adept over the years at making things fireproof. Himself and Rhodey developing different kinds of Pyrokinesis had required a lot of that. Otherwise, they would have both torched Tony's apartments on several occasions during training.

James would worry, but he knows Tony is also Fireproof, and he doubts she is. So in the middle of a Fire, specifically the Fire that Tony personifies, his money is on Tony. As time passed, the silver flashes became less frequent, stuttering and dimming until they had stopped entirely. Then the Fire pulled back, now _ definitely _ in the shape of wings. James rolled his eyes at Tony showing off as the Blue Fire slowly and smoothly folded back entirely into himself. The other woman was _ gone, _ not even ash remained.

James let go of a breath that he hadn't realised he had been holding and he felt Nat do the same. Thinking slightly at the empty space. It wasn't over, but that was at least the last sodding fight to the death they would have to watch at least. Tony had returned to his original at attention stance, with his eyes closed, relaxed and smiling slightly. The blood had vanished from his face, with no wounds visible on his person, The Blue Fire having dealt with all of that. However, a lot of the Wards on his face were now visible because of the cuts and blood. Math seemed to notice that and with a silver crackle of energy, have a silver and black container in his hands. Likely to touch up Tony's woad.

"You need patching up before your test of will."

The bow was back to something a little more _ Tony- _ like as he turned and headed towards Math _ . _It wasn't as sarcastic as he had seen Tony do to other people, but there was certainly a heavy dose of sarcasm and an undercurrent of amusement that James could feel from across the room, it felt... strange. James had really gotten used to the various connections they had, and being cut off was still disorientating enough on its own. The Fae attribute to project certain emotions was something he had only really felt externally from other Fae, not so much from Tony as he had the inside track. It still baffled him how he had not only adapted to something humans should see as bizarre so quickly, and without him even noticing. He would be the first to admit he missed it, and he didn't like the numb static within his mind, and Tony couldn't get out of that damned circle fast enough.

Math just thwacked Tony on the head, bringing James thought back to the room and away from the numb, static point in his brain. Tony's amusement burned slightly brighter, to the point James wondered if the slow increase of Tony's power since the Ascension started was screwing with his ability to tone down things like this. Tony spent so much time around a lot of humans that he pulled most of this inwards, heading back to the compound was certainly going to be interesting, that was for sure. James is pretty sure Pepper would get annoyed at flowers sprouting from door frames, Sam would freak, he had a feeling that he was going to find it hilarious.

Math deftly patching up the Woad on Tony's face, hands and stomach and a number of smaller cuts from each fight. James was quite amazed at how perfectly still Tony was standing. He hadn't known Tony knew how to stand or sit still for longer than 15 seconds. James' legs were also aching just _ looking _ at Tony right now. Some people were talking about the fights around him as Math finished reapplying Tony's woad. Items exchanged hands in a few places which James assumed were from bets, several of The Family were putting out supremely smug vibes.

Even now he still felt off balance, at least the two fights were over, but his stomach still felt like lead. Tony's mother seemed to pick up on what he was feeling and squeezed his arm, which did make him feel better, and he managed to smile for her.

"He will be fine. This is not the first trial of challenges he has been through. My son is stronger than he lets anyone know."

That was certainly something James knew. Tony was good at running a line between being powerful and scary whilst also tricking people into chronically underestimating him.

"I know, it's just… it was a fight to the death. Two of them. I… that…"

"It is a hard thing for us who care for him to watch. That is why they are a part of an Ascension. The challenge is not just for him, you see. It is for us too."

"It is?"

"Yes. The challenge is for those of his Court, you and those at each side and the back—your faith in your king. Should you believe him to fail, then he will suffer that worse than any slice of a blade or magic through his mind. Should you believe him to triumph, even with his magic drained and bound, his endurance taxed, his body sapped and mind fogged, then he will take the faith of his Court and wrap it around him. It is the same with the other Courts, but to a lesser extent as he is more closely bound with you and those of his Court. The bonds that tie the Courts together, however, are still strong, as he proves himself here, he is being brought into that Network. Primarily with Mab and Titania, but also with each leader of the Lower Courts 

"Each Court that believes in him is another brick in the wall of faith that gives him strength and power to continue to the stage. You see, these challenges are _ ours _ as well as _ his, _for even for a Fae. It is hard to watch one you love enter a ring of which in order to leave, they must succeed in a battle that only ends when one of the combatants is dead."

James blinked as he absorbed all of that. It had not accounted to him and yet somehow it made complete sense now he knew it. Underhill was primarily run on will; something like this could not be formed on Tony's will alone.

"Oh, I didn't even think of it like that, even though now I think about it does make sense."

"It is also hard on another level for those of us that surround him as his family and loved ones. Watching a person you love suffer and hurt? Yet we must refuse to turn away."

James blinked a few seconds as he absorbed what she just said and the rather Fae like grin on her face. He was rescued from not knowing what to say next by Math talking.

"Third the Challenge of Mind. You are to summon your Loci."

Tony nodded, looking very serious even though he had returned to standing facing away from Math now, eyes closed, with his links loose in the similar relaxed stance he had returned to between each challenge. Somehow he was standing fully straight up, not even slouching or leaning to the side, even though he must have been standing for hours now.

"You have until the sand runs dry to complete the challenge or you will face forfeit."

James wasn't sure if he wanted to know what the forfeit was, mostly because he was pretty sure it was something terrible. He was starting to realise that this definitely wasn't the kind of challenge you failed and got to try again, or even live on after. 

Although, this is Underhill. It could be a bloody, violent and vicious space just as easily as it was a place of wonder that was fantastical and amazing. It's one thing to be told that everything Underhill was in balance, realising just how much that affected and how, was an entirely different experience.

"Flip the time."

Math waves his hand towards the timer as it reset again. Tony didn't move at all, he didn't change his stance, but James recognised the feel of what Tony was doing from his magic lessons. It was a subtle change as his focus switched inwards, shutting out the distraction of the physical world around them.

Or, at least he recognised the extremely basic version where Tony taught him how to slip back to his core. Similar to how they fell back entirely to his core so he could strengthen it. Like when he and Tony had been trying to assess exactly where he was when it came to his magic. James knew more about this section too, it wasn't described in great detail, but he knew this challenge was for Tony to draw Hetaris out from the cavern at the heart of the Iron mountain. To bring him into the circle and give him a physical form, so everyone gathered could see that the Loci was happy with its choice of Foci. He had noticed that a lot of the Ascension for the upper Courts stemmed from the great war, it was either proving strength, commitment or faith in one way or another—anything to avoid two people quarrelling over a single Foci again.

It took longer than the previous two fights. By the time he noticed that flickers of black fire started to collect in the centre, it startled him slightly. James wasn't even sure when it had exactly started. All of his attention was so heavy on Tony that it had slipped his notice. Since his mother had mentioned the faith thing, that was all he could think of. Just the faith thing, nothing else really got through. Even when it was Black Fire burning in the circle, he could feel a tenuous link to the small flames, but the circle made it feel numbed.

James switched his attention back and forth now he knew it was building. Black Fire to Tony. The more Tony brought Hetaris forth; the more Black Fire burned in the circle… the more James felt. Even with the circle that was meant to be blocking everything out. 

If he was feeling something, then maybe Tony was getting something on his end. So James doubled down on his focus, everything falling back from around him as his attention narrowed, projecting good, helpful and encouraging thoughts, care, faith and a slew of happy stuff basically. One thing his lessons with Tony and Rhodes had started, and the lessons on magic had pronounced, was how to focus in a way he couldn't even explain to other people. It was like when Tony's attention fell on a person, that kind of heavy focus that seemed to stem more from magical ability and training and only partially from humans natural reaction to Fae. It was one part of his lessons that he had fallen into quite easily, but this was the first time he was pushing it away from a lesson format.

James quietly wondered if any of it actually got through Math's circle, but he did notice that Tony had a small smile on his face now as he concentrated. James liked all of Tony's smiles, especially the scary one's. But that small, quietly stunned and happy one was his favourite. He usually only saw it after James got Tony to believe something obvious about himself that he stubbornly had ignored.

The Black Fire really picked up speed then, surging until it was joined with the heavy, pitch-black ribbons. James loved watching those two parts of Tony's magic work together. Both were Black, but both had such different qualities that mixing them together produced an incredible effect. The Black Fire seemed to give off light, whereas the Black Bane ribbons were so dark it seemed to absorb all light. The magic mixed and surged up. Tony still looked the same, but over the Woad James could see a sheen of sweat that showed this was harder than it looked.

James wondered what form Hetaris was going to choose this time whilst he tried to distract himself from the strain he could now see Tony going through. Hetaris looked pretty magnificent in every form he had seen him, although he was quite partial to the stag he had first taken to meet him. He was _ huge, _ Bane dark and impressive in every form. He hadn't seen Hetaris' wolf that Tony had mentioned he had chosen several times now, it was apparently bigger than James wolf. He wondered if the three of them could run before they left. 

The Bane steadily started taking over, but the Fire surrounded the forming shape now. With Tony and his focus so heavily onto the Black Fire, James could feel more now, even with the circle. It slowly built until that empty static feeling in his mind thankfully started to fade away. It was still dulled slightly, nothing like what he had become used to, but it was better than the utter numb, lack of feeling he had had since sunrise. Even with the heavy lethargy caused by the magic drain suddenly weighing his arms and legs down. Followed quickly by a surge of dizziness and a headache slamming into him with the force of a freight truck.

On top of that, he hardly noticed that his legs were like stone, locked up and aching from standing so long, oh, and he felt nauseated too, but it was still better than empty static. Pretty much anything was better than that in James' mind, even if now he felt like utter shit. It was lots of things slowly stacked up, taking its toll on Tony's endurance. You couldn't tell it from looking at him. Tony seemed perfectly fine, baring the sheen of sweat. Even he hadn't seen it.

James could feel everything, and he felt _ awful. _ Tony's Mother seemed to realise he was feeling what Tony was after Tony caught her attention. James was peripherally aware of the silent communication as a cool wind whipped around and through him, leaving his head clearer. It didn't cut him off, but it put a small barrier against the worst of what Tony was feeling which Tony probably would have done if he realised quite how close James had just gotten and if he wasn't busy. James hadn't exactly meant to do _ that, _he didn't even know how, or even what he had just done.

"What you just did should have been impossible. People can take years trying to crack into Maths Wards, and you just slipped right through as if it wasn't even there and went straight to my son."

Knowing what he felt like now, and probably only getting a small hint at that, James had to wonder _ how _ Tony was standing right now as he forced himself to stay sitting and watching. Shrugging helplessly at Tony's mother, he didn't know how he did that. He was trying to be helpful, not break freaking Math's Wards. Math was a scary guy that James had no intention of poking, whilst he knew he was already pretty powerful back on Earth, James knew he was a tiny fish in a sea of great white sharks right now.

She rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to the circle, keeping her handy lightly on his arm. Probably to keep him blocked off from the worst of what Tony was feeling. That shield was much more forgiving than Math's circle. It was like painkillers, making the connection fuzzy and dulled rather than the pins and needles static shock of having the connections entirely blocked.

Hetaris did finish forming much faster he noticed. The shape was definitely that of a wolf, but Tony was right, Hetaris was damned huge. He was like a damned horse. A wolf the size of a size horse. A damned _big_ _horse_ too. At first, it was almost a void of light in the shape of a wolf, until details slowly started to fill in with Black Fire burning around him. The Black Fire was to protect those in attendance who were vulnerable to Bane, which was practically everyone in the centre of the room and at least half of everyone else at a guess.

Hetaris' fur was still a deep, deep black, and from experience; he knew it was as soft as velvet. Even as everything settled into place with a balance of Fire and Bane, he seemed to absorb light just as easily as the Bane magic itself from which Hetaris formed from. There was a thick chain that was very similar to the one Tony had returned with the first day, but at a glance, even only seeing some of it because Hetaris was facing away from him, James knew that Tony made that chain. Hetaris and Tony had similar enough styles, but he could pick out the differences after seeing Tony and Hetaris exchange a few gifts. The links were similar to the Court torc he was wearing that Tony had crafted for him. Black Reaper metal, pure unchanged black iron and a bright shining Underhill silver. That continued in a pattern long enough that each end was almost brushing the floor. 

He couldn't see from here, but James knew the links would be Warded, because this was Tony, the day he didn't Ward something was the day he worried. It looked like the glass-like substance Tony had used on his pin, with Black, Blue and White Fires flickering happily inside. Repeating that same pattern. At each end, it looked like two small amethyst stones, that shocked James, because he had a feeling he knew what that was and he wondered if the fact Tony had moulded even small amounts Purple Fire, if that meant he was learning how to work with it—masking it so few would think of the stones as Fire. He knew Tony had been nervous about his forth Fire, but he also knew Tony wouldn't neglect a Fire that had taken to him.

Tony sunk his fingers into Hetaris' thick fur and rested his forehead against his. There was a heavy silence as everyone took in the great Iron Direwolf in. Hetaris knew he was big, powerful and effortlessly terrifying to others. Especially to people vulnerable to bane. They parted, and Hetaris moved forward to greet Math. Their conversation was quiet before Hetaris turned and headed straight to him. Thankful that the seats they had were on the edge of the circle, so he could reach in and mimic what Tony did. In his defence, Hetaris' fur was so soft, and James was still a little shaky on everything that had happened since he sat down.

"We need to run sometime."

"I approve of this plan. Our knight is smart."

"Shh, Tony doesn't know I know."

"I know, he cannot hear this. I know what he wants, and he has worked himself up to telling you many times. We're in triple digits by now. He is giving me a headache. I look forward to being able to speak to you. With two anchors, I might be able to run in the forest without years of practice. I might even be able to cross into his lands across the Blue Fire."

James grinned before sitting back down as Hetaris turned and greeted Tony's mother. Even sat next to then he could barely hear their conversation, so he figured Tony didn't hear anything Hetaris said. 

He wondered on what Hetaris said as everyone else was distracted by the giant wolf. He figured that he was going to have to be the one to bring this up, or Tony would tie himself up in knots for who knows how long. If he can save Tony from that, it just made sense. Natalia raised an eyebrow, apparently having heard a little of their conversation to which he just shrugged, too complicated to explain and the wrong place to try. Not surprising though, whilst Nat wasn't a Banshee in the literal sense, the White Shadows were a type of Banshee in a way, their sense of hearing was almost as high as their sense of magical energies. 

As soon as people realised that even though Hetaris was crafted from Bane, he didn't seem to cause Fae to burn on contact, more people bravely edged forward. James knew that Hetaris and Tony could control that effect by bringing the Black Fire that Tony had wrapped around him forward, protecting those vulnerable to Bane. They could also peel that Fire back and emanate pure Bane, but then he was an Iron Direwolf after all, he was death to many in this room. Tony and Hetaris _ held _ Spring and Autumn, but Tony and Hetaris _ were _ Iron and Bane at their core.

As Hetaris moved back after greeting every single person brave enough to approach him, he went back to face Math. He stood close enough to Tony so he could wrap his arm around him. It was clever. It gave Tony's legs a little rest without looking like it.

"Hetaris, I bid you welcome to the Great Courts of Underhill. The High Courts and the Council of Courts are indebted to you for what your arrival has brought back to our lands and our people."

"I welcome you Loremaster Math to the Ironlands. The great gift you gave me in the form of my Foci is one I treasure greatly, as such we crafted this for you."

James was pretty sure Hetaris was better at being polite than Tony. He couldn't see Tony replying to something like that without some kind of sarcasm.

Well, Tony was perfectly capable of doing it. James even knew that Tony was damned good at it, he had been raised a prince of more than one Court and with a high station in several other Courts due to his place within The Family. Being raised by that many Kings, Queens and other positions that James still couldn't quite get his head around, this kind of thing would have been part of his education. Blodeuwedd had told him how Tony had played within various Courts when he was younger and bored, so he certainly knew how to play the game of Courts. He just didn't. That he was very obviously rolling his eyes as Hetaris spoke, that the Wolf had everyone thinking he was the polite one amused him. James knew the truth. The pair were as bad as each other. If anything Hetaris was probably only doing it to annoy Tony, in recompense for that headache.

A dark flash left a carved wooden box of a dark, almost black wood that James recognised from where he sat as Tony's work. James had a knack for identifying different Fae's signatures of what they had created with barely a glance.

James had also seen Math's stone on one of his visits to the cavern, and it was stunning, Tony and Hetaris had taken threads of several types of magic that Tony had learned whilst under Math, and the two of them had encased it in the largest freaking diamond James had ever conceived of. Tony had explained the gift Math was giving him later, whilst he had no idea what it was, he did know the debt level of _ one _ of them. The other he had no idea, and it was driving Tony nuts, Math just insisted that it already belonged to him. James had wondered just what he was giving him because that stone was much more impressive than even Mab and Titania's, and theirs were pretty damned awesome. Similar black wooden boxes had appeared before Mab and Titania too. Each with Tony's style but individually carved for each queen. Green emeralds decorated Titania's as leaves around brightly painted flowers, whereas bright diamonds looked almost like frost along Mab's offering.

Math looked pleased with his gift as he held his hand over the stone, the threads of magic encased reacted to his proximity, shimmering brightly in a rainbow of colours. At a glance, he noticed the Queens had picked theirs up (without even moving, of course.) Both seemed pleased, whilst Tony might say he was giving them 'rocks', anyone could see the sheer amount of thought, magic and mastery that had gone into the gifts.

"This is spectacular; you two have created something special here. Hetaris, would you like to remain for the next stage?"

Even Tony wasn't immune to his previous teacher being impressed at his creation and praise, much to James amusement, he suspected Tony was suddenly happy for the complete covering of Woad that would hide the fact James knew he was blushing from how he was shifting slightly, suddenly restless and concentrating heavily on something off to the side.

"That would be agreeable."

Hetaris followed Tony to his central position in the circle, this time facing the side where Titania was sitting. Hetaris sat down just behind Tony, still big enough to look over his shoulder, casually watching everyone in the room and making it known with a not so subtle flash of teeth that he had Tony's back. He was still close, but he knew that he couldn't make contact for the next stage.

James wasn't sure if he would get used to a wolf talking. Even if he was a magic mountain wolf. Or a magic mountain deer… dolphin… raven... Whatever he chose on each given day. Math stepped back into his position just as Titania stepped into the circle and towards Tony. He wished he could understand how Fae did that, James knew they didn't rehearse these things, they just knew how and when to move in sync in an effortless way that baffled his human brain.

He wasn't sure what to expect from this stage or from Titania, as she was a bit of an unknown to him. So he was surprised when Titania crossed the boundary of the circle, and walked straight up to Tony, gave him a warm smile and pulled him into an affectionate hug. The feeling of warmth, happiness and pride practically swamped the room. James was left blinking under the stark reminder of differences between a Seelie Queen and the rest of those Underhill. She said something quietly that made Tony chuckle, but his smile was relaxed, comfortable and not one of the fake press smiles. 

James had thought Tony and Mabs relationship was odd, but it made _ much _ more sense than Titania and Tony. Then she took a few steps back, moving to a position a foot away from the boundary of the circle as Tony moved to the opposite side. She stood in front of the throne she had vacated, a trail of Summer flowers grew between her from the throne, crossing the circle without requiring Math to allow her entrance.

There were several feet between them as they had split the circle into two halves, but somehow it reminded James of when he had run into Mab on his first day. Which was strange, because they were not as close as Mab and Tony had been, their arms were held loosely at their sides in a relaxed but ready stance, they were making eye contact, and it was as if everything had fallen away for them. Their focus was heavy and entirely on each other.

So there were similarities, but there were also several differences, and yet… something about it harkened back to that meeting for him. A feeling that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Maybe this was what it felt like when a monarch of an Upper Court met their equal? He wasn't sure, his senses had extended, that overlay of Fae felt natural enough to him that these things came easy to him sometimes, but sometimes it was like a piece of the puzzle was missing.

At first, James thought that would be it, as neither seemed in a rush to proceed, which was when colour burst out around them both. Ah, so _ this _ was the dramatic, flashy bit he had expected during the Magic fight.

The colours settled and pulled to each side, strangely contained by the circle. A bright shining warmth built up around Titania. It similarly shone around her like the yellow sun back on earth, but richer somehow, with golden light building up and spreading out around her. Seemingly to splash up against the boundary of the circle, Wards lit up in bright gold as the light touched them. It looked as if it was trying to take over the whole circle until it slammed into a wall of all-encompassing darkness from Tony.

The deep, absorbing black of Bane magic had burst to life around Tony at the same time Titania's golden light had been spreading through the circle. The light eating darkness matched the golden light perfectly, each pressing against the other but holding its ground. The Wards burned with the same light eating darkness. Neither wavered. James had to blink at the bizarre look the dome had now taken on. Despite Titania's light, there wasn't a shadow to be found on her side, just golden light taking up the entire space. Exactly half the circle was dark, and the other half was light.

On a signal that he again couldn't discern, everything shifted. A blindingly bright Red Fire exploded from the golden light. Seemingly Starting around Titania and spreading outwards until all the golden light was replaced by a range of reds, yellows with tips of white. The sheer heat that exploded out slammed into those gathered even though the fire slammed into the barrier. The Warding shifted from gold to a flaming red that fluctuated in places to white-hot. The crackle of Fire was still comforting even if he had never known anyone to carry this Fire before. Fire had a tendency to like Fire James had found.

James thought Tony would match Titania's Red Fire with one of his Fires, most likely expecting the Blue Fire. Instead, as Titania's Fire had begun to spread, a bright shining Blue, so different to Tony's Blue Fire, suddenly crashed around him like waves. Rushing to the boundary of the circle and splashing up against it with actual waves. It cooled the raging Fire from Titania's side with cool ocean spray and the scent of salt that made him feel like he was in the ocean. The black Wards shifted mostly to blue with hints of turquoise moving inside like actual water.

It was not often James saw Tony's elemental control, and never quite like this. He supposed to balance the Seelie Queens it would have to be one of the big three, Season, Element and Power. It was one thing to know Tony had exemplary control over certain elements, another thing to see it burst from him and almost flood his half of the circle, keeping the Fire in check. Nat was blinking slightly, still not used to how magic was used Underhill.

"How is the middle not becoming steam?"

James opened his mouth before realising he didn't have a damned clue how that water was seemingly resting against a raging inferno. Shrugging as Titania's flame, brightest around her person was steadily being swept away. Where the Fire retreated Summer bloomed, flowers bursting up where the flames flickered out. The heat of the Fire was replaced with a dense, muggy heat that swept over the some. James felt like he was damned sweltering, it was almost like he could feel the sun was beating down on him, warming his skin, and the air was thick and downright tropical.

Luckily they didn't have to endure that atmosphere long, outside a tropical Summer might be nice. In a dome that was packed with Fae that had been on fire moments ago, it was not pleasant.

It was identical to what they had just seen in a way. The water centred on Tony which was where it was moving the fastest. From there, moving around him, the water vanished into the earth and was replaced with Spring flowers. They brought with them a cooling breeze that sweat around the some, cooling the sheer oppressive heat of Summer that had him sweating. The flowers stopped at the border of the circle like the Summer flowers had.

The breeze stayed even though they were inside, but after the Summer explosion, it was needed as it whipped around carrying the scent of Spring flowers and cooling everyone down. The heat of Summer and the cool breeze of Spring found a happy balance throughout the some, and the second that balance hit, the flowers of each side flooded out of the circle. Within the circle, it was densely packed, but he found himself pulling his legs up and crossing them as he didn't want to crush the flowers. 

He felt Spring burst in his chest and wrap around him much more than Summer, which had mostly swept by him. He felt Summer, but it didn't _ stop _ as it passed him. Spring was… so very _ different _ to Autumn! It was a light, almost playful season that wanted to run around the room, and then it seemed to notice him, circling back as a breeze swept around him a few times that he felt within his Fire, before the breeze darted off again excitedly. It didn't have the same sense of heavy connection he had gotten from just a small glimpse of Autumn several days ago, but it was still more than Summer.

The Wyldfae on Titania's side were very happy and loud, making sure everyone knew Spring had returned to them. 

"I never thought I would feel the magic of Spring, you have done Underhill a great service and delivered a gift that all Fae are in your debt for. Thank you, my dear."

James and Dagda snickered at the gobsmacked look on Tony's face and at the fact he was still speechless and slightly peaked as Titania followed a thick pathway of flowers back to her throne. He was still blinking rapidly as he turned to cross the circle so he could face off with Mab. All three seemed to move with a synchronicity that James still couldn't get his head around. Titania sitting as Mab and Tony came to a stop. Like Titania, she didn't need Math to open the circle for her, a thick, shining pathway of ice stretched behind her, crossing the circle to her Throne.

The flowers within the circle slowly pulled back into the earth, but James was pleased to note that those outside of the circle remained.

Nat took a deep breath, and he did the same, he was a little dizzy himself after that. Even for Underhill's lofty standards, that was a lot of very powerful magic to be unleashed in such a small space, in such a short period of time. It felt like his skin was singing with it, like he had been doused in magic, which was mildly unnerving seeing as he knew the lion's share of those magical forces had been contained within the circle where Tony and Titania had stood strong with those forces raging around them.

Tony and Mab shared that smirk again, the one that had James utterly confused, when he couldn't work out whether they were friends or not, you know, just before they tried to kill each other. 

Looking at them now, he isn't sure _ how _ he missed the fact they were related. That smirk was _ identical. _

He felt prepared for what was going to come next, having experienced Tony balancing his forces against Titania, which really should have been enough to clue him in. Anytime James thought he was prepared for something Underhill, Underhill laughed.

Instead of the bright lights he was expecting, the entire dome was suddenly plunged into darkness. It was a blink, and you miss it kind of thing, but the darkness had started around Mab and Tony before the entire dome blacked out. If he really looked, there was a different quality of darkness between Mab's side and Tony's, but it was slight. The Wards around the circle were one of the only sources of light as they were burning with a silver fire. When Tony and Titania's seasons had not just opposed each other, but balanced out, it had affected the dome beyond the circle. Mab and Tony's darkness was like that, but the sheer speed and the utter darkness was surprising.

Mab and Tony were the other sources of light, both of them were faintly glowing, but the light didn't spread far because Tony's bane consumed all light and Mab's night held no stars to light their way.

As James' eyes adapted to the lack of light, he was more convinced that instead of opposing each other into a balance, they had worked together. They had pushed against each other until they reached a comfortable balance against the light outside, leaving the dome was plunged into a pitch dark night, not even his night vision from his Umbrakinesis could pick up on anything but Mab, Tony and the Wards of the circle. Even the light from the door couldn't travel far, partially because there were so many people in front of it, but mainly because Tony's bane ate whatever light shone through.

The darkness had pulled together where they created a weave of their own right in front of everyone with pure force of magic and will. In barely a second. The two very different forms of darkness worked well together. Both Tony and Mab looked quite pleased with the result, and James heard a few people shifting nervously in their chairs somewhere at the back. James was giddy watching; he had a thing about people he cared about being extremely powerful and competent, so sue him.

The darkness steadily pulled back, light returning to the dome slowly as the darkness pulled in towards the two figures in the circle. James knew what was coming next from Mab and pulled on the Fire within him, warming himself and Nat up just as a blisteringly cold wind swept out from and around Mab. It slammed into the border of the circle, but the temperature in the dome plummeted. It was invigorating, different from Spring. James had expected that Mab's element would carry the chill of Winter, even when she hadn't called the season forth yet. Nat squeezed his arm in thanks as she wasn't overly fond of the cold.

Just as Mab's element was slamming into the circle boundaries, Tony's burst out too. It was slower than Air, but then that wasn't a surprise as the heavy feeling of Earth slammed into the light, quick-fire speed of Air. The smell of trees and cut grass was accompanied by an actual damned earthquake as the earth within the Circle burst into life with a thick carpet of grass and clover. The earthquake was small, but enough that he and Natalia instantly reached out to hold onto something and chuckled after it only lasted a few seconds? 

Mab's smile was sharp and very amused, and there was utter silence around James. The Wards on Tony's side shone with a deep forest green next to shifting silver and white for Mab. He knew Tony had two different elements to balance Mab and Titania, but from _ that _ heavy silence, James guessed it had not well known that Tony was highly proficient in Earth as well as Water.

That's when he realised he and Mab definitely had something in common. Tony's brother compared her to a dragon, protecting her hoard of powerful family members. The stronger and more able to protect themselves, and those they care about, the better. James didn't quite understand why, it didn't seem like a trait he would apply to Winter. Except for cold, desolation, death. His time as the soldier. It didn't help the uneasy feeling in his gut when ice and Winter followed that icy wind, ice spreading around her in fractals and beautiful patterns. The uneasy feeling was that he _ felt _ that in his chest. 

He _ knew _ there was more to Winter… but James' mind was just… stuck. He knew that Winter was more because, unlike Summer that brushed past him, Winter… paused.

It wasn't as strong as Spring's reaction to him, but there was definitely _ something _ more than how Summer had reacted to him. He just doesn't know why. Winter didn't just flow past him as Summer had. It didn't run around him with happiness like Spring had. Instead, Winter resonated with something inside of him, and then it curled around him protectively, similar to how Autumn had at first, but it was slightly removed. Winter was not under his control, but it _ stayed. _ Even as it spread across the circle, the earth turned into sheets upon sheets of layered ice, and _ something _ stayed around him.

Hetaris and Tony's brother wanted him to be Tony's Knight, and damned if he hadn't gone and got attached to the idea. That he wanted it, and Tony's family were happy with the idea. Apparently, Tony's mother had been texting Rhodes about it, and Rhodes was totally on board, as he had the crazy idea that him being Tony's Knight would keep Tony out of trouble (whereas he was pretty sure they'd just find new trouble. James had a track record since arriving Underhill after all.) 

Tony had alluded to it a few times too, and even though he was confusing himself and making things more complicated, James was pretty sure Tony wanted that too. Honestly, he had started getting _ excited _ about it. He had found himself guarding Tony's back long before they stepped foot Underhill, from the first day back in America he had found himself naturally falling into place without even realising it. Long before even his Fire was free, before Seasons had even called out to Tony. This just seemed like... the next logical step... and he was _ excited _ too.

But how the hell could he be Iron and Autumn if he had _ Winter _ in his heart? 

The chill of Winter was suddenly pushed back by the lighter heat of Autumn that burst to life in his chest, wrapping around him and pushing back the numb fog that had descended over his mind. He hadn't even registered what was happening for those moments as he got lost in his mind, but looking up now he could see shining ribbons and deep red and gold magic was wrapped around Tony and stretching out around him, keeping Winter in balance. The Wards were ice white on Mabs side, to a deep Gold on Tony's that was somehow entirely different from the gold that Titania had caused.

Shining gold and bright red leaves from the dome above them rained down around them at the circle's border, fluttering gently to the floor. It was _ almost _ enough to forget how Winter settled around him as Autumn gleefully came to him again. Autumn hadn't truly left him since that first time, he had been carrying around a shard of it, but this was like an explosion. He could feel the difference between Tony before the Ascension to Tony now, and Autumn had surged, it spread across the room, but the heavy awareness of Autumn wrapped around him in a way that he was pretty sure the Fae around him could feel it. Autumn wasn't exactly known as a subtle season, and it was quite strong when it claimed someone.

Mab raised her arm, and with a flourish, she allowed Winter to escape the confines of the circle, Tony matched the move a fraction of a second later. The ground was still covered in Summer and Spring flowers, but now they had a mixture of Autumn leaves and snow flurries fluttering down around them.

Pretty much all of the gathered Fae were silent, picking a flower or catching a red and gold leaf from the air, ice and Summer flowers had spread and mingled as some caught snow in their hands. All four seasons were occupying the space together in an easygoing balance that was amazing to James, as seasons didn't precisely exist like this on Earth, but he also knew this was just as surprising to the gathered Fae as it was to the humans. Many were just feeling the lost seasons for the first time. Let alone feeling the Seasons in balance for the first time since The Great War.

Tony was spreading Spring and Autumn as far as he could, to any who accepted their touch as Mab and Titania fueled their own, leaving the dome charged with magic.

James wondered what it had felt like, the _ lack _ of Spring and Autumn. If he could feel the balance of the four seasons, he had to think that there had been an imbalance before. Tony had said as children it was a painful icy black and freezing cold, so different to Winter. Winter was frozen, but the lack of Spring and Autumn. He had described it as the dead ice of space, no air, no anything: an ache and a constant reminder for what they lost. 

Now it was _ back. _

After seeing the sheer longing from the Fae from a different Universe to watching Fae who had something missing their entire lives… only to suddenly discover it here…. The Wyldfae were just looking around in a state of shock. Tony had been bringing back the seasons slowly from the moment he had access to them. Still, his control over them had proliferated throughout the Ascension, as had his ability to be the anchor for the season, so all his people and beyond could reach them. Nearly everyone was whispering, not wanting to talk too loudly and disturb the atmosphere created.

Being around one or two happy Fae was almost overwhelming, now this entire dome was pack with Fae going through all manner of complicated emotions and mixed with the charged feeling the seasons left behind. On top of the magic the Queens and Tony had been hurling around. 

Lightheaded would be an understatement; he almost felt _ tipsy. _

Two people were whispering slightly louder than the rest. It wasn't hard to spot Yearning Heart. They had started in the back of the seated area, but after the Iron Court appeared at the back, they bullied their way into the centre apparently. James tries to focus on them instead of his internal freak out about how he could possibly be the Knight of Autumn and Bane with Winter in his heart. It wasn't exactly working, but he was trying.

Mab spoke and jerked him out of his spiralling thoughts which was when he noticed Tony was subtly watching him, his head tilted to the side in that adorable way when he wasn't sure about something. The concern on his face was obvious, and he forced himself to smile. Tony didn't need his problems when he was literally going through damned trials that had the chance to result in his death. (At least that stage was over.)

"As if it is a surprise our Cloriannau became the Balance that Seelie and Unseelie Courts needed."

Mab winked at Tony who responded by rolling his eyes, James could tell that most of his attention was on him, despite his attempt at acting normal. That actually seemed to up Tony's concern. Typically. He tried to press that he was fine and that Tony should focus on what Math was saying. James was pretty sure that Tony was meant to still be locked away, but that link had snapped back into place. Even if it was a little muted, even so, James didn't want to piss Math off, he seemed nice enough, but he was like Tony. Effortlessly terrifying.

"The final call before our new King is named beneath Underhill is the Call of Contest. From Each Court, Ten, and either an Envoy, or the Leader is called from each of The Great Courts of Underhill. From The Upper Seelie Courts to that of The Council, formed of The Lower Courts. A representative from every Loci birthed Underhill, to not only witness but to make a Call of Contest if you feel the need."

Hetaris followed that up with a low, menacing growl with less than a subtle flash of teeth. Making his opinion _ clear. _ That _ he _ had chosen his Foci, and taking him away from him would not be wise.

This was one part James was happy to relax for after reading the books. He knew that a Call of Contest against Tony now would mean fighting him. Who would _ willingly _ go up against Tony after what they just witnessed? Even with the exhaustion, He caused a freaking _ Earthquake _ and remained standing when Mab and Titania turned their powers on him. So, James felt safe, relaxing back.

So when an infuriatingly familiar voice rang out, he felt like he had just shot himself in the foot. Again. 

"Envoy Ciel Vas Dorfan of House Ma'Cavai, chosen representative of The Court of Yearning Heart. By the Queen of Desires herself.."

James' eye twitched, he didn't realise it was possible to be this _ annoying. _ Although, he didn't get it. He had felt the idiots power. Sure he was new to reading others power level, but even in the state he was now, James was pretty sure Tony could take him blindfolded. Sure he was likely tempering his power, most Fae made themselves seem less threatening than they were, but James was pretty sure that even if he was hiding a lot of power, that he couldn't go up against Tony. Not from how he reacted from Tony placing him under Autumnal Law, Ciel hadn't been able to do _anything_ against it, and Tony's seasonal control had just taken an enormous leap.

The Call of Contest was irreversible… and James assumes that like all the other fights today, it was probably to the death. He suspected that it was also open to Forfeits to the _ Court _ after the fight was over, to make up for the representative being _ rude. _ James assumed if the representative won, that made them not rude somehow? The book had been very adamant that rudeness during one's Ascension was not something easily forgiven. 

Because Fae were absolutely _ crackers. _

"I call Contest upon the Bane Metal Lord."

The idiot finished with a flourish and a pretentious bow. (Tony's sarcastic bows didn't look so bad now.) Not seeming to realise that both Mab _ and _ Titania looked pissed off. Two people James would not want aimed in his direction whilst looking like _ that. _ Static electricity was crackling around Math and Tony… looked like he wanted to burst out laughing. 

James didn't know why, but Tony seemed to know something everyone else didn't. All three parts of Tony's Court were also glaring at the idiot, as were many Royal representatives around them actually. How someone could be so _ oblivious _ of people around him, James had no idea. Especially as a Fae, James could feel the hostility and irritation crackling around him, and he didn't understand how he couldn't feel that. It was practically suffocating.

Tony ran his hand over Hetaris to calm the giant, pissed off Iron Direwolf. James was not remotely surprised when said Direwolf stalked in Tony's shadow, his black eyes locked on the idiot Envoy who finally realised the giant Direwolf was glaring at him. For a second, he actually looked nervous.

Tony stopped at the very edge of the circle, with his arm stretching out of the circle, palm up with curls of black velvet magic burning as if it were fire, crackling and boiling in his palm with colours sparking off of it like embers in bright reds and shining golds. All three aspects of his Court burned brightly in his hand. James grins because he knows that has to be intimidating, even if you are as ridiculous as this twit.

When Tony speaks, his voice carries with the solemn intonation of power similar to Math that has him breaking out in goosebumps, proximity increasing the effect somewhat as Ciel was now standing next to Tony's Mother. His voice is much different from how it was not long ago. Each word is painted in colours around the room. Something about the Call of Contest has lent a certain kind of magic to Tony's voice that James doesn't recognise.

"Might, Magic, Mind?"

The utter confusion on the idiots face confused James, because this is what he requested? 

"What?

James clicked; _ that _ was why Tony was just keeping himself from laughing. When the Yearning Heart delegation arrived, what had Tony said to them?

_'Let me remind you. You are on _Seelie lands. Not_ the Lower Courts. You will do well not to forget this. I shall not say it even a second time.'_

The idiot was Calling for Contest as if Tony's Court of Iron, Autumn, and Spring was a _ Lower _ Court. 

He probably shouldn't find this as amusing as he did. But it was just… entertaining! Maybe he had been around the Fae too long, even though he knew where this course of action was likely to end, he couldn't find it in himself to feel bad. This man had likely just signed his own death warrant by his own stupidity. 

However, James couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. Tony noticed and grinned at him before focusing his entire attention on the Envoy. He knew Tony wasn't tamping down his new powers much as he typically would. It wasn't even aimed at him. James could only feel the _ edges _ of it, and wow. Maybe because he was part of Tony's Court? Or simply proximity? Either way, James was quite pleased to find that Tony's new magic was very fond of him. Because Spring and Autumn already felt more distinct than they had before this Call. It was almost like they were becoming more and more... solid after every part of these trials, and Autumn had already been pretty solid to him before this even started.

Tony's voice kept that solemn intonation of power when he spoke, added to the encompassing aura that was aimed in Ciel's direction, so James wasn't surprised when he saw Ciel stagger slightly under it, sweat breaking out on his face as he forced himself to stay standing whilst Tony spoke. 

"You made a Call of Contest against my claim. By which manner do you wish to proceed? These are your options - Might, Magic, Mind."

Tony was speaking _ slowly _ for the man, which likely didn't help Ciel trying to keep to his feet. Or the embarrassment of being spoken to like a child who didn't even seem to know what he had asked for. Ciel had a white knuckle grip on the chair in front of him, and James could see his legs shaking slightly. Which, considering Tony was still quite laid back, relaxed almost, it did not make Ciel look very powerful right now. Weakness was blood in the water, and he really was surrounded by sharks.

"What happened to the voting system?"

Mab and Titania smirked at each other. Coming to stand on either side of Tony. Both seemed to have clicked as to what had happened, and Titania sounded amused when she spoke.

"Seelie Courts do not operate as the Lower Courts. As any child more than a few seasons knows. Maybe this is something you should have looked into before you lent your voice, and your Queens, to an objection."

Ouch, who knew Seelie Queens were capable of being a little petty? Actually, that's pretty much what he would expect. Fae, as a rule, enjoy slights, but they have a particular distaste for those who attempt an attack but didn't bother to do the research. 

"There is another option, of course."

Mab adds as Tony smirks at the blatant hope on Ciel's face at the potential chance of getting out of this situation he dumped himself in. Because that _ innocent suggestion _ and tone of voice is _ anything _ but, and James doesn't understand how Ciel doesn't hear it. Mab and Tony glance at each other with their eerily similar smirks before turning back to the Envoy at the same time. 

Said Envoy now has _ three _ Seelie Monarchs slowly drawing their focus to him. Tony taps his chin with his free hand, looking thoughtful as he seemingly considers what Mab is proposing.

"Hmm, I suppose there is, but Envoy Ciel is _ almost _ a full blood Seelie Fae. Not quite, but he isn't far off. I do not think him capable of such an option. I know you say every Accession needs a challenge, a game and a death Mab, but I would rather not have to clean up the mess from _ that _ game."

And the idiot falls for it, running headlong into a trap set up by the Unseelie Queen.

"What is this 4th option you attempt to conceal from me!"

"To hold the Law of my Court. The Law of my Foci. The Law of my Land. Iron Law."

Ciel paled, instantly wavering on the spot as his concentration suffered and Tony and Mab were still staring him down. Titania was holding back slightly, but James doubted it was out of kindness. Likely just waiting until an opportunity showed itself.

Anyone remotely close to Ciel, (bar The Family), immediately backed the fuck away, and more than a few people from the other Courts were looking at Tony nervously. Holding the Law on Seelie lands wasn't something to be scoffed at. Especially as Tony was taking on a mantle of Band. The Leaders held their space, as they likely had experience with Tony with his job as Executioner, him being Bane was just an extension of that to most people. They were also the most likely to have seen Mab or Titania hold their own Law against someone. 

James had noticed that a few from The Family had moved seats, which seemed unimportant at first, but now many had moved at the mention of holding Iron Law, James can now see that a bunch of highly amused Fae have boxed him in. James didn't even know when they did that. Fae are _ sneaky _ bastards. 

Ciel was now left standing alone, his Court nowhere to be found. Boxed in by The Family at his back. With three, heavily unimpressed, Seelie monarchs in front of him. James finally spots the others from Yearning Heart. They are nearly as far away from him as physically possible without leaving the dome.

Holding Seasonal Law was certainly nothing to scoff at, but whilst Tony was the King of Autumn and Summer. His Crown, His Foci, the new core at his magic, it was all Bane. Just holding a piece of steel from Earth could kill a Fae sensitive enough to Bane, there is a reason why Bane and Death were synonymous long before Underhill's Executioner took up a crown formed of Bane.

Those of Tony's Court, James notices, seem to be having a blast. As is Mab. Titania has a dangerous look on her face compared to the other two, that it has him on edge, even though it isn't _ aimed _ at him. It really says something about not pissing off Seelie Queens. (Also known as common sense) Mab at least seems as amused as Tony, which probably isn't any more comforting than having Titania pissed at you come to think of it.

James _ knows _ the fact he has misplayed this game would be an insult to _ any _ Highborn Seelie Fae, let alone the Queens _ . Especially _ after Tony announced that Ciel was not full Seelie Fae, let alone Highborn. Games such as this, Court Games are one of the many things Highborn Seelie Fae take _ very _ seriously, more so than any other Fae and generally they all took their games terrifyingly seriously. Especially during an Ascension. 

As in James has read of more than a few _ wars _ that started as a Game between two Highborn Seelie Fae. Or when a Fae that was not full-Seelie tried to game a Highborn and fucked it up. Personally, James doesn't get _ why _ anyone would do that. He had seen some of the convoluted rules that Highborn Seelie added into the _ already _ complicated system of Fae-Games. He could probably write a book just on how not to be considered rude.

Entering a Game with such pomp and bravado, yet with insufficient background research and then resorting to shouting? Definitely rude, cowardly _ and _he was not admitting his fault which might have helped his case. Oh yeah, Titania looks pissed.

"I retract my objection."

"Oh dear, you really have come ill-prepared, haven't you."

Mab chuckles. Which James finds _is_ actually more terrifying than the anger painted in Fire around Titania. Tony and Mab are just grinning in that way again that makes James wonder how the fuck he ever missed the fact they are related. Titania looks down on Ciel as she speaks whilst Mab and Tony just give Ciel that shark smile with too much teeth they seem to have perfected, and that constant, steady stream of lazy pressure they hadn't let up on. James couldn't tell if they were keeping it low to let him think he had the power to stay on his feet only to increase it at random, or something else.

"I do not think he did _ any _ research before embarking on this Fool's Game."

"What?"

Ahh, it seems his pompous attempt at eloquence has died a death as nearly all of his energy and effort was channelled into just staying standing. Small mercies. Even James knows you can't just retract a Call of Contest and he was new to all this Ascension business. Then again, three Seelie monarchs staring him down, maybe he can be forgiven for the lack of eloquence. Tony answers with his voice still carrying that power, James wonders if it is required until the Call of Contest is over, which he is fine with. Tony's voice like that is awesome, but then he is horribly biased. 

"A Call of Contest cannot be withdrawn. Might, Magic, Mind or Law if you so wish. If you try to back out, I am honour-bound to hold you to Iron Law anyway. I warned you at my gate Ciel. I warned you that I would only do so once and yet, you still did not listen."

Tony's voice raised slightly at the end with a hitch of power to mark his words again, just enough to make Ciel flinch and with that he instantly lost his ability to remain standing, and he dropped with a painful sounding crack. Titania rolled her eyes in irritation; at a guess, she thought he wouldn't fall so quickly.

Ciel tries getting back to his feet and backing away but a signal for Titania and a golden-hued Seelie Fae, followed quickly by a pale Unseelie Fae practically appear behind him. From what they were wearing, James is pretty sure they were the Royal Guard for Summer and Winter, they grab his arms and bring him towards the circle Tony turned and walked a few paces before turning as Ciel is unceremoniously shoved into the circle whilst the Guards remained at the edge. James is pretty sure from what he had read of the Ward's, being _ shoved _ through like that without Math opening it for you would not have been pleasant, and that circle is certainly not something you can just walk out from without some serious power to back it up. Ciel was also now cut off from replenishing his magic from Underhill. The Winter Fae guard adds a jab from the but of his spear to force him back to his knees before Tony who looks utterly unimpressed and bored as Ciel sneers.

"You're not a real King. Otherwise, you'd put it to the vote and see who people really want as the King of these lands."

"You have been asked thrice and yet denied answer, as such my hands are tied."

James didn't actually think the guy could pale anymore than he already had.

"No! Wait! Will, I choose will."

"Sorry, dear. You challenged a _ Seelie _ King on _ Seelie _ Lands. We are as bound by your stupidity as you are."

Mab let a little of her irritation flash around her with freezing wind and swirling darkness. Titania immediately matched with roasting heat and bright light. 

"You challenged the King of Iron and failed to choose. If you can stand for… hm, I think 10 seconds? Then your challenge may be withdrawn. I shall take a forfeit of course, and you may live to be an idiot another day, _ if _ you can walk from the circle unaided. Even if you fall, I shall only add a… reasonable forfeit to be paid from your lands and your Court, I should think. As your contest was backed from the Queen of Yearning Heart herself, as you so stated. I believe that is fair. I would be doing her a disservice if the forfeit did not live up to her station, of course, so it shall be higher."

Tony said in an almost careless way that might lead people to believe he had thought that up on the spot, something about it makes James think some of this might have been planned, as if Tony goaded him into it. Or maybe he just knows the idiot well enough to plan his game accordingly. 

"Or rather, you could remain as you are Ciel, as you seem unable to find your feet."

James heard Nat try to cover up a laugh as Titania snipes at the end of Tony's offer. Not surprising, Tony mentioned that Nat had a run-in with Yearning Heart just as he did. He was pretty sure that he knew what forfeit Tony was going to claim too. He had been looking for a way of rescuing the two humans under glamour since they arrived. James had known Tony would find a way to stop them from leaving his walls. He doubted that he would stop there either, that was quite the opening.

"Hm, count yourself lucky Ciel. Should you have enacted such foolishness in the lands of Winter, I would be much, much less forgiving, and you would be joining those left to stand in my forecourt 'till the ice melts in Arctis Tor. Play the Game dear, we Seelie love that. More than the Lower Courts even. But you are poorly matched, extemporaneous and cowardly. That is more offensive than if you had simply lost and forfeit your life."

"Oh, speaking of my forfeit, I will be taking the glamoured humans from your delegation as payment. If you fall to the Bane, a writ-demand of, I don't know, let's say… 10?"

Tony glanced at Mab, who made a gesture that apparently meant Tony was still being too kind. It had the feel of something their pair had done previously. James had to admit it worked as Ciel was looking back and forth between them as he realised just how fucked he was 

"20 then, 20 Fragile Creatures from your personal estate Ciel, _ before _ it goes into first proceedings at your death. Thrice as such from your Lady, _ and _ a Formal Apology from her for this… poor display proffered upon her word, and a gift of her choice."

Tony held out his hand, and Ciel looked unsure. James noticed that he had actually paled _ more _ at Tony's comment about forfeit _ should _ he fall. James was pretty sure that only came into play if he _ died, _ so shouldn't he be more concerned about dying!? He had a feeling he was missing the significance of something there. A glance at the rest of the Yearning Heart delegation showed a serious case of nerves there too. He wondered what poor sap was going to have to deliver the news to their Queen, couldn't happen to a nicer bunch—losing that many Fragile Creatures, and a Formal Apology? 

"I believe that should settle our accounts nicely. I will even include the level of debt as a gesture of goodwill."

Ouch, Tony was really going for the jugular and making it sound like honey. Because James doubted Ciel would be able to stand, he had seen the damage Mab and Tony did to each other. Had seen Tony's Bane match Winter quite well in this test _ before _ he took his crown because Seelie Fae are just so vulnerable to Bane.

"Stand and take my hand. All you need to do is stand Ciel. Nothing more."

Ciel had been twitching every time someone used his name, in fact, in all of his time Underhill, James had _ never _ heard a person's name be used so much in such a short period of time. All three Seelie leaders made a point of it. Ciel managed to get to his feet, with at least some of his pomp and bluster and grabbed Tony's hand with force. 

Tony's bland indifference immediately turned into an amused smirk that James was immensely fond of. He tugged Ciel close to speak to him, and James just about caught Tony's words.

"I was going to let you pass through my lands with a warning. I was just going to take your thralls. I was going to repay you for my last fall into the depths of Yearning Heart and let you walk. Then you went and did something ever so stupid, you attacked someone who is _ mine _, and for that, I will not only destroy you. I won't just pour Bane into your heart until you are nought but dust. I will ruin your name. I will destroy your standing. I will tear into your estate before any have a chance to take their due. I will let debt fall upon your name. I will undermine everything you have ever built. Your name will be but a footnote of my Ascension, and that is all. You shall become Bane and not return to the light."

Something shifted between Tony and Ciel as Tony pulled back from an even paler Ciel. It was very different from what Tony and Mab had done on her arrival, likely because there was no opposing force for Ciel to bring forth. Ciel had barely a second before noticed the very thick black lines that were spreading up his arm from Tony's hand. He managed two whole seconds before he gasped and collapsed back to the floor, a second later he utterly froze and the thick black lines that had vanished beneath his shirt after completely overtaking his arm, suddenly shot up from his neck and across his face with lightning speed, following his veins like pathways. James had a feeling it was spreading elsewhere at the same rate.

James remembered when Mab and Tony had done this. How Tony's hand iced over and the thin black lines just travelled past Mab's wrist. Because they are both powerful, James hadn't quite understood the sheer power they were wielding, as they had mostly balanced each other out.

Tony _ had _ said Mab could kill with it in seconds, but James had not put much thought into it beyond freaking out for Tony's safety. As Ciel literally collapsed into back dust in less than 5 seconds since he took Tony's hand, even James swallowed thickly. Even his clothing that had likely been bound with Fae magic was destroyed Most of the gathered Fae were staring at the floor where the man had been rendered to dust in seconds as a strong reminder of the strength Seelie Monarchs could wield if they so wished. James found that he was quite okay with how things turned out. The guy was a cruel jackass, Tony just rescued two humans, with many more on the way, _ and _ people knew that Tony was not someone to be messed with. So that definitely went well. 

Also, Tony had apparently known about the guys that attacked him, so… James wasn't actually surprised at Tony's response, he did warn Ciel that his people's actions would be his responsibility. Autumn wasn't a forgiving rule to enter someone's lands under. 

James even noticed the usually unflappable leader of The Final Word Delegation staring at the ground. Now _ that _ he definitely approved of. He hadn't quite gotten the _ full _ story from Tony yet when it came to his time with The Final Word, but he thinks it's about time that they fear Tony rather than Tony fearing them.

Mab looked endlessly amused, tilting her head as she scanned across the other delegates, finally focusing on Yearning Heart as she asked her question in an overly saccharine tone.

"Are there any further Calls of Contest against the claim of Iron, Autumn or Spring?"

Tony bent down, laying two fingers in the dark dust that coated the floor. A silver spark crackled over the area contaminated with Bane dust, before Tony Bane magic flickered and spread out. Collecting all of the remains that would likely be dangerous to many of the people gathered today until it was safely accumulated in his hand. As he stood up, he tossed what looked like a black spherical stone in the air, catching it deftly before slipping it into his pocket, turning partially to Titania as she began to speak.

Titania followed suit from Mab in an eerily similar gesture. Sometimes, it wasn't the _ differences _ in Summer and Winter that freaked him out. No, sometimes it was how Mab and Titania were almost twins in everything but looks.

"Are there any further Calls of Contest against the claim of Iron, Water and Earth?"

James had never thought silence could be deafening, but the quality of this one very much appealed to him. Tony's mother looked exceedingly pleased with herself, even though Natalia was still pretty new to all this, she looked impressed, but then he figured she felt similar to him. In their lives, people you care for are at risk just by being associated with you, having them be powerful took the edge off that constant crushing fear.

Math strode into the circle as Tony stepped to the side, Math then struck his staff down in the centre.

"Let it be known, from this day henceforth, Cadeyrn Silent Staff is known as the King of Iron. The King of Autumn and The King of Spring. Named by Underhill as Cloriannau, Dienyddiwr and finally, Brenin.

"These lands are that of Iron, Autumn and Spring now lay under Iron Law of The Firesmith. That there is now another soul Underhill who may lay claim to the great stone table and that there are now _ three _ seasons to be observed by all. Winter will give way to Iron today, and when the season passes, Iron will give way to Summer. The formation of the Baneseelie Court is done."

He slammed his staff down again with a lot more force this time at which point James was pretty sure that there was another damned Earthquake as magic utterly flooded the area, so everything went a little wonky for him as he nearly went into overload and passed out again. Which was annoying as Math said enough things he didn't recognise that he wanted to be able to damned well remember and ask Tony about later. James swore he blinked and the next second Tony was at his side protecting him from absorbing too much background magic. 

Heavy magic from Tony that flickered with several colours, enough that James couldn't name what weaves Tony was utilising as it shimmered around James in a shield that pressed close against his skin. Leaving him with an odd mixture of pins and needles and goosebumps as Tony helped him release that which had already collected and Warded him off absorbing more, as the atmospheric magic was still utterly off the charts. Tony was also keeping him on his feet with his arm slipped around his waist. The proximity made everything easier as Tony leaned close to him, he was also leaning slightly into him, as James could still feel the exhaustion Tony was keeping hidden from everyone else. Especially with that circle no longer operating as a barrier between them, more than anything, he was happy that everything slipped back into place in his mind.

Tony had also warned him that his power jump could mess up his instincts again, especially after being dragged off today, so that if he got annoying, to tell him to back off. Tony didn't seem to understand that James had no problem at all with Tony plastering himself against his side. After watching Tony have two fights to the damned death whilst having his strength, magic and endurance pushed to their limits, James felt as if _ his _ instincts were screaming at him. Let alone Tony dealing with his instincts, right now, they matched up. It also meant Tony could at least lean on him without looking like he was, James _ just about _ restrained himself from just taking Tony to the nearest bed to rest and recover.

James was so distracted at finally having Tony close. He missed a freaking huge fountain just appearing at the centre of the circle where Tony had spent the most time standing, where he had also grown the dome from at a guess. He blinked a few times as if to confirm that yes, it was there. The thing was _ huge, _ and whilst he couldn't speak to it, he could feel the Purple Fire from where he stood. When you had the mantle of one Fire it tended to give you an in when it came to feeling or understanding other Fires, which was probably why Tony was collecting Fires 

The Purple Fire immediately had him paying attention, and he could see now that 'Fountain' wasn't quite the correct name for it. A _ nexus _ was more fitting, as it spread out to what James assumed would now cover Tony's land. The patterns were... familiar somehow, but James couldn't put his finger on it. 

Everyone was watching the fountain when a second crack took them by surprise. The rumble was much larger this time. Luckily, as Tony hadn't moved, they managed to keep to their feet holding each other aloft. Many others were not so lucky, although he was pleased to see Natalia and Clíodhna were in a similar position to them. Dagda had caught Tony's mother. He didn't lose a chunk of time either as Tony's shield was still wrapped around him.

He thought maybe it was expected, except this time everyone else actually looked confused rather than just him and Natalia. It was nice not to be the only ones not knowing what the fuck was going on.

James spotted it first. Tony was busy checking over his people after the second crack. James was still looking at the Nexus and the pathways of Purple Fire that were forming, it was just... familiar, and he couldn't put his finger on _ why _. So he had been staring intently hoping to gain some insight. Like there was information just out of reach, just on the tip of his tongue or in the corner of his vision. As he was paying attention, he saw it first, Math might have been a close second, but then James didn't know if Math had their ability to read Fire like he and Tony could.

"Tony… Tony… _ look _ at the paths the Purple Fire is taking."

Tony froze as he watched, before crouching down. James went with him because Tony really did need to lean on someone now, but in such a crowd, he was unable to show weakness. If James was playing up the nervous human so Tony was staying close to 'comfort him', then he was cool with that. It meant Tony could rest at least a little bit.

Tony ran his hand back and forth on the ground a few times in a familiar pattern of how Tony called Fire, the Purple Fire flickered. James saw that it paused, as if it was _ considering _ answering his call, but before it had a chance, the _ Blue Fire _ immediately surged up, very powerful and bright as it wrapped entirely around his arm. Blocking the gentle Purple Fire's indecision from anyone else.

"Blue Fire has come to Underhill."

Tony took a deep breath as he closed his eyes and then he was smiling, what felt like a pressure had been lifted from him. The next part he said quietly, he doubted anyone else heard him, but James was close enough to pick up on it.

"It doesn't hurt. I'm no longer the connection between the Firelands and Underhill anymore."

James glared because he didn't remember Tony saying at _ any _ point it _ hurt _ for him to be the connection between lands. Although, James kicked himself for not picking up on it earlier. Being in Underhill drained Tony's magic, it was a constant weight, and the longer he stayed, the harder it got. Now he thought about it. It did not sound pleasant 

They watched as Purple Fire shot out across his lands, quickly chased by the Blue Fire. That was why the Purple Fire pathways were so familiar. They were _ identical _ to those on Earth. James had to wonder about the pathways for the Purple Fire, that just so happened to be _ exactly _ like what was on Earth for the Blue Fire. If it was a coincidence or if it meant something. He also noticed Tony fingers twitching, James could tell that he desperately wanted to lean back down to the Purple Fire but could not with this many watching.

"It is stopping at my borders. I can feel the pathways opening up, I never noticed before. Underhill is like the Firelands. The pathways are there, they're everywhere, but it is empty. Only filling with Faerie Fire when a Foci bonds with a newly born Loci. I wonder… if this was why Underhill was dying before we came, her Fire had dried up. Cut off from the Blue Fire. If this is why Underhill was out of sync?"

Suddenly, James was even more invested in Tony's plans of healing the Blue Fire of Earth. If Underhill had once been Firelocked like Earth, but had _ lost _ its Fire completely, then he imagined that it was possible for Earth to lose it too. What would that even mean for Earth and its inhabitants? Would it start to die? Like Underhill had? By the time the Fae had found Underhill, it had been dying for a long time. Not only that, but it was _ empty. _ He wondered if it had once been full of people, like Earth with Fire in their hearts. That they had died off long before the land finally succumbed.

He wondered if this meant Blue Fire wasn't originally unique to Earth, if maybe, once, the Blue Fire spread to many worlds and bound them together. If _ that _ was why Underhill had attached itself to Earth, not just attracted by a strange Blue Fire, but _ missing _ its Blue Fire that once let the land thrive.

"Could Blue Fire spread across Underhill?"

Mab asked, looking quite enthusiastic at the idea. James wondered what this meant. If Tony was no longer syncing the realms, did that now mean that Time in Underhill would move in time with Earth? Or at least close, even with Tony locking it in place, an hour was not always an hour Underhill like on Earth.

People would no longer lose hundreds of years in the blink of an eye stepping between realms.

That maybe Tony didn't have to awkwardly hover between realms anymore, but comfortably move back and forth. Being of Both Underhill and the Firelands rather than not feeling like he belonged to either.

He hoped so, as James had already grown fond of Underhill in such a short time. It was like something had been missing in his life, and since coming Underhill, it made sense somehow. He hadn't wanted to return to Earth and a hundred years pass for his new friends before he visited once again.

"If you wish it to Mab, I am sure that my Fire would be happy to find others to play with."

"Time to claim the table Ryn."

Mab moved to walk towards the Gate, but Tony raised a hand to stop them before any could follow. Grinning as he crouched down again, the ordinarily excitable Blue Fire was practically hyper. James could tell that it was _ very _ happy to be here without even touching it. The Fire was _ surging _ because of it. Whereas a spark would usually come to Tony's hands back home from brushing his hands across a pathway, it was surging up to his elbow and engulfing his arm here. That it was _ meant _ to be here, but something had been stopping it. In its excitement, instead of a little wrapping around Tony's wrist, it certainly surged. Tony didn't seem to mind, of course.

"I have a better idea. You have always wanted to see me work with my Fire Mab."

Mab did look quite pleased with how things had turned out. James was having a harder time reading Titania than Mab, but at a guess, she was interested and pleased. He wondered if it was because of that ice he felt inside him when Winter surged around him, or if it was because she was somewhat similar to Tony and his Mother, which gave him an in for body language.

James grinned as everyone else backed up a few steps, but watched intently. It was good to know that Tony was just as well known for explosions Underhill as on Earth. That was a reaction James knew well around Tony. Back up to avoid being in the blast zone but staying close enough not to miss a thing.

Mab and Titania had stayed closer, half a step behind Tony with only their Knights at their sides.

James had an inkling of what Tony was going to do, so he stayed at his side, lending his strength and giving him something to rest against still. He had seen Tony move things through the Fire before, as well as travel in it. If the Blue Fire did end up spreading across all of Underhill, Tony would be able to travel anywhere, with ease.

Tony slammed his hands down suddenly, and Blue Fire lit up the pathways on the surface this time. Bright enough and with enough of his own magic interwoven for nearly _ everyone _ present to _ see. _ Even those who usually would never see the Fire. James noticed only he and Tony could see the underground network judging by how people tracked the visible Blue Fire only, he wondered about Mab and Titania, expecting they would be able to see the underground pathways but maybe only the Purple Fire. James didn't know how close the rulers would typically be to the Purple Fire either, let alone the Blue Fire which he knew Fae were pretty hit or miss on. However, he could see that right now; _ everyone _ saw this; their eyes followed the shining bright Fire as it skimmed down the filled cracks that he had already seen. Racing fast towards the gate and beyond.

A few seconds later, Blue Fire shot back towards Tony, coalescing in a bright burst into Blue Fire at his feet, it was bright enough that many shielded their eyes as the Fire grew, and it practically burned as White rather than Blue.

James assumed _ this _ was The Stone Table.

He wasn't sure what he had been expecting. He had heard a lot about the table. The First Gift of Underhill. The most Powerful Artifact in Underhill and so on. It was written about almost as much as it was spoken about. So he wasn't entirely sure what he had anticipated as the Fire died down.

It was quite similar to Tony's Black Stone Table in the room of creepy mirrors. To the Iron Table in Hetaris' cavern. James guessed that they, and likely others across Underhill, were based after this one. Possibly linked to. The stone was grey, but areas were liberally stained with what James had to assume was old blood. A lot of it too, over many thousands and thousands of years to stain the stone so profoundly.

At first, it did just look like ordinary stone with what looked like ancient, creepy, obviously layered, bloodstains. He thought he could make out carvings along the sides, but he wasn't sure. 

Then Tony ran his hand along the perfectly normal stone, and to his sight, it lit up so brightly he had to immediately look away. He had _ never _ seen something so effortlessly bleed that much power before from a single touch. 

Suddenly he was thrilled Tony was still shielding him as he suspected barely a second in its active presence and James would have utterly passed out from overload, just from Tony _ touching _ it. He was starting to get why it was talked about so highly. It might not look like much at first glance, but it was _terrifyingly_ powerful. 

"Well hello to you too…"

"Tony, are you talking to a table?"

He's not sure why this stuff still surprises him by now.

"Mmmhmm, it said hello first. It asked me to remove the Glamour laid upon it."

Mab and Titania were next to him then, still half a step back from the table, they observed, but they made no move closer or to touch it. Until the seasons changed, the table was Tony's and his alone, and James knew that as long as it was claimed, the other Queens would not approach or touch it. By bringing it to him, Tony had claimed it and his season had officially begun. Considering the war fought over this table, and the Loci, that they passed it seamlessly back and forth was very impressive. Likely due to the little rules like this, that when the table belonged to one, the others didn't so much as consider touching or even truly approaching it.

"The table is Glamoured?"

"No Seelie Queen has mentioned such, Mab?"

"Never have I heard such a thing from my predecessors."

"Do you ladies mind?"

"Go ahead, Ryn. The Table is your until the Seasons turn for Summer to take over for her season. It is in your care and we, along with Underhill trust you will not misuse or mistreat it."

"It is slight, very thin. I think I can only see it because it was formed with Blue Fire. Old Blue Fire at that. Ancient. I doubt anyone other than a mantle bearer or whoever laid it would see it. Not many can weild Blue Fire, but there must have been people Underhill that could command it once."

Tony ran his hand across the stone again, Blue Fire _ surged _ and with another blinding flash that left James blinking spots again. James had never seen the Blue Fire surge so gleefully before, the sheer amount coming to even the smallest contact Tony made to the stone did not go unnoticed. 

At this rate, he was going to end up blind from Magic flashing. Everyone else was still several feet back out of respect, or fear of explosions. Mab and Titania only had their Knights at their backs and were a few steps behind Tony. Only he and Tony were standing at the table itself. Natalia had noted the position people had taken and had that damned eyebrow raised that told him she was drawing all kinds of conclusions. That Tony hadn't asked him to stand back was telling, it was implausible Tony hadn't realised how everyone was standing.

The table didn't change much as Tony shed the glamour it had held onto for who knows how long. It was precisely the same shape, size, construct, but now the grey stone was _ unmistakably _ Bluestone. The stone formed primarily on _ Earth. _ From over spilling Blue Fire, like in Tony's grove. Which meant that Blue Fire _ must _ have been here from _ before _. This Table was Underhill long before the Fae even set foot into the realm. Long before Underhill found its way to Earth.

James wondered if Tony was right. Was that why Tilly had been dying? That somehow Underhill had lost its connection to the Fire, needing the magic of the Fae to keep her alive in its stead. Why Underhill had found its way to Earth and latched on.

Tony touched the table again, and it vanished in another burst of Blue Fire, tucked away safely.

Math approached them after the Fire settled down. Well, he said settled down, it wasn't surging up to their waist anymore, but it definitely had not calmed down. James could feel it practically simmering in the earth, like it was itching to be let loose. Math offered Tony his usual sword which he oddly clipped on his belt without looking, all of his focus was on the white hilted sword in Math's other hand. 

"I told you I had something that was yours."

"Dyrnwyn is not mine."

"That's pretty easy to test now, isn't it?"

Math sounded smug, and Tony seemed nervous. James was confused how Tony had seemingly made a sword that was twin to a sword he had never laid eyes on before. 

Tony had told him a little about his blade. That the sword he made was an attempt at recreating a sword that had been lost, but Tony would have mentioned if there was a second twin kicking around. He wondered if this white hilted sword was _ not _ a recreation. If this sword was one of the precious few, they had of their original home. That would explain Tony's nerves and possibly why he had never seen it. James had expected him to take it, sheath and all. Instead, he drew it and stepped back from him.

He had a second to be confused before the sword burst into Fire. Well, that explained why Tony stepped back.

"Fuck."

"Well, that clears that up nicely."

Math looked smug, and Tony was just staring at the White and Blue Fire flickering across the Silver and White blade. The Fire fully engulfed the sword, hilt and all, curling around Tony's hand and wrist possessively. 

James was mostly confused about why the sword immolating itself meant it belonged to Tony, but then Tony was not just Fire Underhill. He was Lord of Fire. So a flaming sword did kind of make sense. Tony tilted the blade, and the Fire obeyed his command to calm the fuck down, which didn't actually help as James could tell Tony was _ very much _ in denial about the sword listening to him. As he grudgingly accepted the sheath from an _ incredibly _ smug Math, he also attached it to his belt as Mab approached Tony with something small wrapped in black silk.

"Do I want to know what is in here?"

Mab looked positively impish in her glee.

"After seeing your reaction to Dyrnwyn, probably not, but remember Ryn. There must be equilibrium of the Courts. Summer and Winter are old, we have gathered much over generations we must bring you up to speed. Plus, I had always planned on this coming to you. I have just been awaiting the opportunity where I could pass it on without upsetting your balance. You have enough power within yourself now that this will not burden you so."

James slipped back to Tony, so he could subtly lean on him, which of all things, earned him an appreciative smile from freaking Mab and he had no idea what to do with that. Everyone else was still standing back at a respectful distance, watching with great interest, and there was a lot of talk about Tony's new sword. White-Hilt. James assumed the bursting into Fire part was important too. Tony unfolded the smaller parcel and blanched. Which James didn't understand; it looked like a whetstone. Tony swallowed thickly, so there was something more to it.

"The gifts I have for the two of you do not balance this out, not by far."

"Oh, these aren't our gifts Ryn. As Math said, these already belonged to you. Math has been holding Dyrnwyn since you re-forged Ddihenydd. They were always meant to be a pair."

"Well, no one mentioned that to me, I had no clue Dyrnwyn was part of a set. Or that my sword had a true name!"

Tony looked as if he would throw his hands in the air if he weren't cradling the stone in his hands as if it were something special. Tony was looking at Titania wearily who chuckled.

"I passed Dyrnwyn into Maths keeping after you forged your blade, so you do not have an artefact to fear from summer. For now, at least."

Tony didn't look remotely comforted by the fact, but he was trying to keep his face even. 

"Go, rest now. Any other gifts will be sent to you. You have earned it."

It didn't take much prompting beyond that for Tony to say his goodbyes, or rather, see you in a few hours, enjoy the party. Tony had offered to go alone, that James could join Natalia or the others. James had given Tony the look that comment deserved, and a second later they were in Tony's room. Tony set the stone down on his table with more care than James would have expected for what honestly just looked like a whetstone.

"So, why has this stone and sword got you all jumpy. They aren't like Arthur's sword in the stone… wait, are they?"

He had been joking, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he was wondering, because Underhill _ is _ just that crazy.

"No, not that Sword, not that Stone. That stone, Lia Fáil, is a loud, screaming thing, very annoying, but… they are not far off. The items we still have from our home are few in number. Claiomh Solais, or Caledfwlch is one of those, and what you know as Excalibur."

James just blinked before nodding, because yeah, why _wouldn't_ Excalibur be a real thing. He ran his hand down his face.

"We lost many of the blades. There are only a few artefacts left as I said and there were once a number of swords. I knew I was reforging old magic with my blade. I didn't realise I was reforging Ddihenydd. This one, Dyrnwyn, is the original. Known also as 'White-Hilt'.

'If a well-born man drew it himself, it burst into flame from its hilt to its tip. And everyone who used to ask for it would receive; but because of this peculiarity, everyone used to reject it. And therefore he was called Rhydderch the Generous.'

There is more to it than Fire of course, more than what was written, just as Ddihenydd is more than just my executioner's blade."

"And the stone?"

"_ That _ is more powerful than both these blades put together, and I do not recommend looking upon it with your sight without a lot of preparation."

James had seen the two swords, the insane power radiating off of them, mixing with one another. That a small stone beat them both?"

"What does it do?"

"It is a whetstone. It will sharpen a blade."

He just glared at Tony who huffed before wandering towards his bathroom. Likely to remove all of the woad.

"It is The Whetstone of Tudwal Tudglyd. It shall draw blood from any enemy of its user, if its user be brave; if its user shall be cowardly, then the blade shall not be sharpened and will draw no blood whatsoever. The wound? It will never heal."

James glanced at the innocent-looking stone. Yeah, he got it now. How a whetstone could suddenly be so utterly terrifying, he had no clue. -Underhill-

"Let me forget this new world of Swords of Crowns for a little bit, hmm? I would like to remove this. I think I have resembled a smurf long enough, don't you think?"

Tony pulled him towards the bath/pool room, and he decided that at least for a few hours, they could forget what was happening. Then when Tony was rested, and less blue, they would join the party.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


James was just stretching his legs and wandering around one of the green spaces around the castle to get a little fresh air. Parties were fun, but now and then he just wanted to slip out, too many people, even if those people were Fae. He suspected he would run into Tony soon, because Tony was quite similar to him. He just hid it better because of the duties he took on and the requirements that came with them. Tony could play the host much better than he could, but even he needed breaks and they couldn't always coordinate said breaks, as what had happened a few minutes ago. They had made it all the way to the door... when someone had pulled Tony into an important conversation. James had been about to stay, but Tony had told him to get his break whilst he could. 

Which was pretty fair. James hadn't expected many people outside of the family to be interested in _ him. _That was proven pretty untrue, and he had several groups of people approaching him to talk about the most mundane human things, stuff that was ubiquitous in their world, technology that was commonplace. However, most Fae had been away from the world for millennia. Apparently, Blodeuwedd had been telling everyone about what very little he had been able to explain about his phone. Somehow he had become the Fae's human expert, and James was utterly stuck on how bizarre those conversations were. It was an odd twist on The Avengers Galas they had back home, but a lot prettier. Pepper would probably love it.

The outside areas were an excellent chance for a breather, the Courtyard and all of the green spaces within the inner walls also had the good manners to stay the same, which can not be said for inside the castle. Which made navigation a breeze. He wandered over to where the dome had been and was surprised to find it was utterly gone. It had somehow become seven trees around the Faerie Fire Fountain. 

He had no idea when, nor how, that happened. Three of the trees were of spring, and another three were of Autumn, the point of what James assumed would make up a seven-pointed star if you connected them was the strangest of all. Black leaves with gorgeous seven petaled blue flowers. The wood was pitch black too, it took him a second to recognise the Iron Wood, but usually, that tree only grew high up on the Mountain, there were none on the ground. The Blue Flowers were new too, the flowers on the Ironwood tree were silver and purple/red depending on how high up the tree was.

This must be from _ Tony's _ bane, James blinked as he realised that the flower Mab had worn, the flowers and black leaves that ran along the centre of the dome… Tony had not only grown Autumn, Spring and Bane, but he had also created a freaking new tree. Iron Wood trees not only had dark red leaves to go with the flower, but the wood was also a deep, blood-red, shot through with iron that gleamed like polished steel. It was what Tony's doors in his room were made from. This wood was black as pitch, at least from what he could see. He didn't know what it would look like from the inside.

"Hi!"

He jumped, glancing around and not immediately seeing anyone. He had expected everyone to remain at the celebrations, but apparently, he was not as alone as he presumed to be. Even though he could not see the other. James had, however, been Underhill long enough for strange voices coming out of nowhere to not even be that much of a shock anymore. He was talking to a person that came out of a tree not long ago, so disembodied voices were not a big deal. Although it did make him miss FRIDAY. She was going to love all the pictures and videos he had recorded for her. He called out tentatively, because whilst he might be within Tony's wall, James was always aware that this was Underhill and strange rules applied.

"Hello?"

A _ very _ young sounding giggle followed by a shaking of the branches above him, which resulted in a bunch of black leaves falling on his head from the new Iron and Blue Flower trees. Catching a Blue Flower delicately in his hand, he decided to take that for his project. He also would have to see if Tony had named his new tree, as James now was convinced that this tree was new. All of this did, however, bring his attention _ up. _

There was a young girl sat upon one of the branches in the tree. James wasn't sure where she stood between Summer and Winter at a glance. She seemed young, but James was pretty sure she was Seelie, although which side he did not know. Her hair was a white blonde that practically shone like Underhill silver. Mab's hair also had a metallic tinge to it, whereas this young girl had the white shimmer that only Underhill Silver seemed to have. She was quite similar to Tony, he realised. Like she was caught between Summer and Winter. A mixture of Silver and Gold, but her eyes were a shimmering Underhill silver too, compared to Tony's gold. She was so similar to Tony, in fact, he wondered if this was another relative he had stumbled upon. Although she seemed to lack pupils, which was different from most Fae he had met so far.

James also wondered why exactly she was in the tree, and where her parents were. At the same time, he also knew that her young age didn't mean she was not potentially powerful, even if he would put her age at barely ten. Tony's family, if his assumption was correct, tended to come into their magic very, very early and much, much stronger than others. It was one of the things that set them apart and netted many influential positions.

She also might just be a child. So James was reticent of just fleeing. The kind of dilemma that was normal Underhill. Instead, he took a step back to see her better before talking.

"Why are you in a tree?"

"It seemed like a good place to check up on my pets."

"Are they doing well?"

She nodded, if she wasn't a kid, she had the look and act perfected. Swinging her legs and constantly being distracted. James wondered what it was with Fae and perching in places that gave him a crick in his neck, and was now alert for potential 'pets' and whatever that encompassed.

Also, James had to keep reminding himself _ not _ to revert to usual human conversations. That knee jerk reaction to ask someone for their name was _ strong, _ even after he had spent quite a bit of time on this side of the mists 

"Yes, very well! My Seren is shining brightly."

"I'll have to take your word on it that that is a good thing. I don't think I've seen you before?"

"No, I only just arrived, Seren has been quite protective of his new pet, and I wanted to know why, So I had to sneak in."

James was now just perplexed, but then, that happened every other conversation Underhill. He had no idea how a pet had pets. Just as he had no idea how he got into a discussion about audiobooks with a God of Death. 

Although, for some reason, the name _ Seren _ was ringing a bell in his mind.

"Well, I have no idea, but I hope everyone is doing well."

"You do so mean that! Don't you? This is why I like fragile creatures! You're so interesting!"

She hopped down from the tree in a way that had him lunge to catch her, which resulted in more giggles as thin shining silver wings let her glide gracefully to the floor. Ah, well that answered one question, she was likely Wyldfae. He hadn't seen any Seelie Fae with wings.

It also oddly wasn't the first time a Fae had responded to him like that; apparently Fae seemed to like how he spoke. James wasn't looking that gift horse in the mouth.

"Do you wish to walk with me to find my Seren?"

"Sure, I have a little free time before returning to the party."

James didn't know how he ended up in these situations, but she grabbed his hand, and she began skipping as she led him around the green spaces outside of the castle, her Silver wings fluttering with each step. 

They didn't come across anything or anyone that he could see as a pet, but she didn't seem perturbed in the slightest. A flicker in his chest told him Tony was looking for him and with a thought, he reached back, he had become so accustomed to the bond through Tony's claim that it felt almost intuitive to reach back now. Especially after being cut off for most the day, he was happy it was back. Tony's swirl of Black Fire and Bane hit his senses now before he saw it appear next to him, it had settled after the Ascension from it's evolving state since they arrived Underhill. He preferred the new look as the different dark magics wove together and swept around before leaving Tony stood at his side. He had been about to warn Tony he had picked up someone when the young girl beat him to it.

"Oooh, that is very pretty, much better than before!"

Tony froze, it was almost imperceptible, but between the bonds and debts, James was pretty keyed into Tony now. James had no idea why, but Tony was on the edge of severe panic. Then the little girl launched herself towards him.

"Seren!"

Despite the panic, Tony caught her with ease, smiling and spun her around in a circle before returning her to her feet much to her joy.

"I didn't hear you call, you know I would have come right away."

"I know, but I wanted to investigate first! I wanted to meet this fragile creature of yours! You have never laid claim before, and I wanted to see what made you change your mind."

James was feeling uncomfortable and was starting to have a bad feeling. He _ knew _ the name _Seren_ had rung a bell. 

"Well, now you have met him, _ Tilly." _

Tony's eyes flicked to him when he spoke her name, and James' eyes widened as his attention dropped to the young girl again. 

"I have, I like him. There is power in his words; you have done well Seren."

The young girl who was freaking _ Underhill. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dyrnwyn and The Whetstone of Tudwal Tudglyd are two of the Thirteen legendary treasures of Britain that you can look up if you wish. Tony's sword is a creation of my own to work with the idea. I wanted a Sword and Stone but not the one everyone is usually thinking. Also, these artefacts are Welsh. 
> 
> Ddihenydd is from a few places. Hen Ddihenydd means Ancient of Days, put at cosb Ddihenydd and you have effectively Capital Punishment. To explain where the name came from. Weirdly Google will tell you it means A Day, but you'll also find it within the options for Death. Which among other things, Death and Angau, which is where I created the word for Tony's Bane magic Underhill - Anǥau. One of the Five Branches of High Seelie Power. Because this is how much I overthink things :) 
> 
> \---
> 
> Now, as for my unplanned and grudging absence. The issue with my collection of conditions and comorbidities, occasionally a knock-on effect can happen. Whereas my health tanks in multiple places, it hit me out of nowhere, and I couldn't even proofread more than a thousand words at a time without my head being scrambled. Things seem to be getting back on track, and I've been able to start writing again! (Although with my levels of Insomnia, I've been mostly writing in the Gold Series.)
> 
> So, I don't know what schedule I am on right now, but hopefully, we won't have that big a gap again! Yikes. In my downtime, I did get a good amount of notes and plans done, though. Thank you for all your comments, when I was feeling really awful they perked me up, and now I've got this up after my arm has rested (this chapter hulked out because of how long it spent in proof being tweaked lol) I have some emails to respond to. So, thank you for your patience, and I hope this was well received :)

**Author's Note:**

> [Welsh Pronunciation Guide ](https://www.go4awalk.com/fell-facts/welsh-language-pronunciation.php)


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